Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted. Though an entrepreneur’s ambition, drive, passion and perseverance are celebrated, it comes at a cost of repeated failures and challenges that no one wants to experience.
Even if you’ve decided to take the plunge, the challenges are so enormous that many consider to go back to their cushy jobs. In this viral Reddit thread, this entrepreneur who has been trying to set up his business, hasn’t given up but is now looking for other ways to fulfill his dreams, given the challenges in the system.
Here’s his story:
“I left a ₹28 LPA job to build something I genuinely believed in. Over the last 11 months, I’ve spent around ₹10–12 lakh on product development, salaries, and trying to raise funds. On top of that, I paid lakhs in total to pitch deck reviewing firms, fundraising consultants, and a few bootcamps. I won’t name them, but most delivered little to no real value.
What did I get in return? Endless “mentorship” calls, vague promises, networking events that go nowhere, and people more interested in sounding smart than actually building anything,” he says.
Even though the goverment has made it easier to raise funds, this hasn’t always worked, especially if you are considered an ‘outsider’.
“if you don’t have strong connections, your chances drop massively,” he explains.
“Fundraising here often feels like a parallel industry designed to extract from founders rather than support them. Pitch decks, accelerators, paid programs, introductions, everything comes with a cost, directly or indirectly. And unless you already have the right network, you’re mostly invisible,”
Though startups are celebrated, the core reason for their success remains missing, and a very small number of people are actually working on that.
“we talk a lot about “innovation,” but how much truly original tech is coming out? Where are the chip companies? Where are the foundational AI players? A lot of what I’ve seen is surface-level replication or service-layer businesses. The real deep-tech push and serious capital seem to be elsewhere, especially in ecosystems like Silicon Valley,”
“The whole setup is just like any other government policy .. you put in years of hard work, money, endless nights — just to realize that just like the roads ; the whole ecosystem is superficial.. even though you build your own lambho , you still can’t drive around…on the contrary – it’s so still stuck up in babu shahi bureaucracy..when I went in with a validated POC ..the babus asked me equity ..and for what I said ? Well to honor your startup and give you that recognition..and since I didn’t agree- it’s been months following up with no response ..when asked and showed them the gazette and other supporting documents- the response ..this is approved by center..center is run by PM..let the PM reply to the matter,” a participant commented.
A third agreed, “Today’s startup world is full of startup porn romanticizing funding and exits but not focusing on sales, market viability, profitibility, cash flow and long term commitments. Innovation is necessary, but making money is equally important for keeping the business afloat. VCs looking for exits at 10x in 2 years might not resonate with your vision. But that shouldn’t stop you from building your dream,”
The Redditor who started the discussion, explains why this may not be the right choice for everyone:
“At this point, I genuinely feel a stable job is a better choice for most people in India than chasing the startup dream blindly. At least you build financial security and optionality.
As for me, I’m not done building. But I’m reconsidering where I build from. I’ll probably try to move into a more mature ecosystem like Silicon Valley to raise funds and continue.
If you’re thinking of quitting your job for a startup, just be very, very sure. This path is not what it’s sold as,” he concludes.
You can read the entire discussion here.
