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Mar 15, 2024 9:13 AM
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Namaskara! Welcome to Namma Bengaluru.
Are you beginning your startup journey in this city? We’ve got something for you.
At Plum, we’re always talking to Founders like you who want to build the best teams and products. That’s why they take the giant leap of moving to a new city — one that matches their aspirations.
But, navigating a new city’s ecosystem while running a business and maintaining a social life can be tricky. In this guide, we’ve compiled everything you should know about Bengaluru’s tech, startup, and life beyond the work scene.
Table of contents
- Introduction
- Event aggregators and communities
- Startup programs
- Active VCs and accelerators
- PR and media in Bengaluru
- People to follow on X
- Workspace and setting up your own
- Cafes to work out of
- Finding housing
- Neighbourhood breakdown for tech
- Life beyond work: What’s in Bengaluru for you?
- Miscellaneous 101s
If you have any recommendations, resources, or information you’d like to contribute, please fill this form (it won’t take more than 2 minutes), and we’ll be happy to add.
Made with love by Plum
Whether it's working with founders to create the right business and health insurance policies or building a resource kit to help you communicate with empathy — we help you put your needs first.
But our definition of care doesn't stop there. We built this guide to welcome you to a city we call home. Share this with your team and link this guide to your relocation policy. It will help plenty others navigating the city just like you are!
If you'd like to learn more about Plum and what we're up to, visit our website.
P.S. If you already find this useful, give us a shoutout on Twitter.
Introduction
But, why Bengaluru maga?
A quick Google search will pull up the following stats:
- Bengaluru hosts 10,000+ start-ups (worth ~ $50 billion).
- In 2020, over $10 billion was invested into ventures located here - surpassing San Francisco and London. 🤯
- Bangalore held 44% of India's start-up funding in 2020. This number has only increased since then.
No city can beat Bengaluru when it comes to tech and innovation. The city has top talent, great events, and plenty of communities for you to participate in.
Walk into any cafe, and you’ll likely meet people working on side projects or honing their craft. That kind of energy is infectious.
Overall, Bengaluru is a great city to live in. You have plenty of third spaces — nature, parks, museums, bookstores, and more — that will help you unwind and find your tribe. We’ve listed some below to give you a headstart in navigating your life here.
This guide would be incomplete without addressing the city’s challenges. Bengaluru’s traffic problem is real. Those traffic memes don’t show the real picture of how immobile the city could get. Choosing an office location can be challenging. The cost of living is high.
But all said and done, this is great city to live in. If you’re planning a move to Bengaluru or you’re already here, we hope this guide helps.
TL;DR? We got you covered.
Event aggregators and communities
Where are all the founders and their teams hanging out?
| Name | What to expect | Website |
|---|---|---|
One of India’s largest Fintech Summits. It happens every year and founders from many high-growth startups attend the event — as panelists and attendees. | ||
Events, informative seminars and more for founders and their teams | ||
Leadership talks, VC check-ins, women-only entrepreneurs meetups and more | ||
Entrepreneurs, investors, and experts meet up to talk about product, growth, raising money, marketing and sales, and anything else relevant to the startup world | ||
Startup meetup, marketing summits, demo days, and more | ||
Self-organised meetups to address local, regional and global startup challenges. Ideal for Founders focused in environment tech and social impact | ||
Friday social meetups with other founders, pop-up experiences | ||
Ideal for Founders building in web3 | ||
One of Bangalore’s most curated community of people leaders. TTD routinely hosts events on talent, policy, culture, leadership, and more | ||
Founders working across tech industry meet to discuss innovation, infra, and investments | ||
One of the most influential startup-tech conferences to build and share solutions | ||
A community that routinely hosts events on how to shape talent, culture, and policy | ||
Founders and PMs who host meetups, demo days, and more | ||
New opportunities, hosting gatherings, and curating content for founders | ||
Leadership talks, VC check-ins for women-only entrepreneurs meetups and more | ||
Invite-only community for ambitious founders, marketing, product & business leaders | ||
A startup community with events to help you grow in the ecosystem |
Startup programs
Bangalore’s accelerators and startup programs to boost your 0-1 startup journey.
