At Dicot, we build industrial automation solutions that are designed and manufactured in India for factories looking to improve speed, safety, and efficiency. Selling these solutions, however, has never been easy.

I began my journey in industrial sales by knocking on factory doors, walking in, introducing myself, and asking people to give our products a chance. The market was dominated by expensive European brands, and their name alone was enough for orders to flow. When I spoke about our machines made in India, people often appreciated the thought, but very few placed an order. Encouragement was common, real commitments were rare.

There were days when I walked into ten factories and came out empty-handed, no meetings, no orders, not even a phone number to follow up on. Those were heavy days, but I still went to the next gate because even one “yes” could make up for all the “no’s.”

Most of my time was spent inside plants, wearing a helmet and talking to engineers and managers. Many doors stayed shut, some conversations ended quickly, and a handful turned into lasting relationships that helped us move forward. Those few were enough to keep me going.

Industrial sales is tough work. It demands patience, belief, and a lot of resilience. It tests your confidence and helps you see who is open to giving new ideas a chance. Most of all, it has taught me that progress in business, and in life, often begins with the simple act of knocking on the next door.

As part of The First Welcome in Silicon Valley series, I have been asking founder friends to share their stories of the first welcome they experienced in Silicon Valley. These are the people, the moments, and the gestures that stayed with them.

In this stream, Nirman Dave, Co-founder and CEO of Zams, shared three moments that defined his early steps in the Valley.

Nirman is now building Zams, his AI command center for B2B sales teams, bringing tools like Salesforce, Hubspot, Slack, Apollo, and Gong into one place. Before Zams, he co-founded Obviously AI (2020–2024), a no-code AI platform for data analysis.

>  "Murtaza Hussain was the cofounder of Streamlabs, which sold to Logitech for $200M. I cold-emailed him asking for an internship. They didn’t take interns. He gave me one anyway."

> "Asha Jadeja was the reason I ever set foot in the US. She flew me from India for the Rajeev Circle Fellowship at Stanford even before I started college. That was my first glimpse of Silicon Valley. Later, when I started my first company and needed a place to stay, she gave me hers."

> "Chon Tang was the first investor in my company. I was still in college. I had no track record. He backed me anyway."

Nirman’s story shows how the first welcome can take many forms. An internship that wasn’t supposed to exist, a fellowship that changed his path, or an investor who believed without proof. Each of these acts became part of his foundation in Silicon Valley.

In 2017, three friends walked into a half-empty floor in Ahmedabad. The walls were peeling, the floor was still dusty, and the landlord was not sure if leasing it to them made sense. Coworking was barely known here, and in a city built on factories and family businesses, the idea of young founders sharing office space felt untested. But Parth Shah, Rushit Shah, and Umesh Uttamchandani saw something different. They imagined a place where entrepreneurs could work, grow, and feel part of something larger. That evening, they began what would later become DevX.

The first steps were not easy. Families were worried, landlords were doubtful, and clients were uncertain. This is where each of the three founders showed what made them different. Umesh carried optimism that reassured others and turned hesitation into agreement. His calm conviction won them their first landlord. Rushit had the persistence to keep conversations alive until they became real partnerships. One of DevX’s first anchor clients came on board only because he refused to let the dialogue end. Parth steadied it all, slowing the team when excitement pushed them to run too fast and reminding them to make one center work well before opening another.

From those small steps DevX began to grow. What started as a coworking space soon evolved into something bigger. The team realized that companies were not only looking for shared desks. They needed managed office solutions, with custom design, turnkey fit-outs, and operational support that would let them move in and begin work without the cost and delay of long leases. DevX built exactly that. Today it is one of India’s leading flexible workspace providers, offering both coworking and managed offices together.

The real test came during Covid. Many believed the business of leasing and offices would decline as remote-first models took over. Instead of waiting, DevX adapted. It strengthened its design arm through Phi Designs, and began helping large companies set up offshore development centers in India. This shift allowed DevX to diversify and turn a crisis into an opportunity, while continuing to support giants who needed reliable partners to reimagine workspaces for a changed world.

That adaptability shaped its scale. From a single floor in Ahmedabad, DevX has expanded into 28 centers across 11 cities, with 14,000 seats and more than 250 clients, serving early-stage startups as well as large corporates. Growth was steady and deliberate, built on the same traits that defined the founders from the beginning: optimism, energy, and discipline.

Now, with DevX’s IPO open and the bell-ringing set for September 17, their journey joins the larger arc of Ahmedabad’s startup story. The city has already seen landmark exits. Havmor Ice Cream was acquired by South Korea’s Lotte in 2017. eInfochips was acquired by Arrow Electronics in 2018. Elitecore Technologies was acquired by Sterlite Tech in 2015. Beardo was acquired by Marico in 2020. SocialPilot was acquired by Sweden’s group.one this year for 50 million US dollars. And many others. Each of these stories showed that companies from Ahmedabad could compete nationally and globally. DevX now adds another chapter, a founder-led startup stepping onto the main board, not as an acquisition but as an institution in its own right.

