🚀 At a glance
In 2025, startups are out. SME IPOs are in.
Why build an app, raise 2 seed rounds, go viral on Twitter, and still end up bankrupt… when you can just list on NSE Emerge, raise ₹10 crore in 3 days, and disappear into the sunset with a ringing bell?
From failed founders to fintech bros to ex-TCS uncles — the new trend is simple:
“Don’t pitch to VCs. Pitch to retail.”
🧠 What’s Happening?
| Startups | SME IPOs |
|---|---|
| Burn cash | Raise cash |
| Build MVP | Build Excel sheet |
| 20-slide pitch | 200-page RHP |
| Shark Tank rejection | SME listing success |
| Exit via acquisition | Exit via circuit |
SME IPOs have become the new hack to instant validation, liquidity, and investor frenzy.
💼 Real Talk — Why Engineers Are Ditching Startups
1. VCs Ghost You. Retail Doesn’t.
- VCs take 3 months to say “We’ll pass.”
- Retail investors take 3 seconds to oversubscribe.
2. No Traction? No Problem.
- You don’t need PMF. Just PAT.
- ₹80 lakh profit? Boom — SME IPO incoming.
3. No Pitch Deck Revisions
- You’re not tweaking your Canva slides.
- You’re printing glossy prospectuses.
4. India Loves IPOs More Than Its Elders
- “Nivesh” sounds sexier when there’s a listing gain.
- SME IPO is the only place where ₹25 lakh net worth = ₹1 crore market cap.
🔥 Recent Examples to Prove This Madness
| Company | FY25 PAT | IPO Size | % Subscribed | Sector | Listed Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retval Infotech | ₹1.2 Cr | ₹12 Cr | 185x | Software | 125% |
| Enfuse Solutions | ₹3.6 Cr | ₹23 Cr | 312x | BPO/KPO | 102% |
| Shivalic Power | ₹2.9 Cr | ₹64 Cr | 117x | Transformers | 88% |
| Teerth Gopicon | ₹12.8 Cr | ₹44 Cr | 52x | Infra | 68% |
None of these are unicorns. Most aren’t even zebras.
But Dalal Street thinks they’re dragons.
🏗️ How It Works (The SME IPO Flowchart)
- Engineer quits job
- Starts “infra + software + sustainability + AI” company
- Shows ₹2 Cr profit (unaudited but spiritually true)
- Hires merchant banker bro
- Files RHP with:
- ₹500 Cr addressable market (population of India)
- ₹3.5 Cr raised via preferential shares to cousin
- Applies to NSE Emerge/BSE SME
- Gets oversubscribed 200x
- Stock hits upper circuit
- Founder’s LinkedIn bio updates: “Ex-Startup, Now Listed”
🤑 Who’s Funding These IPOs?
- 💼 HNI Aunties – “Beta, circuit lag raha hai.”
- 👨⚖️ Lawyers – “Listing gains are legal insider trading.”
- 💰 Finfluencers – “SME ka season hai bro.”
- 👴 Old school punters – “Main SME mein hi khelta hoon.”
🔥 Why SME IPOs Work (Until They Don’t)
| Reason | Truth |
|---|---|
| Retail loves new things | Even if it’s old wine in new bottle |
| Illiquid = Volatile = Fun | One buyer can move the stock 20% |
| Anchor investors? | Just the promoter’s cousin with a demat |
| Research coverage? | Influencer Twitter threads with memes |
🧨 Risks — Because Every Hype Has a Hangover
1. Financials That Look Like Fiction
- Some companies claim 90% YoY profit growth with no CFO.
2. Valuations from Another Galaxy
- ₹3 crore profit with ₹600 crore market cap? SME = Smallcap Multiverse Edition
3. Liquidity Trap
- Stocks are in T2T segment. No exit, only entry.
4. Pump & Dump
- You bought the pump. Now meet the dump.
💻 But Don’t Blame the Engineers
- Startups = 1% succeed, 99% regret
- SME IPO = 100% list, 20% vanish, 80% live for circuits
Plus, let’s be honest — launching an SME IPO gives more social clout than pitching Sequoia.
“Founder of a listed company” > “Trying for Series A”
🏁 EduInvesting Take
“In India, startup dreams now come with a PAN number and IPO proceeds.”
This isn’t a funding winter. It’s a listing summer.
And instead of chasing unicorn status, engineers have discovered a new beast:
🐂 The Circuit Bull.
As long as SEBI doesn’t tighten norms (or verify the assets behind the buzzwords), SME IPOs will remain the new SaaS — but with better returns and fewer decks.
📅 Written by Prashant Marathe
📍 Date: 31 May 2025
Tags: SME IPO 2025, Startup vs IPO, NSE Emerge, engineer founder trend, listing gains India, EduInvesting viral series
