The right question is: "Why isn't everyone?"
Last week, I sat with Vikram Gupta (Ex-Army Major, Founder of Flexi) and 12+ founders who chose Kolkata as their base.
Not by accident. By design.
Here's what the "smart money" in Bangalore doesn't want you to know:
- While they burn ā¹2L/month on office rent, Kolkata founders get premium space for ā¹50K.
- While they fight for overpriced talent, Kolkata has hungry, skilled professionals waiting.
- While they chase the same 100 VCs, Kolkata founders bootstrap to profitability.
The 3 insights that blew my mind:
ā Quality trumps location: Customers don't care about your office pin code when you deliver consistently. They care about results.
ā AI levels the playing field: These founders are using AI to leapfrog - customer support, hiring, product intelligence. Geography becomes irrelevant when your operations are smarter.
ā Strategic expansion wins: Half these founders are opening Bangalore offices next. Not to relocate - to dominate markets they're already winning from Kolkata.
That building from Tier 2 cities is settling for less.
Lower costs = longer runway = better decisions = sustainable growth.
While Bangalore founders are on their 3rd funding round, Kolkata founders are hitting profitability.
Geography isn't destiny. Capital efficiency is.
Maybe we should stop asking founders to justify their location.
And start asking why everyone's crowding into the same expensive cities.
Which Tier 2 city will surprise us next?
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