Nitesh Behare
This chapter explores how social media has become a transformative force in shaping modern startup ecosystems, particularly among digital-native entrepreneurs. Moving beyond traditional marketing, platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube now serve as full-fledged entrepreneurial infrastructures—enabling ideation, brand building, fundraising, customer engagement and venture scaling. Through a critical examination of strategic platform use, influencer ecosystems, social commerce tools and ethical considerations, the chapter highlights the unique ways in which startups leverage digital culture to generate visibility and competitive advantage. Case studies across diverse geographies demonstrate how startups move from hashtag virality to unicorn valuation. It concludes by forecasting how AI, Web3 and immersive technologies will redefine future startup–social media synergies