| Name | Tags | Website |
|---|---|---|
Tailored support for startups in their early stages | Reach out at +91 9341212569 | |
IIIT leverages advanced technologies for startup growth | ||
This program offers extensive network within the Indian IT industry to support startup founders | ||
Access to Microsoft's vast ecosystem and technology stack for startup growth | ||
Hands-on support tailored for early-stage startup growth | ||
Offers coworking spaces, mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to investors for startups | ||
Access to Tata Group's extensive resources and network for tech startups | ||
Offers a global network of accelerators and mentorship programs aimed at helping startups scale rapidly | ||
Structured program tailored for early-stage startup acceleration | ||
Brings together talented individuals to co-found startups, providing support from ideation to launch. | ||
This program integrates academic resources with startup incubation and acceleration |
Active VCs and accelerators
A curated list of active and popular VCs, recommended by other startup founders in Bengaluru
| Name | Stage | Industry | Top companies invested in |
|---|---|---|---|
Early-stage | Supply-chainSaaSHealthcareAgriculture | Solar Ladder, Brands of Bharat, BizzTM | |
Early-stageGrowth-stage | OutsourcingTech productsRetailHealthcareEducationFinancial services | Whatfix, Moengage, Toppr, Livspace | |
Early-stage | Across the industry | Tracxn, Darwinbox, Licious, Inc42, Yulu, Wint Wealth | |
Early-stage | SaaSTech products | Delhivery, Headout, Postman, Rapido, Proactive for Her, Unacademy | |
Early-stage | Across the industry | BookMyShow, Bounce, Chargebee, Freshworks | |
Early-stageGrowth-stage | Across the industry | Bira, Airmeet, Plum, Groww, Heads Up For Tails, Ixigo | |
Early-stageSeed | Tech products | Hiver, Cult, Dream11, Myntra, Koo | |
Seed | Across the industry | Cult, Firstcry, Lenskart, Flipkart, MyGlamm | |
Early-stageSeed | AgricultureRetailF&BHealthcareTech products | Wow Momo, Phool, Tattava Spa, Brevistay, Get My Parking | |
Series AGrowth-stagePre-IPO | Tech productsConsumer techSaaSFintech | Zomato, Cred, PhonePe, Itilite | |
Early-stageSeedSeries B | EnterpriseConsumer techB2B CommerceFintech | Atomicwork, Dailyhunt, Jupiter, Itilite, Razorpay | |
SeedPre-Series A | Across the industry | BHive, Dunzo, Yulu, Printo, Carbon Clean, Ultrahuman | |
Early-stage | Tech products | Humalect, CloudSEK, Optiwise, Vitraya | |
Early-stage | Across the industry | OnArrival, PYOR, The Slate Plate, Flint, Adaptive | |
Growth-stage | FintechEducationHealthcare | Cuemath, Masai School, Betterplace, SalesKen | |
Early-stage | Across the industry | KukuFM, Threado, Licious, Tortoise | |
Early-stage | Web3AI | Lendr, Typof, TickEth, Bion, LinkDOT |
PR and media in Bengaluru
Journalists covering the tech and startup beat in Blr
- Veena Mani, Senior Correspondent, TOI
- Shilpa Phadnis, Senior Assistant Editor, TOI
- Sujit John, Deputy Resident Editor, TOI
- Habeeba Salim, Joint News Editor, TOI
- Akhil George, Senior Digital Content Producer, TOI
- Nivedita Bhattacharjee, India Editor, Reuters News
- Prajwal Bhat, Journalist, The News Minute
- Venkatesha Babu, Chief of Bureau / Deputy Editor, Hindu Business Line
- Shraddha Goled, Senior Correspondent, Tech Circle
- Samiksha Goel, Sr Correspondent, Mint
