New Delhi: The Chief Executive officer of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, Radhika Gupta, recently made a few comments on the Startup-hype in India. Through her social media posts, she highlighted how the glamorous image of startups often hides the real struggles that come with building a business.
The Startup Dream vs. Reality
Radhika also called this trend the “startup romance,” where people imagine a cool life full of relaxed dress codes, trendy coworking spaces, and endless brainstorming sessions and chilling around. But she warned aspiring entrepreneurs not to be fooled by this polished picture. “Don’t fall for it,” she said, explaining that the real startup journey is far from easy its full of ups and downs, its painful and this reality is often not directly seen by them.
The Tough Side of Startups
Gupta broke it down into a list of challenges she calls the “startup reality”:
- Tough Execution: Turning a great idea into a successful business is really hard.
- Limited Money: Most startups don’t have big budgets, which makes it tricky to grow.
- Stressful Work Conditions: Entrepreneurs often work long hours in not-so-great environments.
- Facing Rejection: Getting turned down by investors and customers is something they deal with a lot.
- Hiring Problems: Finding and keeping good employees is a constant challenge.
- Money Pressure: There’s always stress to make money fast, which can lead to bad decisions.
- Uncertain Future: Many startups go for years without knowing if they’ll succeed or fail.
She pointed out that while we hear a lot about the few startups that make it big, there are way more that fail quietly.
A Real-life Example
Backing Gupta’s views, Dhruv Suyamprakasam, co-founder of iCliniq, shared his own struggles. When he moved to Bengaluru, India’s startup hotspot, to grow his healthcare business, he faced unexpected hurdles.
Investors had biases, they didn’t think he was “startup material” because he wasn’t an IIT graduate or fluent in Hindi. Plus, they had unrealistic expectations, like demanding 100 paid consultations a day from his platform right away.
Dhruv explained that Bengaluru’s startup scene, where quick success or failure is the norm, didn’t suit his healthcare business, which needed time to build trust and reliability.
