Is Timing the Invisible Co-Founder?

Sometimes it feels like timing plays a bigger role in a startup’s journey than we admit.

When Kunal and I started eChai back in 2009, “startup” wasn’t a common word. Families worried if someone quit their job to build a company. There were hardly any coworking spaces, very few angel networks outside metros, and entrepreneurship still felt like an odd career choice. We kept building communities and hosting meetups, but most of the time it felt like planting seeds without knowing when they would grow.

Things changed after 2016. Jio made the internet affordable and accessible across India. UPI and India Stack made digital payments seamless. The Startup India program gave official recognition and support. At the same time, startups in e-commerce, payments, food delivery, mobility, and edtech were booming and changing consumer habits. Suddenly, being a founder felt possible. For eChai, this timing meant the same meetups we had been running for years now started to gain real momentum.

Another shift came as many founders from our community moved abroad, to San Francisco, Toronto, Singapore, Dubai, London, Melbourne. They carried the same spirit of eChai with them, which made our global expansion much easier. Instead of starting from scratch, we were simply reconnecting with familiar faces in new cities.

By the time Shark Tank India came on TV, startups had become part of everyday conversation. Parents who once worried were now proudly watching founders pitch with their kids. India’s startup story had gone mainstream, and the journey we had started years ago had found its moment.

Maybe timing really is an invisible co-founder.

Maybe it isn’t.
 
But one thing feels true:

Timing only makes sense in hindsight.

And staying consistent is what lets you be ready when the wave finally arrives.