Building Beyond Hype: Lessons from the First ASCENT Ahmedabad Huddle

Ahmedabad: A decisive shift away from hype-driven growth toward sustainable and conviction-led entrepreneurship is being witnessed across India's startup ecosystem, observed Kuntal Shah, Co-founder of CricHeroes, and Darshan Shah, Co-founder of NewsReach, at the first ASCENT Ahmedabad Huddle. The two founders spoke about their journeys — the dead ends, the wrong bets, and the decisions that eventually paid off.

The Huddle was organised by ASCENT Foundation, founded by Harsh Mariwala, Chairman of Marico Limited and Founder, Kaya. ASCENT brings together a community of 1300+ entrepreneurs across 45 cities and 65 industries, creating a space where they can openly share experiences, learn from each other and grow together through trusted peer interactions.

Kuntal Shah spent over a decade running a services business before attempting to build a consumer product. Several ideas didn't work. CricHeroes came from noticing something nobody had fixed - amateur cricket had no structured data. The platform now serves grassroots players, a segment the mainstream cricket industry had little interest in. "Funding new ideas through an existing core business dilutes attention and hampers growth," Shah said. “Separating the new venture with independent funding helped us scale with clarity.”

Darshan Shah trained as a lawyer before turning entrepreneur. His first startup failed. The lesson he took from it was blunt — prove demand before spending on technology. "Clarity of problem-solving and the ability to sell the idea are more critical than building complex infrastructure in the early stages," he said. "Technology should follow once the business shows it can scale." NewsReach today offers PR services to small businesses and startups, many of them outside Mumbai and Delhi - markets that established agencies rarely bothered with.

Both founders made the same underlying point - the better opportunities are often in the segments nobody is chasing. CricHeroes went after amateur cricketers. NewsReach went after businesses that couldn't afford traditional PR. Neither market looked glamorous on paper. "Large opportunities often lie in segments overlooked by traditional players," Shah said.

On monetisation, Kuntal Shah was direct. Building users without building revenue had been a trap, and the company was now correcting course. "We have taken firm steps towards a sustainable revenue model by charging users and moving away from discount-driven growth," he said. "Excessive discounting creates dependency rather than long-term value." Investors, both founders noted, are asking harder questions about unit economics than they were a few years ago.

CricHeroes was approached by fantasy gaming and betting platforms - partnerships that would have generated revenue quickly. The company turned them down. "We chose to prioritise user trust and long-term vision over short-term gains," Shah said.

Darshan Shah pushed back on the assumption that scaling means hiring. NewsReach has kept its team deliberately small. "Advancements in technology and the role of AI have enabled startups to achieve scale without proportionate increases in headcount," he said. “Growth does not necessarily require large teams.”

While building from Ahmedabad presents its challenges, both founders emphasised the long-term advantages of focus, cost efficiency, and talent stability. The Huddle brought these perspectives together, reinforcing a clear shift among entrepreneurs present  - from chasing hype to building with clarity, discipline and conviction.