Startups were already exiting Koramangala. Pandemic made things worse

In the early days of the decade, Aditya Rao, a young graduate from BITS Pilani was caught up in the startup-wave that swept through India. After a couple of failed attempts at building products, Rao in 2013 founded LocalOye -- an on-demand home service marketplace that connected consumers with local service providers such as carpenters, electricians, plumbers, beauticians, yoga teachers among others.

Rao, who steered the company towards a quick expansion as an early stage startup, moved from Mumbai to Bengaluru in 2015, and headquartered the company in the tech capital. He operated from Koramangala in the south-eastern part of the city.

As one drives down from Hosur in Tamil Nadu to Electronic City in Bengaluru that houses colossal IT companies, and passes through the infamous Silk Board Junction that is known to have traffic snarls all day, a three-star motel named Silicon Valley, serves at the western entrance of Koramangala.

The neighbourhood, away from the Central Business District of Bengaluru (core commercial areas), connects the residential localities BTM Layout, Jayanagar, Ejipura and Indiranagar in the 5-10km range.