Countering the popular narrative that India is a low-trust society, a Bengaluru-based startup founder recently shared a heartwarming post about the immense institutional and community backing that fueled his entrepreneurial journey. Reflecting on his early days, the CEO detailed how his college professor handed him a ₹5 lakh grant just to quit his job and launch out, while seniors later backed him with ₹4 crore of their personal capital.
“I belong to a start-up community where my professor gave me a grant of INR 5L so that I quit my job and start up,” Bengaluru CEO Siddharth Dialani, who graduated from IIT Madras, wrote.
The founder continued, “My college seniors invested INR 4Cr of their personal money in my start-up. Scores of advisors gave me their hundreds of hours, without expecting anything in return.”
In the following lines, the entrepreneur explained, “This continues to happen and I continue to pass on my time and some of my wealth to juniors and young entrepreneurs. I'm sorry that some feel we are a low trust society due to what they see around them. I won't agree to this for the entire nation unless presented with extensive data. Otherwise, anecdotal data exists from both sides.”
{{/usCountry}}In the following lines, the entrepreneur explained, “This continues to happen and I continue to pass on my time and some of my wealth to juniors and young entrepreneurs. I'm sorry that some feel we are a low trust society due to what they see around them. I won't agree to this for the entire nation unless presented with extensive data. Otherwise, anecdotal data exists from both sides.”
{{/usCountry}}He shared the post in reaction to a tweet labelling India as a “low-trust” society.
What did social media say?
The post sparked mixed reactions on social media. While some agreed with the founder, others argued that he was talking about an exception rather than the norm.
An individual posted, “As they say, India disappoints both the optimist and pessimist. It is for you to see!” Another commented, “It is important to highlight what's wrong with the country, but also, there is a lot of scope, hope and trust in between.”
A third expressed, “A high trust society is - when you are interacting with a stranger, you don't assume he is gonna cheat you. You expect good intentions and help by default. You are not asked to notarise everything. Your close circle/alumni network isn't what makes a society high or low trust.”
A fourth wrote, “Professors, friends, investors coming from a mutually common very small exclusive college does not indicate trust. By that logic, even drug cartels have high trust between them. The trust factor comes when you expect strangers in mobs to follow rules (not out of fear).” Dialani responded, “Let's not trivialise the argument by saying that what you experience is applicable to the entire nation and what I experience is applicable only to my close circle. Either generalise all or generalise none.”