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?

(Image credit: Nalin's Linkedin Post)

For years, startup life had two clear lanes. You either raised round after round, or you bootstrapped with whatever you had.

Now, another lane is opening up. More founders are raising a single seed round and then never raising again. They build carefully, stay lean, and let customers carry them forward. People have started calling it seed-strapping.

It feels different from the other paths. Bootstrapping can be lonely and hard. The fundraising treadmill can be distracting. Seed-strapping sits in the middle. Enough capital to get started, but a focus on making the business work without depending on the next round.

The timing matters too. AI and better tools have made it cheaper to build. Go-to-market is lighter, more product-led. And the funding market itself has tightened, making Series A harder to reach. Together, these shifts have made seed-strapping not just possible, but exciting.

Storylane is one of the clearest examples. In 2021, they raised a seed round. They kept the team small, around 40 people. Four years later, they crossed $10M ARR while staying profitable.

As founder Nalin Senthamil wrote on LinkedIn today: “Excited to announce Storylane just hit $10M ARR… staying profitable without raising… The discipline of staying lean and profitable compounds.”

Zapier followed this path more than a decade ago. They raised about $1.2 million in seed funding in 2012, became profitable within two years, and never went back for a traditional Series A. Calendly did something similar. With just $550,000 in seed funding in 2014, it grew steadily and profitably until, years later, it was valued at over $3 billion before raising a larger round (TechCrunch). And now, a wave of AI-first startups is proving the same idea. Jenni.ai, for instance, reached $10M in revenue with less than $1M raised (Latka), while Pump scaled to a $15M run-rate with under $5M in capital (Tanay Jaipuria).

None of these stories make one path better than another. Fundraising works. Bootstrapping works. Seed-strapping is simply a new option that more founders are beginning to take seriously.

The old question was, “When is your Series A?”

The one that feels more relevant now is, “Could one round be enough?”

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nalinpradeep_excited-to-announce-storylane-just-hit-10m-activity-7371085550365290496-1t7g

People love to say the mountains are calling. For most of us, that means a long weekend, some photos, and a return to office life.

In 2018, Krunal Jajal set up a one-person tent in the mountains, thinking it was only for a short break. He had just quit his corporate job with no plan. “I didn’t know what to do,” he says, “but I knew what not to do.”

The break kept stretching. He lived in that tent for weeks, spent days in the remote jungle of Uttarakhand without human contact, and later volunteered at a village school where everything felt different from what he knew. “Each experience had a part in changing my view of life,” he says. It was enough to make him stay.

But staying meant survival. With almost no savings, he started working at cafés and backpacking hostels, sometimes cleaning washrooms, sometimes washing dishes. He even worked as a photographer for a trek guide. “I didn’t give a second thought to it. I just wanted to travel more.”

That hustle carried him to Spiti Valley, where he joined a small travel company. He ran their homestay, led treks, and organized group trips, often for minimal pay. But the work gave him meaning, and he stayed even through COVID. “It’s all I ever wanted in a company,” he says.

For a while, he lived by a rule: do not think about money until 25. Just roam. But milestones arrive, even in the mountains. As 25 came closer, he asked himself what next. “I liked what I was doing, so I decided to start my own travel company.”

That is how Uncle Nomad began in Old Manali. Today it curates treks, road trips, and homestay experiences across the Himalayas. “It was never my dream to start a company,” Krunal says. “But my way of living life took me to become a founder.”

Does the romance fade once you build a business there, or does it grow deeper because the mountains are no longer a backdrop, but your life’s work?