Starter Guide to Hyderabad

Namaste! Welcome to Mana Hyderabad.

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 Hyderabad’s tech, startup, and life beyond the work scene.

Table of contents

• Namaste! Welcome to Mana Hyderabad.
• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Startup events, communities, and programs
• Startup programs offered by incubators
• Active VCs and investors
• PR and media in Hyderabad
• People to follow on X and LinkedIn
• Workspace and setting up your own
• Co-working
• Looking to set-up your office space in tech parks?
• Cafes to work out of
• Cafes ideal for deep work
• Cafes ideal for networking
• Ideal team outing places
• Neighbourhood breakdown for tech
• Life beyond work: What’s in Hyderabad for you?
• Books and music recommendation
• Books
• Music
• A quick guide to the best Biryani locations in Hyderabad
• Miscellaneous 101s
• Closing thoughts
• About 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 that’s rapidly becoming a startup hub. Share this with your new and old team members, and if you have a relocation policy, linking this guide to help others navigate the same boat would be helpful! We built this to help you do just that.

If you'd like to learn more about Plum and what we're up to, follow this link.

Introduction

Each startup city has its charm. Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India. Mumbai has the highest number of unicorns and soonicorns. Chennai’s the SaaS Capital of India. And Delhi? It’s the IPO Capital of India. But what about Hyderabad?

Investors tend to focus on cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bangalore when it comes to funding startups. Of late, there’s been a shift — a new city is emerging as India’s next startup powerhouse and is gaining prominence. That city is Hyderabad.

With over 240 funded startups, supported by 550+ domestic and international investors, resulting in a total funding of $2.6 Bn between Jan 2014 and Aug 2023 (acc. to Inc42 report), Hyderabad is rapidly becoming a prime destination for founders. Keeping statistics aside, the city also has advanced infrastructure, affordable real estate, and competitive cost of living, making it all the more lucrative.

One startup operator even tweeted about why they’d choose Hyderabad over other metropolitan cities in a heartbeat.

Today, this city is a popular location for B2B SaaS, manufacturing, fintech and IT sectors. The primary catalyst for Hyderabad’s startup boom is its proactive State government which has introduced a range of initiatives designed to facilitate the growth of start-ups. With innovation hubs like T-Hub, T-Works, Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad, and Startup Telangana — Hyderabad is at an undeniable advantage as its startups scale up.

On an aside, this city is also other things. It’s known for its biryani, cafes, rich history, culture, and most importantly, its happy-go-lucky people. Hyderabad teaches you that there’s nothing a conversation and chai can’t fix. The city even ranked higher than Pune, Bengaluru, and other cities in Mercer’s quality of living index (Source). However, it's important to consider the cons such as traffic congestion, air pollution and extreme weather (esp during summers).

So, if you’re planning a move to Hyderabad or you’re already here, we hope this guide helps.

Startup events, communities, and programs

Where are all the founders and their teams hanging out?

Startup programs offered by incubators

Hyderabad’s accelerators, incubators, and startup programs to boost your 0-1 startup journey.

Active VCs and investors

Find your next investor from a curated list of active VCs and investors, recommended and verified by your fellow-founders.

PR and media in Hyderabad

A curated list of journalists in Hyderabad to get your stories covered.

• Payal Ganguluy, Managing Editor, YourStory
• Krishna Mohan, Senior News Editor (Business Desk), The Deccan Chronicle
• Reshmi C, Features India, The New Indian Express
• Ramu Sarma, Chief Editor, The Hans India
• Ravi Korukonda, Founder, Startup Hyderabad — ravi@startuphyderabad.com

People to follow on X and LinkedIn

X and LinkedIn are great platforms to keep up with the ongoing trends, doing customer research, hiring the 1% talent, and more. Curating the perfect feed begins with following the right people. Here’s a list of people who’ve been active in the Hyderabad startup ecosystem.

Workspace and setting up your own

We’ve recently set up our new workspace and we understand that A LOT goes into building one. Here are a couple of options you can consider while building your new workspace.

Co-working

Looking to set-up your office space in tech parks?

Cafes to work out of

Cafes ideal for deep work

Cafes ideal for networking

Ideal team outing places

Neighbourhood breakdown for tech

Life beyond work: What’s in Hyderabad for you?

There’s enough space for all your interests in Hyderabad. There are also enough people who have similar interests. Here’s a curated list of communities, groups, and places where you’re likely to meet people interested in the same things as you.

Books and music recommendation

Books

• White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India by William Dalrymple (A rare glimpse into the lives of the 18th Century ‘Firangis’ of the city — the Nizams, Begums, and the White Mughals)
• Hyderabad: A Biography by Narendra Luther (A concise history of the city to begin your rendezvous with Hyderabad)
• The Last Nizam by John Zubrzycki (The book follows the life of Mir Osman Ali Khan’s grandson’s life, Mukarram Jah, who inherited the Nizam title after the death of his grandfather in 1967, only to leave it all behind to become a sheep farmer in Western Australia.)
• Days of the Beloved by Harriet Ronken Lynton (Tales all the way from the Nizam’s court to the household of a Hyderabadi commoner in early 20th century Hyderabad.)
• A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761: Eight Indian Lives by Richard M. Eaton (The book recounts the history of Deccan plateau situated in South India from the 14th century till the birth of European colonialism. It vividly takes you through the lives of eight Indians who lived in Deccan during this period and each of them had a unique aspect in them.)

Music

A playlist of Telugu music curated by a Hyderabadi. Jump right in.

A quick guide to the best Biryani locations in Hyderabad

Hyderabad and biryani are almost synonyms. It’s the first thing that comes into your mind when you think of the city. If you’re new to the city and are looking for biryani recommendations, take a look at the list below.

Miscellaneous 101s

• 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.
• Concorde Zine is a photo magazine, depicting tales from India to the rest of the world. They’ve previously dedicated multiple editions to how Telangana perceives art, society, and culture. Check them out here.
• Biryani is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Hyderabad, probably. But there’s more to the city and this Instagram page, @hyderabadbeyondbiryani, curates lesser known details about the city. Follow them to learn more.
• Emergency numbers:
• Police: 100
• Accident helpline and ambulance: 108 and 102 respectively
• Sexual harassment: 1091
• Child helpline: 1098
• Fire and rescue: 101

Closing thoughts

We hope this guide is full of information that has been useful in your Hyderabad startup journey. Consider this a WIP list 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.

Special thanks to Kiran Darisi, Aravind Kumar, Sanjay Enishetty, Sunil Kosuri, Vyshali Sagar, and Tarun Davuluri for helping us build this guide.