Dr. Sanjay Nadkarni: Solving Why 43% of Failed Startups Couldn’t Nail Product-Market Fit
23 July 2026
Dr. Sanjay Nadkarni, professor at Plekhanov University, took part as a speaker at the online event "Silk Road Spotlight & Pitches: Doing Business in Central Asia," presenting on the topic "Closing the Validation Gap: A Collaborative Model for Startup and SME Growth in the UAE."
Dr. Nadkarni’s presentation opened with a striking figure: 43% of failed venture-backed startups cite poor product-market fit as the reason behind their collapse, a trend that has held steady for a decade. Dr. Nadkarni explained that this gap only widens across borders, as evidence validated in one market rarely transfers cleanly to another, leaving founders, SMEs, and investors to absorb the cost.
To address this, he unveiled a two-stage validation model built around Futures Thinking, Design Thinking, and Agile and AI-enabled workflows, each producing tangible evidence for founders to carry forward. This initiative will be brought to life at Plekhanov University’s Innovation Hub.
Founders, business-minded students, and those interested in entrepreneurship can expect interesting initiatives from the university’s Innovation Hub in the months ahead.
Dr. Nadkarni’s presentation opened with a striking figure: 43% of failed venture-backed startups cite poor product-market fit as the reason behind their collapse, a trend that has held steady for a decade. Dr. Nadkarni explained that this gap only widens across borders, as evidence validated in one market rarely transfers cleanly to another, leaving founders, SMEs, and investors to absorb the cost.
To address this, he unveiled a two-stage validation model built around Futures Thinking, Design Thinking, and Agile and AI-enabled workflows, each producing tangible evidence for founders to carry forward. This initiative will be brought to life at Plekhanov University’s Innovation Hub.
Founders, business-minded students, and those interested in entrepreneurship can expect interesting initiatives from the university’s Innovation Hub in the months ahead.