New Delhi: On March 13, at 7 am during a routine daily meeting, an Indian software engineer was told he was being let go from his remote US job. The reason given was that he was spending too much time on his own startup. Instead of falling apart, he used that sudden push as a turning point.
He had been working on the startup part-time before the firing. The company’s name is Dreamlaunch. When he decided to go full-time, the business was making about $1,000 a month. He and his co-founder had almost no steady income at first. For a few months there were hardly any clients; other months brought bigger orders. The change was not smooth, but the results came faster than many would expect: in six months Dreamlaunch crossed $50,000 in total revenue and reached roughly $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue. The team has started hiring and is slowly scaling operations.
A few practical choices helped them survive the hard months. The founder kept the layoff secret from his parents so he could focus wit hout family pressure. His co-founder gave up their income for a while to keep the work going. They stretched their savings and used a short runway to test ideas quickly. Small, steady steps, making product fixes, chasing clients, and learning from rejections, mattered more than any single big plan.
There are a few clear lessons for young students who want to try startups. First, don’t panic and take the first “safe” job you see. Use your short runway to check if the idea can fly. Second, accept that some months may bring zero clients, persistence is the key. Third, practical help, like a co-founder who shares risk or keeping the family worry to a minimum while you stabilize, can make a big difference.
