Man Who Left Rs 50 LPA Job To Build A Startup Calls It Quits: ‘Failed At Being A Founder’

Last Updated:November 28, 2024, 09:37 IST

The man, who left his high-paying job to start a business, said it took him two years to realise he was more obsessed with the idea of being a founder than actually being one.

A man left his lucrative job with a Rs 50 LPA salary to chase his dream of building a startup. Despite successfully raising Rs 8.44 crore in seed funding, he decided to shut down the venture after two years of relentless effort. In a long post on social media, he candidly admitted that “he failed at being a founder”. He reflected that his failure stemmed from being “obsessed with the idea of being a founder” rather than truly being equipped for the challenges it entailed.

“I wanted to be a founder. Turns out, I just wanted the idea of being a founder. And it’s taken me two years, a lot of sleepless nights, and more stress than I knew was possible to admit this,” wrote the founder online.

The founder, who by “GrizzledTrillion” on Grapevine, shared a detailed account of his entrepreneurial journey on the platform’s “Indian Startups” community. He revealed how the “fire inside him” was ignited back in 2021 when he felt he was “wasting his life not building the next big thing”.

“Had a salary of Rs 50 LPA salary as a VP Of Ops, job security, weekends off, life sorted. But no, that wasn’t enough. LinkedIn posts, podcast founders, hundred million $ valuations – they all made me feel like I was wasting my life not building the next big thing,” he expressed.

That was when he quit his job, raised funding for his business, and started building something that started making a profit. Fast forward to 2022, he further said, “We built a good product, people paid for it, and we even became operationally profitable. No crazy burn rate, and no major disasters. By all traditional metrics, things were fine.”

He, however, admitted that he wasn’t truly happy and that something always felt off. “But the whole time, something felt off. Like, while everyone else on the team was jazzed about solving the problem, I was just going through the motions. I’d wake up every morning and think, is this it?”

The mounting attack culminated in a panic attack as he realised he wasn’t prepared for the demands of running a startup. “It’s about the grind. The constant weight of making decisions that affect everything, the never-ending uncertainty. And, I realised that I wasn’t built for this. I wasn’t obsessed with the problem we were solving – I was just obsessed with the idea of being a founder,” he confessed.

He went on to say, “The stress piled up. I hadn’t slept properly in months. My relationships went to shit. My mental health? I’ve seen better days. I’d built something successful by most measures, but it was draining the life out of me.”

“And here I am, calling it quits,” he admitted.

He explained that he “didn’t fail at building something, but he failed at being a founder”, adding that the company is taking care of the employees and returning whatever is left of the funding.

The founder also shared five key takeaways from his entrepreneurial journey. First, he emphasised that building a startup isn’t for everyone and that the title of “founder” (which he had once been obsessed with) is overrated. He further reflected that success doesn’t always equate to happiness and that mental health should always come before any professional achievement. Lastly, he concluded that stability is highly underrated.

Take a look at the entire post here:

Take a look at the entire post here:

In response to the founder’s post, an individual posted, “Imagine being an investor, taking risky bets, providing the right support and then squandering everything just because invested in somebody like him/her.”

“That’s one rare real-life experience post, kudos to that guy!” said another.

A third commented, “Love it, and can resonate 100 per cent.”

“Great story. Many face it but few have the guts to put it out in public,” expressed a fourth.