What is the difference between a coper and a seeker, and why do you think India is producing copers?

Vineet Nayar
Replied byVineet Nayar

Former CEO at HCL Technologies

Niche: Technology
Revenue: Not Publicly Disclosed/month
Location: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Started: 1976

Copers copy the business models of the West. They reproduce what has already been invented. Seekers disrupt. Indian IT was disruptive. Indian pharma was disruptive to an extent. Kotak Mahindra Bank was disruptive. But right now, if you look at most Indian startups, they are copies of Western ideas applied to an Indian context. The question I ask is where is the disruptive thought going to come from and why is it not coming in volume. The answer starts at the dining table. My generation has the disease of prescription. We tell our children what not to do. Do not take that taxi. Do not talk to that person. Do not try that idea. We are a don't generation. We are fearful because we have accumulated some wealth and we are terrified of losing it. You cannot produce curiosity and experimentation in a child you are busy protecting. Disruptive thinkers are raised, not taught.

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