Hemangini Gupta, "Experimental Times: Startup Capitalism and Feminist Futures in India" (U California Press, 2024)
Mar 31, 2025
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Hemangini Gupta, a Lecturer in Gender and Global Politics at the University of Edinburgh and author of "Experimental Times," discusses the evolution of Bengaluru as a startup metropolis. She highlights how startup culture intersects with feminist ideals, revealing the challenges women face in entrepreneurship. The conversation dives into labor dynamics, the impact of technology on gender and caste, and the complex experiences of workers navigating this precarious landscape. Gupta sheds light on the everyday experimentation that sustains life in India's rapidly changing economy.
Bangalore's transformation into a startup hub illustrates the socio-economic dynamics that influence who benefits from this entrepreneurial shift, highlighting caste, gender, and class roles.
The concept of 'experimental time' reveals the contrast in work-life navigation between elite entrepreneurs and women, emphasizing the significance of social relationships and personal sacrifices in their experiences.
Deep dives
Transformation of Bangalore's Urban Landscape
Bangalore has undergone a significant transformation from being seen primarily as a hub for back-end work to being portrayed as a vibrant center for innovation and entrepreneurship. This change reflects a larger narrative concerning how urban public cultures evolve, emphasizing the roles of caste, gender, and class in this transformation. As elite technologists and government officials promote Bangalore as a city for startups, it raises questions about the socio-economic dynamics that influence who benefits from this entrepreneurial shift. The book contextualizes this change within both local developments and global discourses about the future of work, highlighting that the other side of this urban narrative includes the experiences of marginalized groups.
The Concept of Experimental Time
The term 'experimental time' highlights the unique experiences of startup entrepreneurs and women within Bangalore's evolving work landscape. For elite entrepreneurs, this concept refers to a work culture characterized by late-night brainstorming sessions and rapid technological innovation, which contributes to a sense of urgency and future-focused thinking. Conversely, women in entrepreneurship navigate their roles through multifaceted schedules that blend personal and professional responsibilities, often redefining what it means to engage in work. By examining these diverse experiences, the book reveals that experimental time is not only about productivity but also encompasses social relationships and personal sacrifices.
Feminization and Racialization of Labor
The feminization of labor within startup capitalism is marked by the expectation for workers to embody their roles with happiness and affective engagement. This contrasts sharply with the lack of agency that these workers often experience, as their flexible schedules can result in longer working hours and blurred boundaries between work and personal life. At the same time, the racialization of labor emerges as a persistent theme, where elite entrepreneurs often devalue manual labor and reinforce caste hierarchies by associating creativity and intellect exclusively with upper-class experiences. The book emphasizes that both feminization and racialization intertwine to create a landscape where certain types of labor, particularly those performed by marginalized communities, are systematically undervalued.
Challenging the Startup Entrepreneur Narrative
The book critically examines the glorified narrative of the startup entrepreneur, emphasizing the need to recognize the collaborative networks and labor dynamics that enable entrepreneurial success. Rather than solely attributing innovation to individual effort, it highlights the collective friendships, care labor, and support systems that shape everyday work. By shifting focus away from the singularly celebrated entrepreneur, the text reveals the often overlooked contributions of workers who form the backbone of entrepreneurial endeavors. This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of how startup capitalism functions and the varied values that come into play within this economic landscape.
Experimental Times: Startup Capitalism and Feminist Futures in India (U California Press, 2024) is an in-depth ethnography of the transformation of Bengaluru/Bangalore from a site of "backend" IT work to an aspirational global city of enterprise and innovation. The book journeys alongside the migrant workers, technologists, and entrepreneurs who shape and survive the dreams of a "Startup India" knitted through office work, at networking meetings and urban festivals, and across sites of leisure in the city. Tracking techno-futures that involve automation and impending precarity, Hemangini Gupta details the everyday forms of experimentation, care, and friendship that sustain and reproduce life and labour in India's current economy.
Rituparna Patgiri is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati. Her research interests lie in the areas of food, media, gender and public. She is also one of the co-founders of Doing Sociology. Patgiri can be reached at @Rituparna37 on Twitter.