- Harichandan Arakali, Editor- Tech & Innovation, Forbes India
- Supriya Roy, Sr. Correspondent - Tech, ET Tech
- Tarush Bhalla, Senior Assistant Editor - Tech and Startups, ET Tech
- Manu Toms, Editor, ET Prime
- Ritu Singh, Anchor, CNBC
- Sarita Rai, Correspondent, Bloomberg
People to follow on X
Connect with people who’ve been active in Bengaluru’s start-up and tech scene
| Name | What they talk about |
|---|---|
Head of Marketing at Last9io, ex-Gojek, talks about marketing, content, and brand. Follow them here. | |
Popular in Bengaluru tech twitter. Read up on their story and follow them on X. | |
Popular in Bengaluru tech twitter, talks about engineering practices and frameworks. Check what they’re upto here. | |
VC at Blume, also founder of the Headstart Network. Follow on X here. | |
Building Segwise.ai and talks about product and growth. See what they’re up to here. | |
Head of Culture at Razorpay, tweets about design, people, culture. See what Chetty talks about here. | |
Research, design and UX consultant, building 1990labs, a studio for consumer research in India. Follow them here. | |
Startup operator. Tweets about startups, business, culture. Follow on X here. | |
Tweets on food and culture in Bengaluru. Does marketing things at Local Ferment Co. Follow her to learn about interesting things happening in Blr live. | |
CEO of Unacademy. Follow on X. | |
Founder at Talented, tweets about marketing, startups, and operations. Follow on X here. | |
Chief Brand Officer at Geist Brewing Co, a fellow Bengalorean, tweets on marketing. See what Geetanjali talks about. | |
OG Bangalorean. Currently SVP of Design and Product at Unacademy. Tweets on design and other interesting miscellaneous things. See what they’re upto on X here. | |
VC at Antler, works with early-stage founders. See what they’re upto here. | |
CEO of Clearfeed. Follow on X here. | |
Co-founder at Omnify, tweets about women in tech, tech, and hiring. Connect with them on X here. | |
Founder of Cred. Follow on X here. | |
Recruiter at Rippling, tweets on engineering, culture, hiring. Check what they’re about here. | |
Founder of Unboxing BLR. Tweets about the hustle, culture, and vibes of Bengaluru. Follow on X. | |
Tweets on coffee, cats, and startups. Follow on X here. | |
VC at Antler. Follow on X here. | |
PR and Comms at Pixxelspace, also go-to person for housing in Bengaluru. Connect with them on X here. | |
Building Bureau Identity. Follow on X. | |
Co-founder of Zerodha. Follow on X here. | |
Popular in Bengaluru tech twitter, tweets about LLMs, learning about Search/Ranking, board game enthusiast. See what they’re upto on X. | |
Founder and CEO at Zerodha. Follow on X here. | |
Tweets about interesting miscellaneous things. Connect on X here. | |
Two time founder, tweets about startups and culture. See what they’re upto on X. | |
Co-founder at Obvious. Follow on X here. | |
VC at Antler, Co-founder of Urban Ladder. Follow on X here. | |
Tech VC at Stellaris Venture Partners. Tweets on startups. Give them a follow here. | |
Marketing at Vymo; tweets about startups and SaaS. See what they’re upto on X. | |
Product and Design at last9io. Follow on X here. | |
Head of Marketing at Atomicwork; Ex Accel and Freshworks; Writes the CMO Journal. See what Sairam tweets about. | |
Co-founder at Plum. Talks about health and insurance, global affairs, culture, design, food, tech, and more. Connect with them on X. | |
