Peak Bengaluru Moment: Techie Landlord Mentors Startup-Founder Tenant – News18

Last Updated:November 27, 2024, 2:29 pm IST

Venthan, the founder of a fintech startup, disclosed that his landlord, who currently works at Intel as a Solutions Architect, became an informal advisor on his fintech startup.

Bengaluru, widely known as the Silicon Valley of India, is a kind of place where tech culture predominantly exists. As a city that buzzes with startup activity, innovation is not limited to offices but takes over coffee shop conversations and residential neighbourhoods. Young entrepreneurs can find mentors and collaborators in the most unexpected places – from a shared taxi ride to a random gym talk, or, as per the recent instance, from the landlords.

In a real-life anecdote that is symbolic of the Bengaluru tradition of entrepreneurship, Vetri Venthan, a local entrepreneur, posted a story on social media that became popular in no time. Venthan, the founder of a fintech startup, disclosed that his landlord, who currently works at Intel as a Solutions Architect, became an informal advisor on his fintech startup. “Bengaluru is the only city where your landlord also becomes a tech advisor for your startup,” Venthan quipped in his post.

What we have here is not just a simple case of the tenant and landlord. Venthan mentioned that his landlord has become highly engaged in his startup and has helped him, especially in the identification of the optimal product architecture as well as in connecting him to important corporate partners. “My landlord (Solutions Architect at Intel) loved our product & is giving us intros to corporates/advising us on our architecture while meeting us at cafes,” Venthan added.

The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) alumnus also posted snapshots of his WhatsApp conversations with the landlord, in which the latter enquired about his availability for a meeting to discuss the product.

Venthan’s post evoked several responses from the tech community in Bengaluru and other users online. Some praised the landlord’s active position, and others narrated their own serendipitous meetings within the city’s ecosystem.

A person commented, “A great ecosystem leads to more collaboration and innovation. Come to Bengaluru!”

Another user said, “I think he is an investor for you with a vision.”

The post has over 13,000 views on the social media platform.