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Chances are, if you frequent the city-village of Bandra, or regularly trudge your way through Sainik farms in Delhi, the populatiown around you can be deceptive. It looks like India, it feels like India, hell it even smells like India, but the people represent a far broader range of race, colour and ethnicity. A sliver of a mini-globe right here in our bustling cities as foreigners from Norway to Australia buy their subzi from the local vegetable market, take their kids to school, and apply some reasonably impressive jugaad skills to their own lives and businesses here.
But considering just how much scare-them-away-forever-information exists on the internet, not to mention the holy guidebooks, you have to wonder how people from such vastly different cultures have not just adapted, but learned to love, even thrive in the chaos that is India? In 2014, HSBC conducted a survey of 9000 expatriates across the world put India, surprisingly, in the top 10 places to be an expat. Apparently, the difficulties of finding a good cheese and wine diminish in the face of cheap travel, lower living costs, and the ability to forge intimate friendships, quickly.
So we put out a call to our readers, located as many of this foreign breed aka expatriates as we could find on short notice, and set out to mini-interview a few of them in an effort to decode their stories of travel, love and passion that led them all the way here. From a whimsical move from London to Mumbai in the late 1990s upon a chance meeting with the Bachchan family to start an experiential event agency, to a Berlin-to-Bangalore move only to start a premium, female-friendly sexual wellness brand all of these expatriates have not only built a life here in India, but also found their entrepreneurial calling.
Scroll on to hear it from the horses’ mouths, read the first volume of the series here.
Moved to India and co-founded Mumbai’s beloved Cafe Zoe.
Thirty-seven-year-old Jérémie was born and raised in Belgium, where he pursued a degree in Marketing and International trade, in Brussels and Barcelona. After a working in his family’s diamond business in Antwerp, Jérémie decided to travel to the land of dabbawallahs and start what is one of Mumbai’s top rated restaurants, Cafe Zoe.
The India Story:
“I had a great childhood with an amazing family. I initially joined my family’s diamond business, which was still functioning when I decided to move to Bombay. Like may entrepreneurs, I wanted a business of my own, a café-resto-bar of my own. So I figured, with heaps of experience in the hospitality industry as purely a customer, I drafted the concept of what is today, Cafe Zoe,” he explains. “Armed with literally no experience, but with some awesome partners (Tarini & Viraf), a kick-ass business plan, loads of natural light, pure love for people and a rigorous inability to count working hours, I happily took up this great quest.”
Why India?
“India being the world’s largest centre for diamond polishing, Bombay and Surat were the obvious choice to open our family business offices in India. Having been in Bombay for about 5 years and looking for a career change, opening a café-resto-bar just seemed to be the right option.”
What he loves about living here:
“The diversity, across the board: sceneries, colours, food, culture, religions, languages, architecture and people. With regard to scenarios, I love India because there’ll be 4 guys on a scooter including one guy holding a table and another holding a goat yet they’ll look at me, like I’m the crazy one for riding a bicycle.”
Find more about the cafe on their website.
Moved to India to create and collaborate on innovative, cultural and recyclable textile products.
Thirty-six-year-old Katherine is a native Australian who has travelled to and worked in over 70 countries as a humanitarian aid worker before deciding to set up her business in India, in 2010.
The India Story:
“I started the business very slowly with a small range of products. I decided on India because I wanted to work with textiles while providing impoverished women with employment opportunities. Our first products were made using recycled saris that I had purchased a New Delhi market, and we partnered with a women’s cooperative from Bengal, to help stitch the textiles. From there, our product range and partners grew and we work exclusively with recycled, handmade and vintage materials which we produce, in partnership with NGOs, cooperatives, self help groups, etc, into a range of lifestyle products.”
Why India?
“India has an incredibly rich and diverse textile heritage which I wanted to work with. At the same time, there is a huge need amongst the artisans for fairly paid, regular and safe employment.”
What she loves about living here:
“The textiles!”
Moved to India to set up a gym in Kerala.
