{"id":455920,"date":"2026-04-27T09:10:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T09:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/455920\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T09:10:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T09:10:41","slug":"iit-grad-who-quit-%e2%82%b928-lpa-job-says-startup-dream-not-what-its-sold-as-calls-ecosystem-deeply-broken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/455920\/","title":{"rendered":"IIT grad who quit \u20b928 LPA job says startup dream \u2018not what it\u2019s sold as\u2019, calls ecosystem \u2018deeply broken\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT<\/a>) graduate has triggered a conversation online after sharing his experience of leaving a \u20b928 lakh per annum job to build a startup<\/a>, only to face what he described as a \u201cdeeply broken\u201d ecosystem.<\/p>\n

In a Reddit post titled \u201cI Quit a \u20b928 LPA Job for doing a Startup. Here\u2019s What Actually Happened,\u201d the user detailed the financial and emotional costs of pursuing entrepreneurship in India.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter almost a year in the Indian startup ecosystem, I feel people should hear the other side. The whole \u2018startup ecosystem\u2019 in India feels deeply broken. It\u2019s marketed as this meritocratic, innovation-driven space, but in reality, it often runs on connections, optics, and gatekeeping,\u201d the user wrote.<\/p>\n

\u20b910-12 lakh spent in under a year, little return<\/p>\n

According to the post, the user spent nearly \u20b910-12 lakh over 11 months on product development, employee salaries, and fundraising efforts after quitting his job.<\/p>\n

He also claimed to have paid significant amounts to pitch deck reviewers, fundraising consultants and startup bootcamps. However, he said the returns did not match expectations.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat did I get in return? Endless \u2018mentorship\u2019 calls, vague promises, networking events that go nowhere, and people more interested in sounding smart than actually building anything,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u2018Fundraising feels like a parallel industry\u2019<\/p>\n

The user alleged that the fundraising ecosystem itself often operates like a separate industry that extracts value from founders, especially those without strong venture capital connections.<\/p>\n

\u201cHard truth, if you don\u2019t have strong connections, your chances drop massively,\u201d he said, adding that paid programs, curated introductions and networking events rarely translate into tangible results for first-time founders.<\/p>\n

Warning for aspiring founders<\/p>\n

The IIT graduate acknowledged that his educational background provides him with a fallback option \u2014 access to well-paying jobs \u2014 but cautioned that many others may not have the same safety net.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor them, this path can be financially and mentally devastating,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

He also questioned the depth of innovation in India\u2019s startup landscape, suggesting that much of it is focused on replication rather than original, deep-tech breakthroughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real deep-tech push and serious capital seem to be elsewhere, especially in ecosystems like Silicon Valley,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u2018Stable job may be a better choice\u2019<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his experience, the user said that pursuing a startup may not be the best decision for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 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,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Despite the setbacks, he clarified that he has not abandoned entrepreneurship altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m reconsidering where I build from. I\u2019ll probably try to move into a more mature ecosystem like Silicon Valley to raise funds and continue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re thinking of quitting your job for a startup, just be very, very sure. This path is not what it\u2019s sold as,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Post sparks debate online<\/p>\n

The post quickly gained traction, with several users sharing similar experiences in the comments section.<\/p>\n

\u201cA huge +1 to the OP. I have very similar experience, went to top colleges in India + US. Left 1Cr+ job last year to do startup, got into one of the best accelerators here didn’t get funded even after product+customers. Indian startup ecosystem is not for you if you already don’t have strong VC connections. Go to Silicon Valley if you want to innovate, innvoation isn’t respected in India, VCs here only copy other VCs..no risk appetite,\u201d one user wrote.<\/p>\n

Another commented, \u201cBulls eye\u2026I quit at 42lpa..the whole setup is just like any other government policy .. you put in years of hard work, money, endless nights \u2014 just to realize that just like the roads ; the whole ecosystem is superficial.. even though you build your own lambho , you still can\u2019t drive around\u2026on the contrary – it\u2019s 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\u2019t agree- it\u2019s 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..\u201d<\/p>\n

A third user added, \u201cCannot agree more. I am in the same boat. I am an IIT grad just like you and left a job that paid 80 lpa. The product i work on is a core tech product,\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) graduate has triggered a conversation online after sharing his experience of leaving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[178],"tags":[79,18,236,200770,51347,19,200761,200763,200772,200767,17,200764,200766,4670,200769,934,31152,200765,200771,200768,200762],"class_list":["post-455920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-entrepreneurship-risks-india","tag-financial-security","tag-ie","tag-iit-graduate","tag-iit-startup-story-india","tag-iitian","tag-indian-founders-funding-challenges","tag-ireland","tag-quit-job-for-startup-india","tag-reddit-startup-india-viral-post","tag-silicon-valley","tag-silicon-valley-vs-india-startups","tag-startup","tag-startup-ecosystem","tag-startup-ecosystem-india-problems","tag-startup-failure-stories-india","tag-vc-connections-india-startups","tag-venture-capital-connections"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}