Start Small. Build Deep. Think Long: The Zaran Bhagwagar Way

Global startup funding remained largely stagnant in 2024, but the cracks in the venture capital model became harder to ignore. As capital efficiency replaces blitzscaling and performative funding cycles lose steam, builders like Zaran Bhagwagar are offering a new playbook. Not louder, just wiser.

Zaran, the VP of Hyderabad’s Biome, isn’t following the spray and pray strategy that dominates much of the startup world. He’s choosing something quieter, more deliberate. Three startups a year. No press releases for the sake of it. No obsession with unicorns. Just conviction, context, and clarity. In a system often driven by velocity and valuation, Zaran is restoring substance.

Where It All Began: From Shop Floors to Self-Belief

Zaran’s journey didn’t start with Silicon Valley seed rounds or Ivy League venture labs. It began in a handicrafts export company in Nagpur, run by his family. As a teenager, he wasn’t crunching term sheets, he was hauling goods, managing margins, and watching what it took to make a small business stay alive.

“I used to spend a lot of time on the shop floor during my summer holidays and winter breaks,” he recalls. “That’s when I got exposed to basic business principles, margin, cost, labor, timing.”

One moment in particular left a mark. The family imported a high-end machine to streamline operations. It arrived, it hummed, and it failed. “We had to write it off. A huge mistake,” Zaran says. But it became more than a loss. It became a lesson. “To this day, before making a decision, I ask myself, will this be another imported machine faux pas?”

He also remembers delivery truck routes, late payments, renegotiations, business at its rawest. It taught him what no MBA could: how decisions hit the ground, how resilience feels, and how humility isn’t optional when the stakes are real.

The Underdog in the Library

After the 2008 global financial crisis stalled his early plans, Zaran pursued his MBA at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and later at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Ireland. But his entry wasn’t seamless.

“I wasn’t the most polished. I knew I was behind. So I just spent hours in the library, catching up.”

While many peers entered with corporate grooming, Zaran brought something else: grit. That period taught him to compete not for validation, but for growth. It also shaped how he advises founders today. “No one needs to tell you you’re behind. You already know. The question is: what do you do next?”

That underdog ethic now forms the backbone of how he backs founders, more coach than critic, more builder than commentator.

The Studio as Co-Builder

Biome isn’t a typical venture capital fund. It doesn’t just invest, it co-builds. Venture studios have existed globally, but Biome brings a uniquely Indian sensibility to the model.

Each year, Biome chooses just three startups. That’s it. Each receives capital, design and product expertise, and an ecosystem of support, technical, emotional, and strategic. But most critically, they receive attention. Biome doesn’t batch 50 founders through a sprint. It walks with a few, fully.

“We’re not here to fund slideshows,” Zaran says. “We’re here to build conviction.”

Consider Biome Bot, a digital assistant launched in 2025. It wasn’t born out of buzzwords. It emerged from founder dialogues, repeated concerns, recurring inefficiencies, and a clear absence of tools tailored to the Indian and Southeast Asian context. “In Southeast Asia’s fragmented markets, depth always matters more than noise,” he often reflects.

By removing distraction and doubling down on real need, Biome found both signal and scale.

Saying No Is Part of the Work

In a world that celebrates more: more deals, more pitch decks, more rounds, Biome is building by subtraction.

More than 99% of pitches are declined. Not because the ideas lack ambition, but because Biome won’t compromise on value alignment.

“We’ve passed on brilliant ideas simply because we couldn’t add value.”

This form of discernment isn't cold. It's caring. It spares founders false hope, preserves Biome's bandwidth, and ensures integrity in the build.

“You’re not being sold to,” Zaran says. “You’re being invited into a partnership that’s meant to last.”

Founders Hold More Than Equity. They Hold Pressure.

Startups don’t just test strategy, they test spirit. Zaran sees this every day.

“There’s fear, there’s anxiety, there’s a huge burden of decision-making,” he says. “Sometimes people don’t need advice. They just need to be heard.”

It’s not just capital that keeps founders going. It’s emotional oxygen, someone holding space for doubt without rushing to resolve it. “Not everything needs fixing. Sometimes people just need to be seen.”

This too is part of Biome’s thesis. The runway isn’t just financial, it’s psychological. When founders feel safe to speak the hard truths, they make better calls. They stay longer. They build deeper.

Start With Problems, Not Presentations

Biome doesn’t start with decks or demos. It starts with questions. It listens, tests, iterates before it commits.

“You don’t build because something’s trending. You build because something’s broken, and people want a better way.”

It’s not anti-speed. It’s pro-rigor. This approach shields teams from premature scaling, from feature creep, from shiny object syndrome. Startups that launch this way don’t just survive, they stick.

Scaling Without Assumptions

Zaran’s cross-border experience spans India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. If there’s one belief he’s abandoned, it’s this: what works here will work there.

“Southeast Asia isn’t one market. Neither is India. What works in Chennai may not land in Chandigarh.”

Instead of copy-pasting, Biome localizes. Messaging, pricing, user onboarding, all tuned to place. “Localization isn’t compromise, it’s context.”

This philosophy allows Biome startups to scale authentically, not fast but strong.

Alignment Over Master Plans

Ask Zaran what every founder should prioritize, and he won’t cite traction or TAM. He’ll say one word: alignment.

“Alignment with your team. With your users. And most importantly, with yourself.”

Biome helps founders launch early, test often, and refine fast. The plan may change, but the purpose must hold.

“There’s no perfect plan. But there is a right direction. And it starts with listening.”

Beyond the Studio: A Vision for India

Zaran doesn’t just want Biome to thrive. He wants India’s ecosystem to thrive.

“In the next decade, India has the potential to become the startup factory of the world,” he said with cautious optimism.

But to get there, policies must evolve. Intellectual property needs stronger protection. Early-stage risk capital must be more accessible. And ecosystems must move from vanity metrics to venture value.

He sees venture studios as critical to this shift, bridging gaps between product, capital, and people. “If we do this right,” he adds, “the companies we build will outgrow us. That’s the dream.”

What Stakeholders Can Learn

Founders: solve real problems, be transparent, and stay aligned with the team and mission.
Investors: focus on deep, hands-on support rather than chasing volume.
Policymakers and incubators: prioritize regional infrastructure, IP protection, and policy frameworks that support early-stage resilience.
Aspiring builders: start small, fail early, learn always; clarity matters more than pedigree.

A Blueprint for What Endures

A 2024 McKinsey study showed that startups built within venture studios have survival rates two to three times higher than their traditional counterparts. As 2025 continues to test resilience and reinvention, Biome’s approach offers something increasingly rare: thoughtful scale.

Zaran isn’t building hype. He’s building habitats, environments where teams grow, ideas evolve, and conviction is protected.

He believes that the true legacy of Biome won’t be valuations, it’ll be in what remains when the spotlight moves on. In a system obsessed with exits, Zaran is quietly focused on what stays.

And in that, quietly, carefully, he is helping redefine what it means to build in India.

Startups not for show, but for significance.
Ventures not for noise, but for meaning.
Work not to impress, but to endure.