Your Startup’s
Global Neighborhood

Startups grow faster when founders are plugged into the right conversations. That’s what eChai makes happen — connecting founders across cities, stages, and markets.

Where eChai Happens

How Founders Plug Into eChai

Events, dinners, stories, and rituals — happening every week, in cities around the world.

Startups grow through people, momentum, and the right rooms.

eChai builds those rooms — across 25+ cities and 10+ countries — where founders connect, collaborate, and move forward together.

For Early-Stage Founders

It often starts with an evening meetup — founders gathering at a co-working space or café to talk through what they’re building. These weekly events, hosted with ecosystem partners across cities like Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and San Francisco, have become a steady rhythm. From Urban Vault to iHub Gujarat to tucked-away startup corners of the Bay Area, these rooms are where context is shared, questions are welcomed, and momentum begins.

Many early-stage teams also find their footing at eChai’s Startup Demo Days — monthly sessions where founders pitch early, gather unfiltered feedback, and connect with investors and peers. Hosted in partnership with collaborators like CoKarma (Hyderabad), DevX (Mumbai), Provyz (Surat), GVFL (Ahmedabad), and Ideas to Impacts (Pune), these aren’t just pitch events — they’re launchpads.

To go deeper, there’s The Startup Code — a series of founder-led sessions hosted monthly in Pune, Ahmedabad, and online. These aren’t lecture circuits — they’re working sessions built around frameworks, real-world playbooks, and peer wisdom.

And when things don’t go as planned (which is most of the time), FailCode creates space for honest conversations. From Delhi to Jersey City to Bangalore, these small-group circles are where founders talk about missed bets, tricky pivots, and what they’d do differently — with zero stagecraft.

For Founders Growing and Scaling

As teams scale and challenges shift from survival to structure, eChai creates space for deeper, peer-driven conversations. ScaleUp Social brings together growth-stage founders navigating hiring, revenue, expansion, and operations. These are invite-only gatherings — small, off-the-record, and designed for founders to talk candidly with others moving through similar inflection points.

Sector focus becomes sharper too. eChai hosts regular founder gatherings across FinTech, D2C, ClimateTech, HealthTech, SaaS, DeepTech, EdTech, Mobility, and AI — creating context-rich environments where founders can go beyond introductions and talk shop with those building in the same trenches.

eChai’s Women Founders Initiative

eChai also runs ongoing programs that spotlight women-led businesses across the network. Through curated meetups, panels, and peer conversations, eChai’s Women Founders Initiative brings visibility and support to the founders who are building, scaling, and leading across sectors. These aren’t side tracks — they’re part of the core rhythm of how the community grows.

For Founders Building Across Borders

For founders on the move, Startup Touchdown offers soft landings in unfamiliar cities. These dinners and socials — hosted in places like San Francisco, Dubai, Singapore, and London — are not stage events. They're tables with context. Over food and first names, visiting founders get plugged into the pulse of a new city. We've done this with friends at Draper Startup House, Shunya Ekai, Monk’s Brew Club, and more — each time bringing together real conversations and new connections.

For Staying Plugged In Year-Round

Even when you’re not in the room, eChai keeps the rhythm going.

Stream captures what founders across the network are building, questioning, and sharing — a living pulse of lessons, updates, and perspectives.

The Reading Room curates the longform side — essays, frameworks, and deep dives that fuel clarity and reset thinking.

There’s also Startup Sports — the lighter side of connection. From cricket in Ahmedabad to pickleball nights in Bengaluru, these moments offer bonding that isn’t forced, and often spark ideas more naturally than any panel ever could.

This is how eChai works.

Founders meet, share, and build with each other — across cities, stages, and stories.

The conversations keep going. The network keeps growing.

If you’re building, there’s a place here for you.

What’s New and Next at eChai

Every week, across different cities, founders come together — to share, test ideas, and move forward with a little more clarity than before. Here’s what’s been happening lately.

In Dubai, we hosted a Startup Touchdown panel at Shunya Ekai, where founders building across the UAE shared lessons on team structures, expansion, and early traction in the region.

In Palo Alto, the Startup Touchdown dinner at Rooh brought together global founders over shared meals and sharp conversations — around go-to-market, product depth, and fundraising in the Valley.

In Singapore, the AI x FinTech Social at Monk’s Brew Club gathered builders working across infrastructure, compliance, and AI-driven finance — exchanging insights on scaling responsibly in fast-moving categories.

Women Founders Sessions were hosted in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad — with founders and operators discussing growth, product evolution, and the day-to-day reality of building.

eChai Startup Demo Days are coming up this week — across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Vadodara, Rajkot, Udaipur, and more. Early-stage founders will pitch in front of peers and enablers, using the format to sharpen their story and open new doors.

In Ahmedabad, DevX won the eChai Startup Cricket Championship — a finals night that mixed sport, community, and celebration into one packed evening.

Sector-focused meetups continue to expand — with recent gatherings around HardwareTech in Ahmedabad, D2C in Surat, and SaaS in Pune. These rooms are shaped by the builders in them — practical, focused, and peer-driven.

FailCode circles are coming up early next month — with founders across cities stepping forward to share the bets that didn’t work, and what they’ve taken from them into what comes next.

