Reality Check: Edelweiss' Radhika Gupta Points Out Harsh Truth Behind Start-Up Glamour

Radhika Gupta, the CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Funds, has recently warned aspiring entrepreneurs regarding an ongoing trend in start-up ecosystem and urged them not to fall for it. She also highlighted that the glorification of success often overshadows the immense difficulties and sacrifices involved, suggesting them to to approach the startup world with a realistic perspective.

"There is now an increased air of start-up romance," said Gupta in a post on X.

Elaborating it further , Gupta said that "start-up romance" paints start up life as working in chiller attire out of a fancy co working space, talking ideas all day, raising funding rounds, giving gyaan on social media, hosting Fri Eve drinks for colleagues.

"Don't fall for it," Gupta added.

However, when this romance fades, "start-up reality" hits soon, Gupta noted.

"It means painful execution, limited budgets and even more limited working conditions, constant rejection, challenges in hiring and retention, pressure for revenue at any cost, and uncertainty for a very long period of time," she explained.

A Start-Up Reality Check

Gupta's comment drew attention to a harsh reality of the start-up ecosystem which is grappled with pressure of earning revenue at any cost, limited budget and resources, attrition and rejection, among others.

Earlier this month, CEO of tech startup Greptile Daksh Gupta received backlash on social media for defending his company's 14-hour workdays, six days a week.

"The demanding schedule is crucial for the success of early-stage startups," Daksh responded.

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A recent study by mental health start-up YourDOST revealed that nearly 31 per cent of Indian entrepreneurs have imposter syndrome. It further said that those in the initial stage of their entrepreneurial journey have high levels of the syndrome due to high pressure to perform well in early stages.

The report highlighted that nearly 48 per cent of the founders feel low community support while 31 per cent experience strong support from within the entrepreneurial group.

Talking to Business Today, Dhruv Suyamprakasam, CEO of the telemedicine startup iCliniq, also highlighted the same kinds of struggles in form of biases. He moved from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu to start-up hub Bengaluru, Karnataka.

However, amid rising unrealistic growth pressure from the investors, he realised that it was the best decision as he was excluded for not speaking Hindi, not studying at IIT, and coming from a small town.