‘Don't be in Mumbai, Delhi’: Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal champions for Bengaluru as ultimate start-up capital

Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal urged startup founders to be based in Bengaluru.

Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal batted hard for the start-up ecosystem in Bengaluru, saying that cities like Mumbai and Delhi cannot beat the energy that entrepreneurs can get in the tech capital of India.

Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, is based in Bengaluru. (HT Photo)

“I don't think you should be based out of Mumbai or Delhi. I think you should be based out of Bengaluru. Come to Bengaluru, increase your odds,” Munjal said at TechSparks 2024 in Mumbai recently.

“Mumbai is a better city than Bengaluru. If I have to spend a weekend, I'll choose Mumbai. But if you are starting up, Bengaluru is slower paced than Mumbai. Bengaluru is a slower city than Mumbai but the odds of your success increases a lot," Munjal told Shradha Sharma, founder and CEO of YourStory.

Munjal, who studied in Mumbai and is now based in Bengaluru, said that at coffee shops in Bengaluru, he has always come across at least one entrepreneur who is trying to build something big.

“The energy is very different. You can't beat these network effects in other cities, it's not going to happen,” he said, joking that the goal of the TechSparks start-up event in Mumbai and Delhi should be “to convert people to go to Bengaluru”.

“If you are starting up, your goal should be how do I increase the probability of success in every move I do, and the eco-system in Bengaluru is next-level.”

Munjal's strong statements, quite predictably, stirred up several reactions among social media users.

As users weighed in on which city is better for startup founders, Munjal responded with GIFs.

Take a look at how Gaurav Munjal responded on X:

Recently, Munjal had stressed on the importance of competitive exams such as the IIT-JEE and NEET when a user on X termed them as “useless”.