4 months back I moved to BLR 🚀
Had 0 friends 🫂
& 0 clue about moving to a new city 😢
But it felt seamless because I had the right advice from a handful of colleagues and acquaintances 🫂
If you're moving to Bangalore all alone, here's a quick breather on what to do & what not to do. More relevant if you're moving in with roommates who are complete strangers (like me) ⏬
✅ Understand why you're moving
My work at @GrowthX_Club is completely remote.
But I moved to BLR because I wanted more facetime with my team. I also wanted to interact with more operators & leaders in the startup ecosystem.
So my choice was in & around the area of Domlur/ Indiranagar.I cared very little about partying or party places nearby
See, Bangalore is densely packed.
Traffic can get a bit too much, esp at peak times.
But if you understand why you're moving and choose the right area, this should not be a problem. It makes zero sense to choose the wrong area and complain about the traffic later buddy!
✅ Pick your roommates wisely
Your roommates will be the people you spend the most amount of time after your colleagues & anyone you're dating ❤️
They will also be the people with whom you have hard conversations around money, personal boundaries & even food choices.
-> If you don't want a lot of people over, don't pick a
roommate who's very social
-> If you want to live a convenient life, don't pick
someone who lives measly
Moving to BLR I wanted three things
-> A convenient & fun life
-> Ability to meet new & diverse people
-> Roommates who're down to have fun
Did I mention 'fun' twice?
Anyways 🤪
I spoke with over 50 potential roommates before choosing my current two roommates.
Sure that took me like a week. But it was worth it
-> We're able to talk about hard conversations like
money effortlessly
-> I've met their friends who are also now my good
friends
-> We've celebrated each other's birthday like we're
good friends
-> We don't hesitate to spend money on good-quality
food/ groceries
-> We don't mind spending money/ effort to keep our
place clean
All these things matter
Make sure you align on a value basis with your roommate before you pick them
Moving to a new city is already stressful
Don't make it more stressful by picking the wrong people to live with
🚨 Do follow accounts like @BangaloreRoomi to help you find more houses & roommates to fill your pipeline.
✅ Decide your duration of stay
I shifted to the idea of staying In BLR for a min of 2 years.
So rather than renting my bed & work desk, I bought them. I also bought smaller things like bathroom utilities, good quality mats etc
It cost me a good chunk, but it was worth it because I saw it as an INVESTMENT >> COST.
But if you're uncertain about your duration or if you're here for a short stay RENT >> BUY
You'll find plenty of options for everything on sites like @rentomojo@FURLENCO
✅ Put aside 15k for capital costs
Shifting to a new city like BLR is costly. Even if you're renting things, expect to spend at least 15k in the first month.
Some random surprises that jumped on me
-> Move-in cost to my apartment (₹1500)
-> Eating out for the first week
till we found a cook (₹2000)
-> Buying some basic items like brooms, groceries,
mats, bins, bathroom fittings (₹3000)
Now you have to mind that these costs creeped up even after I moved into a completely furnished house. Please put aside more money if you're moving into an unfurnished house.
I definitely have more learnings, but these are from the top of my mind.
🚨If you have any specific questions about moving to BLR, comment below
If I have more context on it, I will answer it
Otherwise, you might also find someone better to answer it.
Peace ✌🏻
Assume the movie had flopped and the director lost his entire $750,000 investment. How many crew members would have voluntarily returned their fees to help offset his loss?
This is the fundamental asymmetry in risk and reward. When someone puts up their own capital and shoulders the real financial risk especially in a high-failure industry like entertainment they alone bear the downside.
Yet the moment the project succeeds, suddenly everyone who was paid upfront wants a bigger piece of the pie. The same people who would not have shared in the loss now feel entitled to share disproportionately in the upside.
If you accept payment for your work regardless of outcome, you’ve already been compensated for your risk (or lack thereof). Why should the person who risked everything not be allowed to reap the rewards when their gamble pays off?
I don't know who else to tell this to, so I am going to tell my story here.
Every day is a struggle for a young business, but the last few months have been harder than usual.
We are a small Indian company. For more than ten years we have been building a homegrown brand in a product category dominated by big foreign players.
There are almost no Indian names in this space. We set out to be one.
We started in 2014. Over the years we began making parts in India instead of just importing, and we started selling in the US, Dubai, Nepal, Malaysia and South Africa.
We showed up at global trade fairs to represent an Indian brand on the world stage.
In 2023 we changed the import code we use for our product. We did not do this quietly. Every shipment was declared. Nothing was hidden. We didn't invent our approach.
We followed written professional advice and the way this product is treated in markets around the world.
And now we are facing a government demand running into tens of crores in duty recovery and penalties, plus personal penalties on the founders and even on an employee.
For a company our size, this is not a fine we can pay and move on from. This ends us.
We have not run from any of this. I am not built like that. It is not how I was raised. We have written to the authorities, met officials in person, and we have now filed a writ in the High Court.
All we are asking for is a fair treatment.
I set out to build in India and sell to the world. I am asking only that the system back honest founders trying to compete globally, instead of breaking them.
The process is the process, and it exists for a reason. But process should not feel like punishment.
From where I am standing today, it does.
I am not giving up. I have worked too hard for this. If you have read this far, please share it. If you know someone who can help, point them my way. Help me get the word out.
Some of you know me through my art and gardening column. I am also a co-founder of a Bangalore food tech startup.
We are starting a pilot. Please retweet this for good karma!
About The Pilot
RedTile is a single-person food system that slow cooks tasty healthy meals with zero daily planning or cooking hassle.
We’re looking for 30 young people in Bangalore to use it for about 6 weeks.
You’ll get:
• A RedTile unit for 6 weeks
• Food packs to start — Poha, Upma, Kashmiri Pulao & more
• Full support from our team
All we ask: honest, practical feedback on how it fits your routine.
Interested? Fill this form out:
https://t.co/uC5etAd9qe
We’ll reach out if it’s a fit!
RedTile: https://t.co/2O6fPO4BIg
🏡 Flatmate Needed | Koramangala
A room in our 3BHK (Sterling Ambrosia, near Maharaja Signal) is opening up from Sept 11.
• 16.5k/mo (details in the 🧵)
• Attached bath
• Spacious, well-lit, fully furnished
• No brokerage
DM for deets
@BangaloreRoomi
I'm not gonna lie, the @Meta layoffs are some of the most dystopian I've ever seen. They got told to work from home, they were sent the emails at 4AM in the morning. Those who weren't impacted have software on their computer that tracks their every move, preparing AI to take their job as well. They're literally training the AI that will eliminate their position as well.
Meanwhile, Meta is raking in RECORD PROFITS.
I am a massive, unapologetic AI enthusiast. Yet, this is NOT the future I had in mind.
I wish for Meta to crash and burn. This is not the way. Literally nobody benefits from this.
Last year, we made a bet on Product Hunt. It paid off: Product of the Day, Month, and #4 of the Year. The playbook is at the bottom of this thread.
But first, we're launching again today: 𝗰𝗵𝗿[𝗱𝗼𝘁]𝘀𝗼/𝗽𝗵
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