A Jaipur-based founder has recalled her meeting with an IIT Kanpur graduate who built a successful company, but grew tired of dealing with manufacturers and eventually left entrepreneurship to work for someone else. Pranshi Chaturvedi, the founder and CEO of Bellish Group, revealed the IITian’s journey in an X post.
Why a founder left his own company to work as an employee at a startup. (Pexels./Representational Image)
Chaturvedi said that she met the IIT Kanpur graduate on a recent trip and got to know that he had built a shoe brand that was bringing in ₹2 crore in sales every month. Despite this, the founder was unhappy and eventually left the company to work at a Gurgaon-based startup.
IITian quits own company
According to Chaturvedi, the IITian founder left entrepreneurship because he did not like the way his manufacturers in Surat operated.
“On my recent trip, I met an IIT Kanpur alumnus who scaled his D2C shoe brand to ₹2 crore in monthly sales. He left it because he didn’t like how the Surat manufacturers operated,” she wrote in her X post.
After leaving his own company that was bringing in ₹2 crore every month, the IITian now works as an engineer at a Gurgaon-based startup. (Also read: ₹1 lakh a month for home manager: ‘Can afford to pay'”>IITian CEO and wife pay ₹1 lakh a month for home manager: ‘Can afford to pay’)
“Now he’s in Gurgaon working as a Lead Engineer at a startup that has raised Series A funding,” Chaturvedi revealed, without naming the person.
Elaborating on his decision to leave entrepreneurship for a job, she said: “The reason he said he quit was basically supply issues. He got tired of it and decided to use his engineering mind elsewhere.”
She refuted suggestions that the founder was unwilling to work with Surat-based manufacturers because of caste issues. “There was no caste or community angle involved. This is risk-taking capacity,” she clarified.
Internet weighs in
Internet users who read the story were largely surprised to know that someone would give up a successful company to work as an employee.
“Curious what specifically about the manufacturers made him walk. That’s a big decision and there’s probably a story there worth hearing,” wrote X user Advik Jain.
“Sometimes walking away from your own success takes more courage than building it in the first place,” another wrote.
“Labour intensive sector is very unorganised,” an X user said. (Also read: ‘Disillusioned’ Indian man quits JPMorgan job and takes 70% pay cut: ‘Success isn’t big paychecks’)
“Manufacturing is not a Raja Babu job,” wrote Gaurav Sharma. “You deal with labour issues, supplier pressures, client negotiations and sometimes you have to follow up for payments as if you owe them money. There are constant challenges and industry needs people who can absorb pressure and still execute with discipline.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)