'You don’t have to shift to Mumbai or Bengaluru to become a successful entrepreneur,' says CarDekho’s Amit Jain

Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR are the start-up hubs of India. However, CarDekho’s co-founder, Amit Jain believes that one doesn’t have to shift to these cities to grow or build a successful business. 
 
Jain was answering the question of a viewer who asked if staying in a city like Mumbai or Bengaluru is important for his business to grow in the latest episode of Indian business reality show, Shark Tank India. 
 
Launching and scaling up businesses in cities other than metros can have its fair share of advantages, Jain revealed. Citing his own example, he said, “I am a typical example. We (he and his brother, Anurag Jain) built our company in Jaipur. You will have a lot of advantages while scaling a company from a small city.”
 
Jain and his brother started CarDekho in 2007. After working on a software start-up for about a year, they visited the Auto Expo in 2008 in Delhi. They came back to Jaipur with an idea that led them to launch CarDekho.com, a platform that would facilitate the buying and selling of cars. At one point CarDekho’s valuation was around $1.2 billion.
 
He listed a few benefits including, “First, you will not be a part of a rat race. Second, the cost of running a business is low because the money you have to shell out for salaries and rentals will be much less. As a result, you have more money saved up to invest in your ideas. And finally, the connection with your audience is much better.”
 
Jain, in the end, pointed out that ultimately it is the entrepreneur’s conviction and passion that matters. “Chota sheher ho bada sheher ho, business har jagah bante hai…” (Whether it is a small city or a big one, businesses get built everywhere)
 
In an interview with Business Today recently, Jain shared that his stint on the Shark Tank India show as a professional investor is a first. By his own admission, he has done about 20 deals on the show this season. “Shark Tank India gave me a chance to learn a lot about other sectors beyond our core business,” he said.

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