Founding PM at Atomicwork, ex-Freshworks, tweets on product. Follow on X. | |
Bengaluru tech twitter. Currently building things at The Trade Desk. See what they’re upto on X. | |
Founding team Razorpay, tweets about startups, ops, tech, and growth. Connect with them on X. | |
Bengaluru tech twitter, tweets about software development. Follow on X. | |
Two time founder, tweets on startup, operations, and tech. See what they’re upto on X. | |
CTO at Dukaan, tweets on tech and engineering. Connect with them on X. | |
Founder of The Product Folks, tweets on product. Follow on X. | |
Popular in the Bengaluru tech space. Tweets on software, humor, education, careers, mentorship, and remote work. Connect with them on X. | |
Bengaluru boy, loves books and obscure things. Occasional tweets on marketing and growth. Drop by and say hello on X. | |
Founder of GrowthX, talks about growth, startups, and fitness. Connect with them on X. | |
Managing Director at Kalaari Capital. Tweets on startups, entrepreneurship, leadership, and more. See what they’re up to on X. | |
Founder of Bonomi, tweets about Bengaluru, culture, and coffee. See what they’re upto on X. | |
Founder, tweets about AI and AGI. Follow on X. | |
Building Bounce Infinity, tweets about growth, startups, and part philosophy. Connect with them on X here. |
Workspace and setting up your own
Places you and your team can work out of + where other founders are likely to set-up their workspaces
Co-working
Best if you’re a lean team, just building up from scratch.
P.S. The following prices are an average and not the exact quote you might receive from vendors. This is a disclaimer that there could be price discrepancies depending on the location you choose and demand vs supply.
| Name | Hot desk cost (starting range) | Dedicated desk cost (starting range) | Private cabin (starting range) |
|---|---|---|---|
Rs. 17,000/month | Enquire for pricing. | Enquire for pricing. | |
Enquire for pricing. | Enquire for pricing. | Enquire for pricing. | |
Rs. 7,100/seat
[*Choose and work at any desk within the community area.] | Rs. 7,850/seat | Rs. 9,450/seat | |
Rs. 6,000/seat | Rs. 8000/seat | Enquire for pricing. | |
Enquire for pricing. | Rs. 8000/seat | Rs. 11,500/seat | |
Enquire for pricing. | Rs. 7000/seat | Rs. 7000/seat | |
Enquire for pricing. | Rs. 7000/seat | Enquire for pricing. | |
Rs. 6,500/seat | Rs. 7,000/seat | Enquire for pricing. | |
Rs. 8,500/seat | Rs. 9,000/seat | Rs. 9,500/seat | |
Rs. 7,000/seat | Rs. 10,000/seat | Enquire for pricing. | |
Rs. 8,000/seat | Rs. 10,000/seat | Rs. 11,000/seat | |
Enquire for pricing. | Rs. 8,000/seat | Rs. 12,000/seat | |
Rs. 4,999/seat | Rs. 6,999/seat | Rs. 15,000/seat | |
Enquire for pricing. | Rs. 8,500/seat | Rs. 21,000/seat | |
Rs. 7,000/seat | Rs. 8,500/seat | Rs. 12,500/seat | |
Rs. 6,500/seat | Enquire for pricing. | Rs. 12,000/seat | |
Rs. 4,000/seat | Rs. 4,500/seat | Rs. 7,499/seat | |
Rs. 8,500/seat | Rs. 11,000/seat | Rs. 14,000/seat | |
Rs. 10,999/seat | Rs. 14,999/seat | Rs. 24,999/seat | |
Rs. 5,000/seat | Rs. 5,500/seat | Rs. 7,000/seat |
Looking to set-up your office space in tech parks?
Ideal to invest in working out of a tech park if you’ve crossed 300+ employees in scale. It also becomes cost-effective when compared to coworking spaces.
