Dhruv Suyamprakasam, the founder of telemedicine startup iCliniq, has shared his struggles in Bengaluru, India’s startup hub. Despite its reputation as the Silicon Valley of India, Dhruv left the city after 16 months due to investor biases, cultural challenges, and a mismatch between the city’s fast-paced startup culture and the needs of his healthcare venture.
Initial Move to Bengaluru
In 2010, Dhruv relocated to Bengaluru, drawn by its status as the epicenter of India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem. “Moving to Bengaluru felt like the best decision for me as a founder,” Dhruv said in an interview with Business Insider.
However, he quickly encountered challenges that made his stay difficult. Being from Coimbatore, a smaller city in Tamil Nadu, Dhruv faced biases for not being fluent in Hindi or holding an IIT degree, credentials often valued in India’s tech and startup circles. “I felt excluded because I didn’t speak Hindi, and I wasn’t an alumnus of IIT. Being from a small town that many hadn’t heard of added to the judgment,” he explained.
Mismatch with Healthcare Industry Needs
The fast-paced culture of Bengaluru startups, characterized by the “grow fast, fail fast” mindset, didn’t align with the long-term trust and precision required in healthcare. Dhruv noted, “Bengaluru 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.”
Investors, he said, often demanded metrics like 100 paid consultations per day, which added to the pressure. These expectations clashed with the slower, trust-driven nature of healthcare, leading Dhruv to feel that Bengaluru wasn’t the right fit for iCliniq.
After 16 months, Dhruv returned to Coimbatore, his hometown, despite challenges like unreliable internet and the lack of a vibrant startup community. However, he found solace in working on his startup at his own pace, away from the high-pressure environment of Bengaluru.
Second Attempt in Bengaluru
In 2016, Dhruv made a second attempt to establish iCliniq in Bengaluru, hoping for a more inclusive environment. Despite staying for 18 months this time, he found that the fundamental challenges remained unchanged. The fast-paced expectations of the city’s startup ecosystem still didn’t align with the needs of his healthcare business. This realization led him to return to Coimbatore for good.
Dhruv’s journey underscores the importance of finding the right environment for a startup, especially in industries like healthcare that demand precision and trust over speed. His experiences highlight the biases and challenges non-Hindi speakers and non-IIT alumni may face in India’s startup hubs, sparking conversations about inclusivity and cultural diversity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Today, iCliniq operates successfully from Coimbatore, proving that startups can thrive outside conventional hubs with the right focus and perseverance.
