Gautam Chadha, founder and CEO of cross-border e-commerce company Babaclick, recently marked one year since relocating from London to Gurgaon to expand his company. In an Instagram video, he addressed why he chose India over the UK, a decision that he said continues to surprise many people, including members of his own family.
Chadha said many people question his decision because most professionals in his age group aspire to move to global hubs such as London, New York, or San Francisco, while he deliberately chose the opposite path. “The reason that I made that move is that if you're an ambitious person that wants to build a generation-defining company, then you no longer need to be in London or San Francisco or New York in order to do that,” he said in the video.
He acknowledged that this was not always the case, explaining that startups previously needed to be based in Silicon Valley to access top engineering talent and compete for skilled developers. However, he said the startup landscape has changed significantly.
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According to Chadha, unless a company is working on highly advanced, frontier technology, there is little reason to relocate to Western startup hubs. “However, that's changed so much, so unless you're coding something on the frontier — which you're not — India is the perfect place to do it, and you have every ingredient that you could need in order to make it succeed from within the borders of India,” he added.
Chadha also described India as one of the most underrated places to build technology businesses, saying the country now provides nearly everything founders need to succeed, including access to talent, cost advantages, and a growing consumer market.
The 24-year-old entrepreneur has been building Babaclick, a cross-border e-commerce platform focused on enabling international transactions, and the company has been scaling its operations from its Gurgaon base.
In the video, Chadha questioned why many aspiring entrepreneurs still believe they must relocate to the West to create meaningful, globally impactful businesses. He argued that India's startup ecosystem has matured significantly, with better infrastructure, access to capital, and a skilled workforce.
The video has attracted attention across social media, with some users supporting Chadha's assessment while others remain skeptical about India's ability to compete with established Western startup hubs. The discussion reflects broader conversations about India's position in the global startup landscape.
Industry observers have noted that India has witnessed a surge in startup activity in recent years, with several companies achieving unicorn status and expanding internationally. At the same time, challenges such as regulatory hurdles and infrastructure gaps continue to remain, underscoring the ongoing debate over India's evolving role as a global destination for entrepreneurship.
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