A heated debate has erupted on social media after a Hyderabad-based CEO publicly disputed an investor\u2019s advice that entrepreneurs should focus on building companies to solve problems rather than simply getting rich.<\/p>\n
Jitendra Emmani, co-founder and CEO of Cozy Farms, countered that claim, saying it is perfectly acceptable to build companies with the sole purpose of making money. He also cautioned against taking unsolicited advice from the internet.<\/p>\n
The investor’s stance: purpose over profit<\/p>\n
The debate began with a post on X in which an investor shared advice for aspiring founders<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cDo not start a company if you’re primarily driven by:- Making money; Getting famous; Doing better than others; Calling yourself CEO\/founder,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Also Read | X launches About This Account to help users identify real profiles: All to know<\/a><\/p>\n He further emphasised that one should build a company out of passion, adding, \u201cOnly do it if you’re crazy enough to do whatever it takes to solve a problem you deeply care about.\u201d<\/p>\n The CEO’s counterargument<\/p>\n Jitendra Emmani offered a sharp rebuttal, drawing on his own experience. He explained that he built his first company, called Picxy, to solve a problem he deeply cared about.<\/p>\n While studying at Northern Illinois University in the United States<\/a> and working on a media portal highlighting stories from South India, he noticed a lack of stock images representing India, according to YourStory.<\/p>\n Also Read | Indian man left his JPMorgan job to join startup with a 70% pay cut<\/a><\/p>\n That’s when he launched Picxy, a platform providing stock images<\/a> for Indian businesses, with the aim of filling that gap.<\/p>\n \u201cStarted my first company to solve a problem I deeply cared about. A stock photo company for India. Worked 6 years pretty hard and it didn\u2019t take off beyond a point,\u201d Emmani recounted.<\/p>\n