- International Tech Park Bangalore, Mahadevapura
- Manyata Embassy Business Park, Outer Ring Road
- Global Village Tech Park, Mysore Road
- Bagmane Tech Park, CV Raman Nagar
- Embassy Tech Village, Outer Ring Road
- RMZ Ecospace, Sarjapur
- RMZ Infinity, Benniganahalli
- Bhartiya City IT Park, Thanisandra — Contact info@bhartiyacity.com
- Cessna Business Park, Kadabeesanahalli
- Brigade Tech Gardens, Brookefield
- Divyasree Technopolis, Marathahalli
- Gopalan Global Axis, Whitefield
- Prestige Tech Cloud Park, Devanahalli
- Brigade Tech Park, Whitefield
- Kalyani Tech Park, Brookefield
- Mind Comp Tech parks, Whitefield
Cafes to work out of
Cafes ideal for deep work
| Name | Location | Community-favourite orders |
|---|---|---|
Indiranagar | • Paper & Pie Tartines with Poached Egg
• Cookies, iced hazelnut latte, and Japanese cheesecake
• Hot chocolate
• Orange Iced Brew
• American blueberry cupcake
• French toast and chicken wrap | |
JP Nagar | • Vietnamese cold coffee
• Grilled mushroom sourdough
• Tan Tan noodles
• Avacado hass toast
• Sundried tomato sourdough toast | |
Vasanth Nagar | • Grilled Pork & Pineapple Burger
• Affagato
• Mushroom Hummus
• Mezze Platter
• Garlic mushroom burrata on sourdough toast | |
Indiranagar | • Kada chai pot
• Fresh orange juice with sabudana
• Ragi dosa and nariyal chutney
• Kodo millet burger with tapioca chips
• Veg club sandwich
• Aloo paratha | |
Halasuru | • Turkish poached eggs
• Pastrami sandwich
• Swedish meat balls and caesar salad
• Teriyaki tofu bowl
• Dark hot chocolate
• Coffee cherry soda | |
The one closest to your home | • Classic cold coffee
• Javachip and mocha frappuchino
• Chilli cheese toast and passion fruit tart
• New York cheesecake
• Double chocolate chip and cheese toast | |
The one closest to your home | • Garlic bread with cheese
• Capuccino
• Hummus and pita platter
• Cinnamon roll with cream cheese
• Breakfast pancakes
• Toffee nut latte
• The Vietnamese shakerato | |
Indiranagar | • Chocolate coffee
• Honey and lemon cream cake
• Cafe mocha
• Beetroot pudding
• Burrata Shakshuka | |
Ashok Nagar | • Cinnamon roll with white chocolate mocha
• Tiramisu cake
• Grilled chicken caesar salad (or caesar salad for veg)
• Iced coffee latte
• Caramel latte
• Black-white shakerato | |
Hennur | • Spicy bird’s eye chilli burger
• Ricotta mousse brioche French toast w Plum Preserve
• Garlic bread with caramelized onions
• Sourdough toast
• Cortado | |
HSR | • Hot chocolate with marshmallows
• Salted caramel latte
• Mediterranean chips and dips platter
• Banana latte
• Liquid tiramisu | |
Koramangala | • Hot chocolate
• Pistaccio and raspberry croissant
• Parsley and cheese garlic fries
• Mocha with sea salt
• Mango and peach smoothie bowl
• Butter croissant with cappuccino | |
Koramangala | • Mix sauce pasta
• Kokum cool drinks
• Chicken sandwich
• Mushroom manchurian
• Honey chilli potato | |
Vittal Mallya Road | • Veg platter
• Tandoori paneer sandwich
• Peri peri potato wedges
• Mocha coffee
• Mexican burrito bowls |
Cafes ideal for networking
- The Courtyard Restaurant, Shanti Nagar
- Costa Coffee, 4th Block, Koramangala
- Yogisthaan, Indiranagar
- DYU Art Cafe, Koramangala
- Blue Tokai, Koramangala
- Nerlu, Gandhi Nagar
- Araku Cafe, Indiranagar
- Dialogues, JP Nagar and Koramangala
Ideal team outing places
- House of Commons, JP Nagar
- The Pump House, JP Nagar
- Uru Brewpark, JP Nagar
- Indian Biere House, JP Nagar
- 1522 The Pub, JP Nagar
- Indian Darbar, Halasuru
- The Biere Club, Ashok Nagar
- Cubbon Pavilion, Ashok Nagar
