The case for proximity
If you build payroll software for India, you want to be in the room with customers when they are running their first cycle. Chennai is well placed for that: a strong manufacturing customer base in Tamil Nadu, a tech corridor in OMR, and easy travel to Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
The proximity matters most when something goes wrong. We have driven to a customer's office in twenty minutes more than once. First payroll incidents are easier to resolve in person.
The talent trade-off
Chennai's tech-talent pool is deeper than outsiders realise but shallower than Bangalore's for some niches. We adapted: we hire senior engineers in Chennai, more juniors than the market average, and we run a strong internal training programme. The hire-from-Bangalore-and-relocate path is rare for us.
The benefit is retention. Senior engineers in Chennai stay longer, on average, than the equivalent Bangalore cohort. Compounding over years, that buys us depth.
Life on the ground
Office is in T. Nagar, walking distance from the metro. Filter coffee from the cafe two doors down. Sambar at lunch every Wednesday. We post-mortem after every release in the same room we celebrate them.
The team's 1:1 cadence is documented in our hiring philosophy post; the rituals stack.