No IIT degree, no Hindi: CEO claims he faced bias in Bengaluru startup scene

The co-founder and CEO of telemedicine startup iCliniq, Dhruv Suyamprakasam, recently shared the hurdles he encountered after relocating to Bengaluru, including biases from investors for not being an IIT graduate and for not speaking Hindi. In an interview with Business Insider, Dhruv explained that his family hails from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, where his father, a first-generation entrepreneur, successfully ran a business.

When launching his own company, Dhruv decided to move to Bengaluru, drawn by its reputation as the hub of India's startup ecosystem. “In 2010, relocating to Bengaluru seemed like the best decision for me as a founder,” he said.

However, his experience in the city proved challenging. “It wasn’t the right place for us. Bengaluru encourages startups to grow fast and fail fast, but that kind of pressure doesn’t suit a healthcare startup, where trust and precision are critical. We met investors who had unrealistic expectations, like achieving 100 paid consultations daily,” Dhruv revealed.


He also faced significant biases. “I felt excluded because I didn’t speak Hindi, India’s most widely spoken language, and because I wasn’t an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, the country’s most prestigious engineering school. Being from a small town many hadn’t heard of added to the judgment,” he shared.

These challenges ultimately led Dhruv to return to his hometown after spending 16 months in Bengaluru. Back in Coimbatore, he encountered new obstacles, including unreliable internet connectivity and a lack of a robust startup community. Nevertheless, he valued the opportunity to grow his business at a sustainable pace.

In 2016, Dhruv attempted a second move to Bengaluru, hoping for more inclusivity and better conditions for healthcare startups. Unfortunately, he found that the environment for his industry remained largely unchanged. After 18 months, he returned to Coimbatore, where he continued to focus on building iCliniq.