When I started out as an entrepreneur, I wore long hours as a badge of honor. For me, “long hours” meant 18–21 hour workdays.
I took pride when people said I was available across all time zones. Sales calls at midnight, project delivery in the morning—my calendar never slept, and neither did I. At that time, youth and adrenaline helped my body keep up. No one told me it wasn’t sustainable.
Success came fast, but so did the silent damage. By 2018, sleep was a stranger. It took me 3–4 years of struggle to rebuild the simple habit of night sleep.
For the last three years, I’ve disciplined myself to sleep at nights. But the price I paid is written all over my health—hypertension, cholesterol, muscle stiffness, indigestion, and gut issues.
My advice to young entrepreneurs: Yes, the path is challenging. Yes, you need to be ahead of the race. But don’t mistake sleeplessness for hustle. Let business happen in the day, let your body rest at night.
Because what’s the point of success if you can’t enjoy it in good health?
I’ve always been the kind of person who loves to start things. I’ve built multiple startups. I know how to create traction, build momentum, and get things moving.
Getting from 0 to 1 was never a problem for me. In fact, I enjoyed that phase the most — brainstorming, launching, talking to early users, and seeing things take shape. That energy kept me going.
But somewhere along the way, I hit a plateau. Every time.
The initial buzz would settle. The chaos would turn into routine. And I’d feel stuck.
For a long time, I didn’t understand why this kept happening. I blamed timing, the market, even bad luck.
Only recently, I realised the truth.
I’ve always been good at building the foundation of a startup. But I never focused on building the long-term structure.
I didn’t build systems. I didn’t bring in the right people to grow what I started. I didn’t think of the next phase because I was too caught up in the early wins.
And that’s where I missed.
Looking back, I should have either exited at the right time or brought in someone who could take it forward. Someone who loves to scale, manage teams, and build processes — the things that honestly don’t excite me.
This is a common mistake many founders make — we think we have to do everything ourselves. But the real growth comes when we know our strength and let others handle the rest.
If you’re someone who loves starting up, that’s your superpower. But don’t let that become your limit.
Here’s what I’ve learnt:
Build with a team that complements you.
Plan not just for launch, but for what comes after.
Know when to step back or hand over.
I’m not writing this with regret — I’m writing this with clarity. And if you’re going through the same cycle, I hope this helps you see your pattern too.
Your strength is valuable. Use it wisely. And next time you build something just think beyond just starting.
They say life is nothing but a series of choices — some we make in seconds, some after years of thought. But it’s the unexpected ones, the small decisions on seemingly ordinary days, that end up shaping our destiny the most.
In 2004, I made such a choice. I hired someone. That’s it. A routine decision. A resume, a handshake, a promise of a new beginning — it felt like just another Monday on the entrepreneurial calendar.
She was from a small town, working in a call center, holding an MBA in HR but desperate for a break. I saw that raw hunger and decided to offer her a platform — I thought I was enabling a young professional’s dream. Maybe, in some corner of my mind, I even saw a reflection of my own past struggles — that same raw desperation to make it.
I had built my first venture with a dear partner, brick by brick, dream by dream. We didn’t have connections, we didn’t have family money cushioning our falls. All we had was ambition that kept us awake at night and a silent promise to each other that we would make it, no matter what.
But sometimes, we forget — when you open your door wide for someone, they might walk in carrying not gratitude, but greed. She wasn’t cunning or a mastermind. She was simply short-sighted, hungry for quick luxury, blinded by instant pleasures. While we were busy building a company to stand the test of time, she was busy living in borrowed moments, chasing dinners, perfumes, designer labels — things that glitter only till the lights are on.
In her desperate rush for the high life, she didn’t just stumble — she pulled down everything in her path. She rattled a ship that was floating on the fragile balance of two young dreamers. She planted doubts, sowed jealousy, whispered false comforts — and before I knew it, the dream I had once guarded like a newborn was thrown out with me.
In 2008, I was pushed out of my own creation. My partner too slowly fell into a pit he couldn’t climb out of. The venture that had so much promise, that spark in our eyes — it all vanished like an unfinished verse in a torn diary.