- Lotus Pavilion, Ashok Nagar
- Vapour Pub and Brewery, Indiranagar
- Sanchez, Indiranagar
- MisoSexy, Indiranagar
- Jook Taproom, Indiranagar
- Big Pitcher, Indiranagar
- Toit, Indiranagar
- Chianti, Indiranagar
- 21st Amendment, Indiranagar
- The Local, Koramangala
- The Bier Library, Koramangala
- Truffles, Koramangala
- Barbeque Nation, Koramangala
- Sultans of Spice, Koramangala
- Hanoi, Koramangala
- Boho, Koramangala
- Nagarjuna, local neighbourhood
- Nandhana’s, local neighbourhood
- Punjab Bistro, Mahadevapura
- Biergarten, Whitefield
- Windmills Craftworks, Whitefield
- Skygarden, Whitefield
- Zodak Pub and Brew House, Whitefield
- Oota, Whitefield
Finding housing
Finding the perfect home in a new city is hard work. Here are some tips on renting a house in Bangaluru written by a fellow woman in tech. Shoutout to @Neerjargon.
Learn more about:
- Shortlisting the right area or location
- Everything about rent, water, and electricity bills
- House hunting process: PTR, brokers’ list, & flat and flatmate group links
- House finalisation process: speaking to owners, brokerage, security deposit, and more.
Neighbourhood breakdown for tech
P.S. The following breakdown is a subjective POV. We also advise our readers to conduct their own research before making a final choice.
| Name | Type | Popular for tech | Good to live in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ResidentialOffice | Yes | Yes | HSR is popular amongst folks working in startups and tech. Most houses here are more spacious than your usual Blr house hunt drives.
Perhaps, the only con is that HSR can be quite far from OG Bengaluru spots. But, communities like HSRisHome should solve that. | |
Office | Yes | No | Most Blr tech parks are located in and around Electronic City. But, if you’re starting up from scratch in Blr, a place like E-city can be isolating to live in.
It’s far from the usual chill spots. | |
ResidentialOffice | Yes | Yes | The dream place for folks living and working in Bengaluru.
It’s a lively and young neighbourhood. | |
ResidentialOffice | Yes | Yes | Dense with tech people living here. The neighbourhoods are very posh.
The cost of living in Indiranagar can, thus, be pretty high. | |
Residential | No | Yes | Old Bengaluru. You’ll likely run into quieter and family-oriented people + lifestyle. Great area to live in. | |
Office | Yes | No | Up and rising for tech but further away from the city. Wouldn’t recommend unless you’ve decided that your office space is around HSR or Sarjapur. | |
Residential | No | Yes | Yet again, a quieter and family-oriented neighbourhood. Time feels like it moves slowly and differently there.
Would highly recommend living in Jayanagar and working from there, if possible. | |
ResidentialOffice | Yes | Yes | This neighbourhood has a high concentration of offices, buildings, and high-rise apartments.
It’s an up and coming neighbourhood, occupied by a lot of tech people. It has great metro connectivity to all the hotspots in the city. | |
Residential | No | Yes | It’s said that Devanahalli could be the next IT Hub of Bengaluru but that’s going to take time to manifest.
Lots of retired folks live here – recommended for people with families. | |
Residential | No | Yes | Not a lot of tech folks live here. There are also fewer startups located in this area. But, the locality is residential and a great place for families and youth. | |
ResidentialOffice | Yes | Yes | Old Bengaluru but with tech. There are many cafes and co-working spaces around – perfect for working folks.
