Startup CEO Moves From London To Gurgaon, Says India Is The Best Place To Build A Global Business

While many young Indians chase studies and careers overseas, startup founder Gautam Chadha bet on coming back to India to build a global business. Chadha, founder and CEO of cross-border e-commerce company Babaclick, recently marked one year since moving from London to Gurgaon to expand his company. In an Instagram video, he explained why he chose India over the UK, saying the decision still surprises many people, including members of his own family.

Reflecting on his move, Chadha said it has been exactly a year since he relocated from London to Gurgaon to focus on scaling his business. He noted that many people continue to question his decision because most professionals in his age group aspire to move to global hubs such as London, New York or San Francisco, while he deliberately chose the opposite route.

"Why I moved from London to Gurgaon as a 24yo founder building in tech and ecom," the caption read. 

Watch the video here:

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A post shared by Gautam Chadha (@lifeofgtam)

'You don't need to be in the West anymore'

Chadha argued that ambitious entrepreneurs no longer need to be based in Western cities to create companies with worldwide impact. In his view, India has evolved into one of the most underrated places to build technology businesses, offering nearly everything founders need to succeed.

"But the reason that I made that move is that if you're an ambitious person that wants to build a generation-defining company, then you no longer need to be in London or San Francisco or New York in order to do that," he said. 

He acknowledged that this wasn't always the case. A few years ago, startups often needed to be in Silicon Valley to access top engineering talent and compete for skilled developers. But he believes the landscape has changed dramatically.

India has the ingredients for success

According to Chadha, unless a company is working on highly advanced, frontier technology, there is little reason to relocate to Silicon Valley or other Western startup hubs. "However, that's changed so much, so unless you're coding something on the frontier — which you're not — India is the perfect place to do it, and you have every ingredient that you could need in order to make it succeed from within the borders of India," he added. 

Ending his video, Chadha questioned why so many aspiring entrepreneurs still believe they must move to the West to create meaningful, globally impactful businesses, arguing that India is now well-equipped to nurture the next generation of world-class startups.

Internet Reacts

Reacting to the video, one user wrote, "As a 29-year-old fashion entrepreneur who moved back from Milan, returning to India has been one of the best decisions I've ever made."

Another commented, "The wisest move ever. Because India is booming in every sector. The West is unfortunately rapidly falling in every sector." A third said, "London was nice until for me I was done. India is the best and I'm happy when people have a chance to experience outside and can conclude this from experience. Good luck."