There’s no doubt that the Walmart-Flipkart 16-billion-dollar deal is going to shake up things like never before in the Indian retail market. The deal has left small sellers in a tizzy as they worry about being squeezed by Walmart’s low pricing model. But ultimately, the real story will now be about a battle between the two US retail behemoths – Amazon and Walmart on the Indian turf.

And on another entirely different dimension, the acquisition also raises some interesting questions about the mesh of cultures that are as different as day and night. On one hand, Walmart is renowned for its frugality and prides itself on consistent efficient operations – right from it sourcing to supply chain and front-end operations. And despite being the largest private employer in the US and in the world, Walmart has been heavily criticized about its infamous employee practices and poor working conditions.

In stark contrast, Flipkart is known to like its luxuries – ranging from swanky offices and high pay packages to freshers. Flipkart’s startup-like culture is steeped in nurturing entrepreneurial traits of innovation, progressive policies, ownership, and calculated risk-taking. In fact, Flipkart has been a pioneer with employee-friendly policies like providing six months’ maternity leave as well as paternity leave to new parents in the country. And despite the recent top management churn and loss of ground to Amazon, it’s impossible to deny the company’s attraction as the most sought-after workplace in India for two years in a row, according to LinkedIn.

There’s no doubt that Flipkart can greatly benefit from Walmart’s giant war-chest and expertise, and I don’t see any massive changes happening right away when it comes to Flipkart’s work culture and its employees. But it remains to be seen whether Walmart can change its dour approach to work culture and innovation (other than keeping prices low). Perhaps this is their opportunity to learn the “millennial tech culture” which has become a necessary condition for businesses today to survive the onslaught of Amazon, Google, and Facebook as they muscle their way into any and every domain. Their half-hearted attempt at setting up a post in Silicon Valley through Walmart Labs has really not changed anything fundamentally for them. Imagine a scenario where Flipkart and India become the test lab for Walmart to learn how to take on the Amazon’s of the world!

That’s not all. Let’s take a moment to look beyond the direct impact of the deal on these two companies and what it does for the fledgling Indian start-up ecosystem. I am confident that this will be the inflection point that we have been waiting for and this deal will re-energize the start-up scene like never before. It marks the beginning of a new generation of entrepreneurs in the country that are venture-backed and private equity-funded, unlike the traditional family businesses like Godrej and Reliance that have long since ruled the roost. In the years to come, Flipkart’s meteoric rise and jaw-dropping $16 billion acquisition by the world’s largest retailer will find special mention in Indian lore as it opens a floodgate for aspiring entrepreneurs to dream big and follow their passions!