Bombay Shaving Company CEO Shantanu Deshpande, in a post on LinkedIn, compared Bengaluru's startup culture to IIT coaching in Kota in 2005, labeling it as an "ecosystem delusion."
Drawing a parallel between the two, he noted that just as many students in Kota falsely assumed that being there guaranteed success in the IIT-JEE exams, many aspiring founders in Bengaluru believe that proximity to the startup scene is enough to ensure success.
In his post, Deshpande shared his concerns about this culture: "This strange environment creates an unhealthy belief of 'arriving before the fact.'"
He elaborated on how this mentality breeds a sense of entitlement among founders, making them overly concerned about issues such as bringing employees back from work-from-home arrangements or dealing with attrition, instead of focusing on core business challenges.
Deshpande likened the atmosphere in Bengaluru to the mess halls of Kota, where students would engage in endless discussions about JEE, assuming that mere association with the right people or places would lead to success.
Similarly, he pointed out that Bengaluru's startup scene is full of "all talk" gatherings, where founders believe that networking at the same events as successful entrepreneurs such as Bhavish Aggarwal, Mukesh Bansal, or Kunal Bahl somehow brings them closer to building unicorns.
He warned that such an environment could be misleading for new founders, who might focus more on the hype than on their businesses.
Deshpande advised these founders to distance themselves from the ecosystem's distractions and concentrate on their business operations. "If you're a founder and starting up in Bangalore, distance yourself from the ecosystem and stay closer to your business. And see if you can find mentors outside the city too," he suggested.
While his post sparked a range of reactions, from agreement to critique, the underlying message was clear: success requires more than just being in the right place; it demands focused effort and a clear vision.
Deshpande's call to action for founders is to stay grounded and prioritize their businesses over the allure of the startup culture.