7 Years in India as a European Engineer — What Nobody Tells You

The Unfiltered Version

Most articles about "doing business in India" read like they were written by someone who visited Mumbai for a conference and spoke to three people at the Taj. This is not that article.

I've spent seven years building industrial businesses in India. Two entities from zero. Engineering partnerships. Manufacturing relationships. Import-export compliance across EU and Indian regulations. I've made every mistake in the book, and a few that aren't in any book.

Here's what nobody tells you.

Time Works Differently

Not slower. Not faster. Differently. A meeting scheduled for 10am might start at 10:45. But then it will go for three hours because the relationship-building that happens in that time is more valuable than any agenda item. Westerners who insist on "getting to the point" miss the point entirely.

The deal gets done over chai, not over email. The trust gets built in the car ride, not in the boardroom.

Relationships Are Infrastructure

In Europe, you can rely on institutions. Contracts are enforced. Regulations are clear. Processes are documented. In India, all of this exists — but it runs on relationships. Your CA is more important than your lawyer. Your local partner's connections matter more than your product quality. Not because the system is broken, but because the system is human.

The Bureaucracy Is Real (But Navigable)

GST filing alone would make a grown accountant weep. Import licensing for industrial equipment involves agencies you've never heard of. State-level variations mean what works in Pune doesn't work in Chennai.

But here's the thing: every single bureaucratic challenge has a well-worn path through it. The trick is finding someone who's walked that path before.

Why I'm Still Here

Because India is the most dynamic business environment I've ever worked in. Because the opportunities are genuine and enormous. Because the people are brilliant, resilient, and creative in ways that make European business culture look rigid and slow.

And because after seven years, I've built something I'm proud of — and I'm just getting started.