New York City, NY, USA: Agrawal spent nearly half a year contacting several chief executives and founders he respected and later observed a clear contrast in how they responded.

Shubh Agrawal, an entrepreneur and the Head of Growth at a New York based technology firm called Valley, has sparked widespread online debate after sharing his experiences comparing how Indian and American startup leaders react when approached for guidance. Raising a pointed question, he asked, "Why do Indian founders have such inflated egos?"

Agrawal explained that over the past six months, he had reached out to numerous founders and CEOs whom he admired. Through these interactions, he said he came to realize that there is a noticeable gap between what he described as the ego levels of Indian founders and those operating outside India.

To support his view, the young entrepreneur shared excerpts from two separate conversations. The first involved a founder he described as Indian, someone well known from podcast appearances and whose company reportedly generates around 40 million dollars in annual revenue. Agrawal claimed this founder reacted angrily after learning that Valley does not offer free access and that payment was required to try the product. According to Agrawal, the founder went on to insult Valley's founding team, allegedly calling them incompetent and unhelpful.

In contrast, Agrawal described a second interaction with a founder based in the United States who had previously built two unicorn companies and now runs a business earning over 400 million dollars annually. This founder, Agrawal said, spent about an hour asking detailed questions, analyzing the problem, and even offered to schedule a call if necessary. He also motivated Agrawal, telling him that they were essentially on similar paths, just at different stages in their journeys.

Reflecting on both experiences, Agrawal stated that while he might be mistaken in linking the behavior to nationality, it was evident to him that the founder with far greater experience and success displayed much more humility and openness to helping.

As his comments gained traction online, reactions were sharply divided. One group agreed with Agrawal’s assessment, while others argued that his encounters were personal experiences and should not be generalized to label all entrepreneurs from any particular country.