Thirty-five-year-old Naomi Jacob is half French and half American, from France. She attended high school is Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, where she met her husband. The two relocated to the States for their undergraduate years and moved back to India in 2013 to open up their fitness facility in Kerala.
The India Story:
“We’ve always had a shared dream of starting our own business – in fact, it was something we discussed way back in high school where we first met. When we got married in Kerala eight years ago, we had a feeling that the market was ripe for just about anything we could do. When we first arrived, we traveled a lot throughout India. We quickly realized two things: that the fitness industry is booming in India, and that we were uniquely equipped to start a world class facility in Kerala.” Along with her husband, Naomi started their fitness centre, Krome, and health food cafe, Fit Fuel in Calicut. “We’re just really excited to bring a new kind of fitness to Kerala.”
The gym conducts a series of classes such as functional fitness movements, high intensity interval training, weight lifting, and cardio kickboxing. The couple has received extremely positive views on the venture since it’s opening and Naomi explains, “We’re constantly amazed that we’ve managed to create a business where we hang out with friends all day long. There’s this incredible atmosphere at each of our classes and people are simultaneously competitive and encouraging, making it easy to believe you can achieve anything.”
Why India?
“India is burgeoning with opportunity. After having been here for four years, we’re still amazed at how much value we can add.”
What she loves about living here:
“We love the people we work with, we’ve made so many friends. We love the way that families are close knit and that everyone in our community sort of watches out for one another. And to be honest, it’s so exciting to be in a place that is growing and changing all the time.”
Moved to India to start his own French cuisine food truck in Bangalore.
Twenty-five-year-old Nicolas was born and raised in France and had always dreamed of starting his own business. With over three years of experience in the restaurant industry, he received his degree in Economic and Finance at the Catholic University of Lille, and pursued his masters from the Kedge Business School, France. While on an internship in Bangalore, Nicolas decided to start his food truck, Le Casse-Croûte, which aims to introduce fresh and homemade French food to all Bangaloreans.
The India Story:
“I’m from the north of France, in a small city close to Lille. I had to do an internship abroad to complete my master and I got an opportunity to do an internship and learn about the startup environment here in Bangalore. That’s how I landed here.”
“For me interacting with people is one of the keys to personal success,” he explains. “It makes you stronger it opens you up to meeting new people from different backgrounds.” Before he could tell, it had soon become clear to Nicolas that he had to start his own venture in the food industry, “I’ve had this passion for cooking for a very long time and I actually became addicted to seeing everyone’s smiles after they’ve had a meal of mine. That feeling excited me and it excites me everyday while working. That’s something I couldn’t live without. So after finishing my studies I decided to start my food truck, called Le Casse-Croûte, in Bangalore”
Why India?
“After exploring and analyzing the opportunities in Bangalore I realized that the F&B industry is a huge market here! When I came here in 2014, there was only one french restaurant in Bangalore and the prices were really really high. So I decided to bring affordable gourmet french food to the streets of Bangalore.”
What he loves about living here:
“The adventurous side of Bangalore and the challenges the city brings; because tomorrow I never know what’s gonna happen.”
Follow him and his food truck here.
Moved to India to start the company Flint, an international cultural communications agency.
Thirty-five-year-old Wol Balston is half English and half Scottish, and was born and raised in Wiltshire, in the English countryside. After University, he moved to London where he got into publishing, advertising and publicity. At the age of 27 Wol set up Flint, a cultural communications agency, with his business partner in London, after which, wanting to experience India and its developing art market, he set up Flint Asia in Delhi. Since then he’s been operating from the offices in London, Istanbul, Delhi and Mumbai.
The India Story:
“I’m originally from the UK and I didn’t quite know why but I had always wanted to experience India,” he says. “I knew the art market was looking extremely interesting and increasingly dynamic, so I came in January 2011 and I met as many people as I could and they suggested that I start a branch of Flint in India. There is so much going on and nobody is specializing in this sort of cultural consultancy support. So I decided that I would.” Flint is an agency that engages with artists, galleries and a range of other organisations to facilitate new initiatives. “We also specialize profile-raising, audience development, brand management and revenue generation.”
Why India?