For me, DevX has never been only about offices. I have seen their spaces become gathering points where founders meet, where communities host events, and where collaborations begin. Many of our own eChai meetups took place inside DevX centers, and so did countless gatherings by others. The leadership gave not only space but also their time and energy back to the ecosystem. That is why their success feels connected to the city’s success.

This is why September feels important. On September 17, when the bell rings, it will not only be about three friends who started with a dusty room and turned it into a national brand. It will also be a moment for Ahmedabad, the month when the city’s startup story added a new chapter, and when DevX’s success reminded us that when a company succeeds here, the ecosystem succeeds with it.

(Screenshot from Blume Ventures Youtube Channel)

This story is part of the Notes from Podcasts series on eChai, where we highlight conversations from across the ecosystem that carry lessons for founders.

In this episode of the Blume Podcast (Season 4: Destiny Avenged), Karthik Reddy spoke with Rajeev Samant, founder of Sula Vineyards, about the long journey of building India’s wine industry.

Rajeev began in the mid-90s with no background in farming or wine. He left his job at Oracle, bought grapes from Crawford Market, and fermented his first batch at home. In a country where whisky was the only drink that mattered, people thought he was crazy for even trying. Licenses were hard to get, debt was heavy, and there was no clear policy for making wine in India.

One turning point came when Rajeev met Deepak Shahdadpuri, who was just beginning his move into venture capital. They met through friends, Rajeev led the group on a trip to Goa, and the two bonded. At a time when investors in small consumer brands were rare, Deepak chose to back Sula and stayed with the company until the IPO. The bond came first, the investment followed.

Step by step, Rajeev kept going. He helped draft Maharashtra’s 2001 Grape Processing Policy, built India’s first wine tourism hub in Nashik, and after years of struggle, took Sula public. Along the way he showed why patience matters. It kept the company alive through slow policy shifts, changing customer habits, and the long grind of creating a new culture.

The conversation also shows the choices behind the journey. Showing profits early when cash was scarce. Treating tourism as survival, not just marketing. Cutting distractions during COVID to focus on the core. But the thread running through all of it is patience. Not sitting back, but choosing to keep building when the world said no.

As Rajeev put it, “You don’t realize that some of the most lasting stories are 20-year-old, 30-year-old stories.”

You can watch the full episode with Rajeev Samant here.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCLzTT1SatQ

Some interesting segments from this Blume Podcast conversation:

> “People used to look at me like I was completely crazy… why does this guy think he can actually make wine here?”
> Fermenting the first batch at home in 1995–96, before even securing licenses.
> Helping draft Maharashtra’s 2001 Grape Processing Policy that opened the doors for the industry.
> Meeting Deepak Shahdadpuri on a Goa trip and finding one of the first VCs willing to back Indian consumer brands.
> “We built India’s first wine tourism operation… without that part of the business, this business would not survive.”
> Struggling with debt and cash shortages, yet choosing to show profit early instead of chasing vanity growth.
> Pivoting during COVID by cutting imports, focusing on Indian wines, and creating The Source, a breakout hit.

https://x.com/BlumeVentures/status/1965288264690172408

https://x.com/SeekingN0rth/status/1965294216294088837

A friend told me he did not watch Apple’s keynote for fun, he watched because his business depends on it. Many folks think these shows don’t feel as special anymore, but for those inside the ecosystem this is when guesses stop and plans take shape.

Apple confirmed the iPhone Air’s 5.6 mm profile and titanium build. It is the thinnest iPhone yet, with a 120 Hz ProMotion display. The AirPods Pro 3 introduced Live Translation, letting users hear real-time interpretation in their ears. The Apple Watch Series 11 gained hypertension detection, marking another step in health monitoring.

Each line on the keynote slides may look like a product spec, but people across the ecosystem are tuned in. Case makers are checking dimensions. Developers are eyeing new display standards. Health-tech founders are weighing sensor data. Language and travel startups are listening for what translation at scale might mean.

For most viewers, the keynote is a show. For those who build around Apple, it is the signal to stay sharp and be ready. The work does not start at the announcement. It gains direction there.

Apple is not the only stage. Others wait just as closely for Google I/O, Meta Connect, Microsoft Build, Samsung Unpacked, Shopify Editions. These launches mean different things to different people. For some, it is interest, just keeping up with what is coming. For others, they set the pace of work, turning ideas into deadlines. Some walk away inspired, some start planning, others remain indifferent. The real question is, whose move matters most to your business right now?