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'Didn't speak Hindi, not from IIT': Startup CEO reveals why he left Bengaluru in 16 months
Dhruv Suyamprakasam, founder of iCliniq, said he left Bengaluru after 16 months due to investor biases and cultural challenges.
The CEO of a telemedicine startup has revealed that he moved away from Bengaluru after spending just 16 months in the city when he faced certain obstacles like investor biases, no IIT degree and his limited Hindi proficiency.
In conversation with Business Insider, healthcare startup iCliniq's founder Dhruv Suyamprakasam said when he started his venture, he considered Bengaluru. "I had read about the city being the hub of the mainstream startup ecosystem. In 2010, moving to Bengaluru felt like the best decision for me as a founder," he said.
Did not speak Hindi, non-IITian
Dhruv's family hails from Coimbatore where his father runs a business. After choosing to move to Bengaluru, he said he faced many biases. "I felt excluded because I didn't speak Hindi, India's most widely spoken language, and I wasn't an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, the country's most prestigious engineering college. Being from a small town that many hadn't heard of added to the judgment," he added.
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He said he soon realised that India's Silicon Valley wasn't the right fit for his healthcare startup. "Bengaluru is a place that encourages companies to grow fast and fail fast. That kind of pressure didn't align with the needs of a healthcare business, which has no room for error and demands significant trust from people. We met investors who expected metrics like 100 paid consultations in a day," he added.
Return to Bengaluru
Marred by bad experiences, his stay in Bengaluru came to an end after just 16 months. He moved back to Coimbatore but still faced hurdles like unreliable internet and the lack of an established startup community.
In 2016, he decided to return to Bengaluru, hoping for greater inclusivity and improved conditions. However, after 18 months, he realised that the healthcare industry had changed very little, prompting him to move back to Coimbatore once again.
(Also read: Woman’s dahi puri order in Bengaluru 'offends the North India’ in her)
