{"id":666223,"date":"2026-06-30T15:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/666223\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T15:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:01:10","slug":"im-43-and-broke-mumbai-founder-regrets-paying-himself-just-%e2%82%b912-lpa-while-building-his-startup-viral-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/666223\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I’m 43 And Broke’: Mumbai Founder Regrets Paying Himself Just \u20b912 LPA While Building His Startup | Viral News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Updated:June 30, 2026, 15:12 IST<\/p>\n

Mumbai founder says he is \u201c43 and broke\u201d after years of underpaying himself as a founder, sparking a debate online about whether startup founders should draw sustainable salaries\"font\"\"new\"new<\/a>\"A<\/p>\n

A Mumbai founder’s honest reflection on the sacrifices of entrepreneurship has resonated across social media (Image-AI)\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A brutally honest post by Mumbai-based entrepreneur Saurabh Garg has gone viral after he revealed that years of underpaying himself while building startups have left him \u201cbroke” at 43, sparking a fresh debate over how much founders should pay themselves.<\/p>\n

The discussion began when Aroleap founder Aman Rai shared his own experience on X, revealing that he paid himself only \u20b910 lakh per annum during the first three years of building his home-gym startup.<\/p>\n

Looking back, Rai said he now regrets the decision, arguing that founders often underestimate the importance of their own financial well-being. According to him, drawing a slightly higher salary would have had little impact on the startup\u2019s finances while making a significant difference in a founder\u2019s personal life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Echoing those sentiments, Saurabh Garg, co-founder of The Podium and Meru Life, responded with a deeply personal reflection on his entrepreneurial journey. Garg admitted that despite spending years building businesses, he rarely increased his own salary and now regrets prioritising everything except his own financial stability.<\/p>\n

In his post, Garg wrote, \u201cHard relate. Never raised apart from a tiny fnf at Meru. Never paid myself well (max I\u2019ve taken home is 12 LPA and that too when I ran a services business). Now am 43. And broke. Most folks that worked for me got paid market rates. And some more. So they\u2019re ok. I poured from an empty cup. I wish I hadn\u2019t. Hindisight is sexy.”<\/p>\n

According to Garg\u2019s LinkedIn profile, he exited Meru Lifestyle in March 2026. Apart from a small full-and-final settlement from the company, he said he never meaningfully increased his earnings throughout his entrepreneurial career. He added that the highest salary he ever received was \u20b912 lakh per annum while operating a services business.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his current situation, Garg said that despite years of building companies, he now considers himself financially \u201cbroke.” At the same time, he pointed out that many people who worked alongside him were paid competitive market salaries, and in some cases even more, leaving them in a stronger financial position than himself.<\/p>\n

His remarks quickly struck a chord with many entrepreneurs and professionals on social media, triggering a wider discussion about whether startup founders should sacrifice their own financial security in pursuit of building successful businesses.<\/p>\n

Several users weighed in with their perspectives.<\/p>\n

\u201cAm curious why did the investor never questioned such low-ball take home? Or were they the one driving it?” said one user.<\/p>\n

Another commented, \u201cIf you are in India your number is 36lpa rising to 48lpa where it should stay until you are able to raise a Series B. I promise you those numbers are very specifically calculated.”<\/p>\n

Hard relate. Never raised apart from a tiny fnf at Meru. Never paid myself well (max I\u2019ve taken home is 12 LPA and that too when I ran a services business). Now am 43. And broke. Most folks that worked for me got paid market rates. And some more. So they\u2019re ok.I poured from an\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/H99N0ekroe<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Saurabh (@saurabh) June 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Offering words of encouragement, a third user wrote, \u201cYou live and learn, you still have a lot of time to bounce back and get what you want from life. Not just words, reality. Not how deep you fall but how high you bounce back \u2013 true measure of success! Stay strong and hopeful!”<\/p>\n

Another questioned the practice of founders accepting extremely low pay, asking, \u201cShouldn\u2019t founders at least pay themselves the local minimum wage?”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, one comment criticised what many described as an unhealthy startup culture around self-sacrifice. \u201cThe glorification of the starving founder is so tired. if you burn out the product dies anyway. Paying yourself rent is an operating expense \ud83d\ude02” the user wrote.<\/p>\n

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News<\/a> viral<\/a> ‘I’m 43 And Broke’: Mumbai Founder Regrets Paying Himself Just \u20b912 LPA While Building His StartupDisclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Updated:June 30, 2026, 15:12 IST Mumbai founder says he is \u201c43 and broke\u201d after years of underpaying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[223142,84,4203,223145,223139,223144,223141,223143,223138,56,223140,54,55],"class_list":["post-666223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-aman-rai-aroleap","tag-business","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-founder-financial-wellbeing","tag-founder-pay-india","tag-minimum-wage-for-founders","tag-saurabh-garg-broke","tag-startup-culture-self-sacrifice","tag-startup-founder-salary","tag-uk","tag-underpaid-entrepreneurs","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}