But the tragedy didn’t spare her either. The same greed that fueled her steps ultimately consumed her life. She ended up as lost as we were broken — a stark reminder that shortcuts don’t just ruin roads, they erase destinations.
Years later, people still ask me, “What went wrong?” I don’t blame fate, nor do I hold the world accountable. My only mistake? Hiring the wrong person on that one day in 2004. That single signature on a simple appointment letter shifted the course of twenty-one years of my life.
If I could ask God for just one gift, I wouldn’t ask for money, fame, or even a second chance. I would simply ask Him to make me dream backwards — just for one night.
A dream where I go back to that fateful day, fix that one decision, and erase that moment when I hired her. A dream where I see myself and my partner, two young boys with fire in their eyes, running a company that’s recognised, respected, and celebrated by all. A dream where we are still fighting side by side, laughing over cheap tea, planning crazy ideas that kept us up all night, watching our tiny dream grow into an empire that even we can’t believe we built.
And in that dream, I want to see us standing on a stage, receiving awards, hearing applause, hugging each other with tears in our eyes — whispering, “We did it, against all odds.” I want to wake up in the morning and still taste that dream, feel its warmth in my veins, carry its fragrance in my mind.
But life doesn’t give us that luxury. So, I move forward — with scars, with lessons, and with the silent prayer that no one else ever has to learn it the way I did.
I started my entrepreneurial journey back when internet cafes were still a thing, and valuation was a word only VCs in Silicon Valley threw around. In 2025, the startup game looks fancier, faster, and full of noise — but the fundamentals remain timeless.
Let’s break it down.
Motivation: Why do you really want to do this?
If your motivation is just to quit your boss, show off on LinkedIn, or post those “hustle harder” selfies — stop right here.
Entrepreneurship is about solving a problem you deeply care about, and having the stomach for months (or years) of invisible effort before the first clap.
Bootstrapping: Start with your own shoes
Bootstrapping isn’t just a funding method; it’s a mindset. You learn to be scrappy, resourceful, and ruthless about where every rupee or dollar goes.
Options to bootstrap in 2025:
Freelancing or consulting on the side.
Using small grants or local government innovation funds.
Partnering with customers to prepay (advance orders).
Running micro MVPs (minimal products) and using those profits to fuel growth.
Networking: Find ideas, co-founders & allies
Don’t just scroll startup hashtags.
Attend local meetups, online communities (like Indie Hackers, Founder Clubs), and industry events.
Discuss problems, not pitches — the right co-founder or investor loves problem-solvers, not wannabe unicorn hunters.
Build trust slowly, especially if your co-founder isn’t a sibling or lifelong friend.
Sales & branding: Story first, scale next
In 2025, every customer has a 5-second attention span. Your brand is your story.
Solve one problem well, not ten problems “sort of.”
Build organic brand trust before performance marketing splurges.
Don’t just sell products — sell why you exist.
Opportunities: 2025 is gold for niche plays
Hyper-local services (think “Swiggy for home-cooked elders’ meals”)
People today worship those “raised $50M in Series A” posts. But most don’t realize — those founders are married to investors now.
Conventional way (slow and steady):
Build solid foundation.
Focus on profits.
Cement market trust.
Unconventional way (valuation-focused):
Rapid user acquisition.
Burn money to dominate quickly.
Aim for big exit or IPO.
💬 Which is ideal?
If you’re building with trusted partners (like siblings or lifelong friends) → Conventional. You think long-term, family legacy, steady cash flows.
If you’re building with a convenience-based co-founder (someone you met for skills, not soul) → Unconventional might work. Faster exits, cashing out before personal values clash.
Dos & Don’ts
✅ Do:
Focus on one clear customer problem.
Keep costs lower than your ego.
Build systems before scaling.
❌ Don’t:
Build just for investor applause.
Ignore mental and physical health.
Copy trends blindly.
Benefits of being an entrepreneur
You own your time (even if it feels like your startup owns you at first).
You create impact beyond your payslip.
You choose your tribe — employees, partners, customers.
You grow faster as a person than in any corporate boardroom.
In 2025 or 2055, the game is still the same: solve real problems, stay true to your “why,” and play your own game — not someone else’s scoreboard.
AnandNataraj 