In a brutally honest post, a former Indian startup founder opened up about the harsh reality of transitioning from building a business to struggling to land a job. Taking to Reddit, he revealed that he was once the founder of a food and beverage startup, but now he is struggling to get a call back from employers.
In an anonymous post, he revealed that he had co-founded a healthy food startup with two friends. “Managed every part of the business ourselves from marketing, customer support, operations, finance, compliance and content like every other person starting up. We were bootstrapped, learned everything on the fly and kept it running as long as we could,” he said.
However, their dream soon hit a ceiling, and without external funding, his co-founders stepped away, leaving him to shut shop and enter the job market.
‘Too founder-y’
Despite several interviews and positive feedback, he was told that his background was “too ‘founder-y’ for structured roles, not domain-specific enough for niche ones.”
“We’re not sure how to fit your background into this role. You’re overqualified,” he was told.
The former co-founder added that he was not looking for niche roles and was willing to adapt, but he was still stuck in limbo because he did not fit in any particular role perfectly.
“I’m just floating in between, asking friends and network connections for help and wondering if I’m asking for too much by just wanting a chance. This isn’t a rant. And I’m not here for pity. Because honestly, this part of the founder story doesn’t get talked about much. Sometimes it just ends. Quietly,” he added.
Social media reacts
The post struck a nerve with others online who shared words of support and admitted they, too, have struggled to “fit in” after stepping away from their ventures. “I was in the same situation a few years back after closing down/exiting my previous company. I don’t know if you have any work experience apart from this or not, but I’d suggest going directly to the founders of companies that you want to work with,” suggested one user.
Another wrote, “Exactly the same situation as you. Had to shut down the business as I pretty much exhausted all my personal funds. Have been trying to raise funds for my next venture and also applying for jobs at the same time. Nothing seems to be working out at the moment. Keeping my fingers crossed.”
