Many people find it quite jarring that I run HabitStrong out of Trivandrum. More than once, I have been advised to move my startup to Bangalore.
Why?
Because Bangalore just sounds a lot cooler and more ‘startup-like.’
This obsession with appearances is a bit baffling.
Now, admittedly, being in Bangalore has some advantages – you interact with other founders more often and there is a greater exchange of ideas. But in this age of remote work, the disadvantages of not being in Bangalore have gone down.
Also, smaller cities have many other pluses (e.g., you get to breathe more oxygen).
If customers need your product and you can serve them well, location is not an obstacle.
But people often get caught up in optics. And this is true about life in general – we are too worried about how things look rather than how they actually are.
Focus on substance, not appearances.
– Rajan