I’ve Lived in Silicon Valley and Bengaluru, Work Culture Differs

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Punit Soni, the founder of Suki AI, living in Silicon Valley and Bengaluru, India. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

When I returned to India, in 2015 as Flipkart’s chief product officer, I experienced a profound sense of displacement.

I moved to the US to study for my MBA in 2005. I worked at Google and Motorola in the Bay Area until taking on a new role at Flipkart in Bengaluru.

Despite being born in India, my years in the United States and Silicon Valley fundamentally altered my professional and cultural identity. I spoke Hindi with an Indian-American accent and my professional and social mannerisms felt foreign.

In many ways, I embodied the classic immigrant experience of feeling like an outsider in both my homeland and adopted country.

We moved into a tropical Silicon Valley in India

Moving to Bengaluru in 2015, I started my new position at Flipkart and had no set timeline of how long I would be back in India. I was excited for the job and to move when the country’s tech scene was growing rapidly.

For my family’s relocation, we wanted to find the right community. My wife had been to India before, but my children hadn’t.

We chose Adarsh Palms in North Bengaluru, a luxury gated community. The neighhorhood had a predominantly expat population and offered a comfortable transition from California to India.

Living in a tropical replica of Silicon Valley made our adaptation easier, providing a familiar environment for our family’s social integration. Our children attended international schools with students from Sweden, Canada, and the UK.

While convenient, this lifestyle came with a significant drawback. We were essentially living in a bubble, disconnected from local Indian society. Everyone socialized within the community. We got to know each other well, but sometimes, it could feel stifling.

This was a different environment than how I grew up, which was an open community with shared apartment complexes and kids running up and down the spaces.

I was excited to reconnect with old friends, but I’d come back to a sanitized version of India. I knew the language and culture, but it still felt unfamiliar. Because of that, it took me a while settle in.

When I migrated to the States, I was a young immigrant student entering with few responsibilities, whereas moving to India in my adulthood involved constant, dramatic changes and a family to look after.

I think we missed opportunities for more authentic cultural immersion, particularly for our children. If we ever move back, I’ll want to live in a more local neighborhood.

I found the work culture is more intense in India

The work intensity in India presented a stark contrast to Silicon Valley’s professional environment. During my time working in Bengaluru between 2015 and 2016, I discovered that work-life balance was essentially nonexistent in the Indian tech ecosystem.

While I recognize certain growth phases demand intense effort, the cultural approach seemed to normalize continuous work to the point of potential burnout. Employees persevered through exhausting conditions, propelled by an extraordinary commitment to professional advancement.

Office dynamics in India were more complex than I’d experienced in the US with intricate political maneuvering. Indian colleagues would try to avoid saying “no.” I think this stemmed from a desire to appear cooperative and avoid potential professional friction. Whereas, in American workplaces, there’s more direct communication.

On the positive side, the intensity of the people I worked with in India was unmatched. The same work ethic and drive to succeed can found in small pockets in the US, but due to the competition in India, it was more widespread.

Silicon Valley, in comparison, marketed a more holistic work experience. With amenities like on-campus activities, wellness programs, and break rooms, tech companies attempted to create an environment that supported employee well-being. These benefits were exciting, but never a must-have for me.

Comparing career growth in Silicon Valley to India is like comparing apples to oranges: they each have their advantages and drawbacks.

One big difference is that Silicon Valley has many tech companies and startup opportunities, whereas India’s ecosystem was still developing.

Understanding Indian and US work culture is an advantage

I came back to the States and launched my own company, Suki, in 2017, but my personal connection remains deeply intertwined with both cultures.

I still have family in India and Suki has an office there, so I make a conscious effort to visit and maintain my bicultural identity. Familiarity with both cultures helps me shape the tech ecosystems that I work in.

I live in Silicon Valley, but I frequently return to India. I love being able to serve the country I was born in, while still paying my dues and loving the country that gave me my career livelihood.

At the core, Silicon Valley and Indian tech cultures share a fundamental similarity of an intense desire to excel, innovate, and push boundaries.