Founders and Investors Who’ve Been Part of eChai

Across every eChai city — from Ahmedabad to Singapore, Bengaluru to San Francisco, Dubai to Tallinn — the rooms have brought together ambitious founders and operators building across sectors and scale. Many have raised institutional capital, launched products in new markets, or led breakout teams. Others are quietly building with conviction — focused, sharp, and deeply plugged into their craft. What brings them together is a shared drive to learn, contribute, and stay connected to a trusted circle of builders.

Investors, ecosystem enablers, and growth partners have been part of these conversations too — joining founder meetups, dinners, demo days, and closed working sessions across SaaS, FinTech, D2C, ClimateTech, and more. You’ll find many of their names and stories on the individual city pages — a growing archive of the people who’ve helped shape the eChai experience from the inside out.

The eChai Effect - In Their Words

"We found eChai to be a force multiplier throughout our startup journey. Through it, we connected with folks from DevX, Allevents, Plutomen, and more - many of whom became friends of IndiaBizForSale.com and even part of our clientele."
Bhavin S Bhagat - Co-founder of Indiabizforsale and IBGrid, TiE Ahmedabad President
Bhavin S Bhagat
Co-founder of Indiabizforsale and IBGrid, TiE Ahmedabad President
"At DevX.Work, we’ve greatly benefited from our association with eChai. Their events and networking forums have connected us with high-potential startups, ecosystem leaders, and innovation-driven professionals — many of whom have become valuable partners, collaborators, and even clients. What stands out most is the openness and accessibility of the community — whether you're an early-stage founder or an experienced entrepreneur, eChai provides a welcoming space to learn, collaborate, and grow. It's more than just a network — it's a catalyst for real, collaborative growth. We’re proud to be part of the eChai community. Highly recommended for any organization aiming to grow within the startup space."
Umesh Uttamchandani - Co-Founder, DevX
Umesh Uttamchandani
Co-Founder, DevX
“I have no hesitation in saying that my association with eChai has been a gateway into the startup ecosystem. Through this platform, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with many young and dynamic entrepreneurs. These interactions have been immensely enriching - I’ve learned a great deal and have always tried to offer guidance whenever approached. It’s a truly symbiotic relationship that I deeply value, and it wouldn’t have been possible without eChai.”
Syed Nadeem Jafri - Founder, Hearty Mart
Syed Nadeem Jafri
Founder, Hearty Mart
"The eChai platform has been super valuable for me - it has helped me gain a deeper understanding of domains in the startup and tech ecosystem. What stands out most is the celebration of knowledge, professional growth, and entrepreneurship - it’s one of the best for the Indian ecosystem. Along the way, I’ve also been fortunate to make some great friendships and connections too."
Shalin (Shawn) Parikh - Founder, MyCPE One
Shalin (Shawn) Parikh
Founder, MyCPE One
"eChai has played a truly pivotal role in HummingBird’s journey — even before Day Zero. From ideation to establishment and into growth, it’s been a constant source of support. It connected me with incredible people who’ve become more than just friends. One of the biggest reasons I chose to stay in Ahmedabad is because of the eChai community. It has shaped my growth — both personally and professionally — in ways that are hard to articulate. Honestly, words fall short when I try to express what eChai means to me. I’m deeply thankful and forever grateful to eChai for being such an integral part of my journey."
Harsha Bhurani - Founder, HummingBird Consulting Group
Harsha Bhurani
Founder, HummingBird Consulting Group
"I have evolved from role of Community Builder to Startup Consultant to Startup Ecosystem Enabler to Angel Investor and now launching a Venture Studio and eChai has been a catalyst in my overall journey as Startup Evangelist since 13 years."
Mehul Shah - Co-Founder at Counselvise & Ivy Growth
Mehul Shah
Co-Founder at Counselvise & Ivy Growth
"For me, eChai is a second home. I've been associated with it since the early days, when it was already setting a different tone for how startup communities could work. As a traditional business owner entering the new-age D2C space, eChai supported me in every direction. Over the years, it became my window to the startup world — and also gave me lifelong friends who continue to show up, for business and beyond."
Pankaj Bhimani - Founder, 58miles
Pankaj Bhimani
Founder, 58miles
“When we launched LegalWiz.in back in 2016, concept of procuring legal and compliance services through a digital commerce platform wasn't as prominent in India. eChai played a significant role in providing the early adopters, and building significant positioning in the startup fraternity. Overtime, eChai grew to be a massive network of like-minded entrepreneurs and extended that benefit to all the members in a true "co-rise" spirit. I personally love to attend eChai events, learn from subject matter experts who share relatable and actionable insights and experiences. For startup journeys, it is so important to be surrounded by people who can add relevance, perspective, and push you to do better. Most importantly a group of people where you aren't being judged about things going right or wrong, but be a motivational force that keeps you going, yet keeping you in check. eChai is that place for me!”
Shrijay Sheth - Founder at LegalWiz.in and H4H Consulting
Shrijay Sheth
Founder at LegalWiz.in and H4H Consulting

How Brands Grow with eChai

eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their Growth Partner — working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.

These collaborations come to life through curated events, founder-led conversations, and ongoing engagement across cities and sectors. Brands like Hearty Mart, 58miles, Redicine Medsol, LegalWiz.in, Hungrito, Hummingbird, DevX, IndiaBizForSale, Brands.live and many others have partnered with eChai to connect with the founder community in meaningful, context-rich ways.