Lots of space to run and go on long walks around the area. | |
Residential | No | Yes | Quiet and a bit further away from the action of Bengaluru, but worth checking out as residential | |
Residential | No | Yes | Quiet and a bit further away from the action of Bengaluru, but worth checking out as residential | |
Residential | No | Yes | Old Bengaluru. Unlikely to have a tech scene going on. But, residential and a good place for families given the area is well-developed and has all basic amenities covered. | |
Residential | No | Yes | Serene and lots of good places around for food. Good for a Sunday morning hangout but not too much tech | |
Residential | No | Yes | Just like Frazer Town. Lots of places around for food and things to do. But, not too much tech happening. | |
ResidentialOffice | No | Yes | You might see established software companies around this area. But good for residents. | |
ResidentialOffice | Yes | Yes | Dense with tech people living here. The neighbourhoods are decently posh. However, they’re unlikely to be as expensive as Indiranagar though. | |
Office | Yes | No | High concentration of offices, buildings, and high rise apartments. A lot of tech people live here.
Cons: Farther away from the city. | |
Residential | No | No | Far from the city and tech scenes. Unlikely for startups to be found here. | |
Residential | Yes | Yes | Upcoming tech area and a new-age Indiranagar.
Recommend folks check Kalyan Nagar out as an alternative to Indiranagar. |
Life beyond work: What’s in Bengaluru for you?
Are you nervous about making new friends in a new city? Don’t worry, we got you covered.
Here’s a curated list of communities, groups, and places in Bengaluru where you’re likely to meet people interested in the same things as you.
| Community, groups, and places | Type of hangout | Frequency of meetups |
|---|---|---|
Exhibitions, events, and conferences | Depends on BIEC’s calendar. Find out here. | |
Arts, theater, crafts yoga, and pottery community | Depends on Lahe Lahe’s calendar every week. Find out here.
For latest updates, follow them on Instagram. | |
A private art museum in Bengaluru featuring collections across art, textiles, photography, craft, and design objects.
Features objects dated from the 12th century to the present | Open throughout the week. Check their latest exhibitions and community events here.
For latest updates, follow them on Instagram. | |
Museum featuring paintings by modern & contemporary Indian artists.
Also has a cute cafe, a museum shop, and an auditorium | Depends on NGMA’s calendar. Find out about current and upcoming exhibitions here. | |
Maraa is a media and arts collective in Bengaluru.
They explore art through the lenses of caste, labour, gender and culture in curation, production and research | Depends on Maraa’s calendar. Find out about their ongoing exhibitions here. | |
Leisure hangouts. A great place to walk and explore the city’s most-loved public park | Open to everybody throughout the week.
There are multiple micro-communities within Cubbon Park – some of them are mentioned below. | |
Bengaluru’s popular reading club | Hangouts happen every Saturday. You can catch-up to speed with what the community’s up to here. | |
Yet another popular silent reading club | Hangouts happen every Sunday. Follow what Lalbagh Reads are upto here. | |
Bengaluru’s weekend painting club | ||
Quiet writing community at Cubbon Park | Community catch-ups happen every Saturday. More details here. | |
Knitting and crocheting community in Cubbon Park | Every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm. More details here. | |
A running club in Cubbon Park | Free 5K runs happen every Sunday. Get more updates here. | |
A hangout place for pet parents and a place for your dogs to make new friends | Open throughout the week. Follow their IG to know what they’re upto. | |
Rollerblading, skateboarding, and waveboarding community | Hangouts happen every week. Find out here. | |
One of Bengaluru’s oldest trekking clubs | Depends on the club. Follow their social media to stay up to date. | |
City walks, tours, and niche experiences | Gully tours launch their schedule for each month ahead of time. Find out here.
Their community events include dosa walks, women-only meetups, night walks, and more. | |
Food hopping around Bengaluru’s most loved and famous thindis | DM Ajit Bhaskar on Twitter to get yourself added to the larger WhatsApp community.
