A newcomer on starting up in Sri Lanka

A tea plantation in Sri Lanka. Photo credit: Felix van de Gein

When I arrived in Colombo from Mumbai, I came with a simple goal – to launch VistaRooms.lk, an aggregator of affordable accommodation in Sri Lanka. A year after launching Vista Rooms in India, we were starting up all over again. Two other team members and I had to start from scratch with no local team, no partner hotels and a stringent budget.

We lived in shared dorm rooms across the island and survived on complimentary hotel breakfasts, kottu, rice and curry at hole-in-the wall joints. Looking back, it’s been quite an adventure tying up with over 200 hotels, guesthouses and villas across Sri Lanka. The learning process through these months has been intense, and now, as I am beginning to feel more and more like a part of the startup community in Sri Lanka, I’m excited to share my thoughts on it.

It’s a small world

The startup community in Sri Lanka is a small one, where everyone knows each other. One is likely to bump into someone within the community at Coffee Bean during office hours and Park Street Mews past office hours. A little entrepreneurial banter is always welcome!

Warmth and encouragement

As a business that is both profitable in India and Sri Lanka, and as a sincere entrepreneur working on it, you get all the encouragement you would hope for from the existing startup community.

Advice and guidance

I have often reached out to people I barely even knew to get a better understanding of local branding and marketing strategies, or staff engagement and management, and have always received guidance with surprising (and immensely helpful) enthusiasm.

However, the journey has not been free of its own set of challenges.

No direct answer

Perhaps even local entrepreneurs will relate to this problem.

The biggest challenge in Sri Lanka for me has been to get a final answer from potential investors or large corporates for alliances. Multiple conversations and meetings down, you may still be left wondering if this is going to lead anywhere at all.

Island pace

The chilled out vibe of the city extends itself quite generously to its work life. The multiple follow ups required with a hotel, travel agency or corporate slow things down.