Business
Delhi vs Bengaluru
Delhi loves hustling, Bengaluru loves startups
VC Ritesh Bangalni was in Delhi for a trip. He met entrepreneurs. According to him Delhi is all about hustling.
- People do not always talk about startups, valuations and ESOPs. They talk about real estate, government contracts, small businesses.
- He cited that Delhi folks did not indulge in wide ranging and relaxed conversations. Instead, they talked about the main thing.
- English is the language of influence and status in Delhi. People insist in talking in English, even if they are not comfortable speaking it.
- Delhi folks love their offices and cafes. He met more people working from offices than working from homes.
Though, Delhi-NCR has startups such as Zomato and Paytm, Bengaluru churns out such startups year after year. Delhi does produce non-tech businesses at scale such as restaurant chains (Azzure Hospitality, Delhi Heights), cafe chains (Blue Tokai, Chaayos), logistics (Rivigo) and cloud kitchen brands.
Local businesses in Bengaluru live under the shadow of big startups. They can not match the scale of funding, execution and expansion. Every Bengaluru modern and local business aspires to be a startup.
Startups culture has made Bengaluru think and act like startups. Folks do not just want to open a single cafe or restaurant. They want to raise funding and open a pan India cafe chain. Local entrepreneurs look to join accelerators in their domains. I met three legacy coffee businesses, who were working with Atal Innovation Mission. They aimed to raise money and grow big like other start-ups.
- Kaapi Trails organises coffee tours in and around Chikamagalur. It wants to start similar tours in Coorg and Waynad.
- Get Coffee delivers filter coffee powder and beans to the households and individuals. It uses a truck, which stocks grinders and coffee beans.
- Caffinary aims to become the D2C filter coffee brand.
Startup culture is changing the genes of the local Indian businessmen. They want to grow their business. They want to become rich. One location legendary eateries such as MTR are expanding. Local food businesses such as ID Fresh have become pan Indian players. Such business owners are open to adopt new technologies and processes.