Frequency: Tends to happen every/most weekends. | |
Recently opened community centre + board game hangout spots. | Follow Karthik Balakrishnan, Punjit Sharma, and Underline Center on X to know about frequency of hangouts + meetup schedules. | |
Go-to place for interesting events in Bengaluru | Join their WhatsApp community here. | |
Performing arts theatre in Bangalore | Play schedule is launched ahead of the month. Follow them on Instagram to learn more. | |
Events for founders and entrepreneurs | Depends on the community’s schedules and planning. Follow their Instagram for more updates. | |
Activities in the HSR neighbourhood – walks, startup tours, food walks, board games, cookouts and potlucks, cycling and much more | Fill this form to join Radhika’s community. | |
Exclusive sports community for women – badminton, football, swimming, running, cycling, and more | Sign up for the sport you prefer here. | |
One of the best crossfit communities in Bengaluru | Day passes are available. But if you’re interested in a membership, contact the team here.
No affiliation with them, just admiration. | |
Virtual/real meet-ups amongst folks in the creative industry | Hangouts depend on schedule. Check them out here. | |
Professional networking for women | Join their community to see what events they host in Blr.
No affiliation with them, just admiration. | |
A startup community to help you grow in the ecosystem | Depends on Headstart’s schedule and planning.
See what they’re upto here. | |
A startup network to meet fellow founders and aspiring ones | Depends on eChai’s schedule and planning.
See what they’re upto here. | |
An offline community for movie buffs | Events are announced ahead of time here. | |
Tours, adventures, and trekking activities | Treks are hosted throughout the week and even more so during weekends. Follow them to know more. | |
Poetry community | Depends on community’s schedule. Stay up-to-date here. | |
For lovers of storytelling, fiction, and non-fiction | Hangouts happen on the last weekend of every month. Sign up here. | |
Dancing community | Learn about their schedule, classes, timings, and more here. | |
Performative arts community | Get workshop updates here. | |
Walking and touring community | Learn more about the various City-Based Tours companies organising these walks. | |
Volunteering community | Volunteer to help senior care homes, animal shelters and more here. |
Miscellaneous 101s
- As we curate this guide, Bengaluru is going through a water crisis. If you’re already living here and have faced an issue, here is a list of contacts shared by a kind stranger on the internet. We hope this helps you tackle your water problems swiftly.
- Our good friend, Tejas Kinger, has put together a short Twitter thread on books about Bengaluru. Immerse in them to learn more about Karnataka in an engaging way.
- If you want to get acquainted with the history of Bengaluru in a fun way, follow Arun Pai on Instagram.
- Dealing with problems in your neighbourhood (pertaining to waste management, water clogging, open police cases, and more)? Reach out to St. Broseph on X, an online social worker helping people in Blr, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
- Looking to volunteer or contribute to NGOs? Check this curated guide by LBB, offering you a chance to donate your time and skills while gaining valuable life experiences.
- Speaking the language of the city you’re living in is a kind gesture. It shows your respect and appreciation for the place and people. If you’re interested in learning Kannada, check this out. BONUS: You can learn Kannada on WhatsApp → temptation bundling done right, if you ask us.
- Emergency numbers:
- Police: 100
- Women’s safety: 1091
- Senior citizens: 1090
- Ambulance: 105711 /1062/ 108
- Traffic helpline: 1095 / +91-80-2294-3030/131
- Harassed by auto drivers: +91-80-2558-8444 /555
- Fire service control room: +91-80-2297-1500
Closing thoughts
We hope this guide is full of information that has been useful in your Bengaluru startup journey. Consider this a V1 and if you have any recommendations, resources, or information you’d like to contribute, please fill this form, and we’ll be happy to add.
About Plum
Plum is a modern-day insurtech, providing benefits and insurance for companies that care.
Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of health insurance in India by making employee health insurance and benefits accessible, affordable, and usable for employees. We also provide exclusive business insurance plans to help startups mitigate risk, enabling founders to go forth with courageous and ambitious bets.
If you’re a founder who wants to cover your team and business with the best care and benefits, visit our website.
