An Indian Entrepreneur visits New York: "I was born in the wrong country" | Hacker News Reader

An Indian Entrepreneur visits New York: "I was born in the wrong country"

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63 pointsvidyesh25 comments

I see a lot of entrepreneurs in India whining about lack of funding. Fact is, you won't have much trouble raising capital if you have a great product and business model.

Indian VCs and Angels are not investing in cool weekend apps, but they are keen to fund fast growing startups. Even better,you won't even require funding in India if you have a business model.

Bootstrapping is easier in India, you don't need $110,000 to hire a team of 5. Salary of developers in India usually less than $500 per month, you can hire rockstart developers for $1000 to $1500. So, running a team of 5 would cost around $4,000 per month. Comparatively, the same team size would set you back at least $40,000 per month in New York or Silicon Valley.

I know a lot of bootstrapped startups in India, with profits of over a million dollars. They are literally being chased by VCs, but they don't need investment. The problem with investment scenario in India is, the valuations are much lower compared to Valley.

India does not lacks investors, it lacks an ecosystem. The most challenging part is building a rockstar team.

Wingify / VWO does not have any presence in US. They are based out of New Delhi. At a recent HN Delhi Meetup, paraschopra said that being in India is the biggest advantage they have over competitors.

>> Salary of developers in India usually less than $500 per month

For $500, you won't get decent enough developers.

>> you can hire rockstart developers for $1000 to $1500.

Most of the 'rockstar' developers wouldn't want to risk it in a startup (which could fold out anyday) when they already are making > $1500 a month in that BigCo Inc. Unless equity is put on table for grabs, it's a pretty sad deal actually.

>> India does not lacks investors, it lacks an ecosystem.

For $500, you won't get decent enough developers. >> Let's say it is $1000 for decent developers, would you not agree that it's way less than the ones in NY or SV?

Well, aren't investors a major part of the ecosystem? This would be more like the classic railroad paradox. IMHO, only after India sees good number of credible startups with popular products will VCs ever bother to look at India. Of course VCs are a good part of the ecosystem but given that India opened a tad too late, VCs might take time to pitch in as much as their western counterparts. Should we not create an ecosystem in the meantime and make as many startups work as possible, with no, low and limited VC funding?

$1,500 there feels like $150,000 here. It's like people from Japan who come here and say "US is so cheap, a high end meal is just $50 or max $100, I can eat facy 5 times a week!" I tell them that would change once you start earning in US dollars, thats when the equation will adjust itself and you will realize output is a function of input.

>> Most of the 'rockstar' developers wouldn't want to risk it in a startup (which could fold out anyday) when they already are making > $1500 a month in that BigCo Inc. Unless equity is put on table for grabs, it's a pretty sad deal actually.

This is why I said most challenging part is building a team.

>> Well, aren't investors a major part of the ecosystem? This would be more like the classic railroad paradox. IMHO, only after India sees good number of credible startups with popular products will VCs ever bother to look at India.

Of course, investors are a part of ecosystem; but we have enough of them already. Many top VC firms already have offices and funds in India. The problem is, angel investors in India aren't bold enough.

Investors does not lead, they follow.

I guess we have to make the most of the resources that are available to us; ecosystem or no ecosystem. We are ages behind what the valley or some other places may offer and to expect it to happen by itself is naive at best. We are part of the ecosystem and we have to build it to a level where it counts.

Couldn't upvote you more. If people cared about ecosystem so much during industrial revolution then UK would be the only industrialised country in the world today.

This whole web startup thing is still so new. As Gary Vaynerchuk said "The internet is still 15 years old. The fucking thing hasn't even had sex yet." Who knows what will be the Mecca of internet startups some 10-15 years down the road.

TL;DR

I was born in the wrong country because my country doesn't have:

a. VCs / angels

b. Right kind of people (whatever that meant)

And then there is the New Yorker Who is moving to the Valley Claiming:

1. Cant raise capital 2. Cant find talent

http://www.businessinsider.com/face-it-nyc-is-not-the-best-p...

I was in the audience at that NYTM demo Aditya mentions as a highlight. He was funny and memorable, drawing laughs and applause out of the audience; a great presenter. I had fun watching.

But NYTM is emphatically about having fun with technology, not showing off great startup ideas. Business questions literally get booed, so they aren't asked. I'm glad Aditya attended other events, met other people, and came away with an understanding of the sense of the "noise". There IS real momentum around the NY tech startup scene... and plenty of "just talk" to go along with it.

Being in Northern CA, or possibly NY, may help, but hopefully it's not something any company would use as an excuse for not being successful. As an example, here's a story working its way up on techmeme, about an entrepreneur in China making iPhone apps:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/201...

A good idea and great execution will work anywhere in the world. I wish Radbox well, hope they can pull it off in India.

Why Bother with what people in NY are doing. You think Chineese startups are craving to be NY or they do their own thing in a market they know best. I can bet if you moved to NY you'll regret your decision.

You should be thankful that India is not like the US where everyone and their grandmother wants to want to make ''apps''.Atleast in India you have breathing space to perfect your craft and product without much competition.

It's the competition that helps you up your game. It is much easier building something amazing if you can hang out with other people also building amazing things- breathing space is not necessarily a good thing when you're a startup.

The anecdotal things you learn over coffee or lunch can turn out to be invaluable down the road.

How will competition comeabout if no one sets the trends in india and inspire more people to keep it homegrown instead of seeking the ''American Dream'' If you cant make it where there is no competition youll neva make it where there is.

I'm not sure this is such a problem for tech startups. The history of internet startups has shown that, so far, the same general ideas work in many different markets and adapt for each.

For context, you can check out his demo of Radbox at New York Tech Meetup in March: http://www.livestream.com/nytechmeetup/video?clipId=pla_4957...

Aditya seems like really amicable guy and I wish him the best of luck.

“If I had Rs. 50 Lakh today, I would’ve spent it on a team – hire great developers, designers and even a community manager – be a team of 4-5″

It's always team that matters not the place, be it NYC or India.

Location does matter, every startup needs the proper shoutout and exposure to make it successful. Having like minded people around who guide you throughout helps alot.

Yes,

Having like minded people around who guide you throughout helps a lot.

That's what a team is.

I think he's meaning more than just a team. If the community around you is like-minded and supportive, it's even better than just having a team... And it gives you somewhere to hire or expand that team from.

Another approach would be to understand the ecosystem you are in and work to improve it. The US has many things that cater to entrepreneurship, but that should not preclude people from attempting their desires within their community.

See his comment at http://hackerstreet.in/item?id=6075

The guy is not willing to drive 5 miles to meet like minded hackers & entrepreneurs, yet he complains about lack of community.

For reference: Gurgaon is a suburb located right outside New Delhi, and it is considered a part of Delhi NCR region.

Except it's exponentially easier to build a solid team in some places than others.

You can slice it any way you like, but location matters.

Indian Entrepreneur claims NY is better. New Yorkers are moving to the Valley cause things are better. Signs of an entrepreneur who cant spot an opportunity around and execute.

Zoho sits out of a city in India named Chennai (Not bangalore) and takes on Google. They make it happen as well. Some folks will always crib, even if life was handed to them on a platter.

The Other side of the Story

Floods of Indian Origin Entrepreneurs moving out of the US. Perhaps its all well balanced, someone ask the Startup Visa guys to chillax! :)

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-05-10-tech-talents-le...

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