Today, DevX Puts Ahmedabad’s Startup Story on the Main Board (Originally published for Slice of Startup Life on eChai Ventures) In 2017, three friends walked into a half-empty floor in Ahmedabad. The walls were peeling, the floor was still dusty, and the landlord was not sure if leasing it to them made sense. Coworking was barely known here, and in a city built on factories and family businesses, the idea of young founders sharing office space felt untested. But Parth Shah, Rushit Shah, and Umesh Uttamchandani saw something different. They imagined a place where entrepreneurs could work, grow, and feel part of something larger. That evening, they began what would later become DevX. The first steps were not easy. Families were worried, landlords were doubtful, and clients were uncertain. This is where each of the three founders showed what made them different. Umesh carried optimism that reassured others and turned hesitation into agreement. His calm conviction won them their first landlord. Rushit had the persistence to keep conversations alive until they became real partnerships. One of DevX’s first anchor clients came on board only because he refused to let the dialogue end. Parth steadied it all, slowing the team when excitement pushed them to run too fast and reminding them to make one center work well before opening another. From those small steps DevX began to grow. What started as a coworking space soon evolved into something bigger. The team realized that companies were not only looking for shared desks. They needed managed office solutions, with custom design, turnkey fit-outs, and operational support that would let them move in and begin work without the cost and delay of long leases. DevX built exactly that. Today it is one of India’s leading flexible workspace providers, offering both coworking and managed offices together. The real test came during Covid. Many believed the business of leasing and offices would decline as remote-first models took over. Instead of waiting, DevX adapted. It strengthened its design arm through Phi Designs, and began helping large companies set up offshore development centers in India. This shift allowed DevX to diversify and turn a crisis into an opportunity, while continuing to support giants who needed reliable partners to reimagine workspaces for a changed world. That adaptability shaped its scale. From a single floor in Ahmedabad, DevX has expanded into 28 centers across 11 cities, with 14,000 seats and more than 250 clients, serving early-stage startups as well as large corporates. Growth was steady and deliberate, built on the same traits that defined the founders from the beginning: optimism, energy, and discipline. Now, with DevX’s IPO open and the bell-ringing set for September 17, their journey joins the larger arc of Ahmedabad’s startup story. The city has already seen landmark exits. Havmor Ice Cream was acquired by South Korea’s Lotte in 2017. eInfochips was acquired by Arrow Electronics in 2018. Elitecore Technologies was acquired by Sterlite Tech in 2015. Beardo was acquired by Marico in 2020. SocialPilot was acquired by Sweden’s group.one this year for 50 million US dollars. And many others. Each of these stories showed that companies from Ahmedabad could compete nationally and globally. DevX now adds another chapter, a founder-led startup stepping onto the main board, not as an acquisition but as an institution in its own right. For me, DevX has never been only about offices. I have seen their spaces become gathering points where founders meet, where communities host events, and where collaborations begin. Many of our own eChai meetups took place inside DevX centers, and so did countless gatherings by others. The leadership gave not only space but also their time and energy back to the ecosystem. That is why their success feels connected to the city’s success.