“Flint operates in multiple markets around the world, but in India the market is quite exciting, especially given the scope of opportunity and the enormous potential inherent in such a huge and dynamic region.”
What he loves about living here:
“Its capacity for intensely deep, extraordinary, often surprising and spectacular moments.”
Follow their work on the website.
Moved to India and started Yoga KnowHow, an educational institution on yoga.
Thirty-one-year-old Suzanne and and forty-nine-year-old Sundar met in 2015 in a yoga school in the Netherlands. Both natives of the country, the world-travelling duo took to yoga and decided to start their yoga school, Yoga KnowHow, in Rishikesh that focuses on teaching yoga in an in-depth style.
The India Story:
Sundar comes from a past of abuse and misfortune, and travelled to India where he adopted the life of a Yogi. On the other hand, with a degree in African Language studies, Suzanne travelled to Ethiopia and Kenya while working with an NGO, before coming to India. She says, “When I came to India the first time, in 2008, I knew that this was my place. Sundar already had a yoga school in the Netherlands, but wanted to do something different, reach more people. Since we both were playing with the idea of being more in India, running yoga retreats sounded very attractive to us. We started with a lot of brainstorming, defining ideas and building a website. When we also managed the paperwork for business visa, the plans became more and more real.”
After opening their yoga school in Rishikesh, they’ve focused on making the institute’s aims and objectives unlike those of any other conventional school, “Sundar has created his own sequences and teaching methods. The classes are easily accessible for everyone, even complete beginners, but also contain a built-in challenge for more advanced practitioners. We want people to experience, rather than study from books. And we will not encourage them to change, but rather to become more of what they already are; beautiful humans.”
Why India?
Suzanne: “We both have a passion for India since very long. Over the years we met many inspiring people and friends along the way, both in Rishikesh as well as in other places in India.Challenging and confronting, but also heart-opening and spiritual.”
Sundar: “ I love the Sixth sense that seems to be so natural to India and its inhabitants. As it is for most people around the world, India is the place to experience it, and maybe get it back.”
What they love about living here:
Suzanne: “I found my ‘tribe’ in India. People I can be myself with, without any judgment. A mix of travelers from all over the world, and Indians from all different backgrounds. I love the diversity of cultures, traditions and the overall spiritual awareness that seems to bind the people here. It’s even in the soil!”
Follow their escapades on their website.
Moved to India to start Indigenous Industries, a textile and dye production house.
Twenty-six-year-old Vincent Declety was born and raised in Mantes la Jolie, France and graduated from a business school in Lille. Along with his business partner, Aadil, Vincent established Indigenous Industries - a textile and dye production house to produce natural, eco-friendly and sustainable textiles and dyes. Since opening up their first branch in Ahmedabad, they’ve been collaborating with artisans and textile experts from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, to help create their own sustainable and natural dyeing and textile finishing recipes.
The India Story:
“I first came to India on June 2013. I was 22 and I had originally come to work with an organisation in Tamil Nadu that help empower dalit women, but upon meeting my current business partner, the idea for Indigenous Industries took shape,” he explains. “One of the things that impressed me the most, when reaching India, was seeing people work with their hands. How often do you get to see craftsmen work with their hands growing up in France?” As the company began to expand, Vincent delved further into the intricacies and the cultural context behind the textile industry in India.
“I quickly realised that, like India as a country, the subject was immensely rich and diverse, with a lot to explore, and a lot of innovations waiting to happen. So now our company works with weavers all around the country, on creating exciting, innovating sustainable yarns and blends. We then dye, naturally, and provide the fabrics to designers and brands worldwide. More than fabric, we try to be a one stop shop for sustainable fashion, incorporating as much indigenous handicraft skills in our processes as possible.”
Why India?
“India will not have the luxury to realise its demographic transition in the ecologically destructive way European nations did theirs. And I believe that India will be the playground for new, innovative ways to produce, consume and live together.”
What he loves about living here:
“Paradoxes and contradictions in this country never ceases to amaze me. That and the food; I’ve been having fish curry and rice every day for the past three years, and that won’t change anytime soon.”
You can follow his progress here.
