Piyush Jha Founders and First Breaths The early morning drizzle of Bangalore clung to the cracked pavement of HSR Layout as Aarav Dev brushed aside the steam from his chai and stared at the blinking cursor on his MacBook screen. His co-founder, Neel Roy, sat across the room, legs tucked under him, mumbling code like mantras under his breath. The rented two-bedroom apartment doubled as their office, home, and war room. The seed of their startup—an AI-driven local commerce aggregator—was barely a sprout, but already the roots were clawing through sleepless nights, pivot pitches, and unpaid electricity bills. “We need…