55k new startups is nothing to celebrate
The govt just announced a record 55k recognized startups for FY26 and launched a 10,000 crore fund. Sounds great on paper until you realize who is actually getting this money. Most founders popping up now have a product background which in the Indian ecosystem often translates to arrogant, out of touch, and obsessed with valuations over actual unit economics. Then you’ve got the early stage core teams, mostly fresh grads from premium colleges. No offense, but I’ve yet to meet a founding engineer who didn’t brag about sleeping under their desk within two minutes of conversation. That’s not a flex, that’s just terrible planning.
Their entire personality revolves around a pitch deck they made a year ago. And because of that, they walk around with the delusion that anyone wanting to log off at 7 PM is fundamentally lazy. The superiority complex is unbearable, and it trickles down into the daily operations chaotic, toxic, and completely unstructured.
Take any of these newly funded tech platforms, pick your poison. A guy at my previous org literally had a panic attack in the washroom from the weekend deliverables. These places will fire half their marketing team for the crime of missing a ridiculous monthly target. Not after a PIP, not after a discussion just gone. No severance, no basic decency. It’s not just bad leadership. It’s exploitation.
The ecosystem loves throwing around this 10,000 crore number like it is a massive win for the country, but internally, these new ventures are just glorified sweatshops. Stay in established firms unless you enjoy being treated like disposable garbage.
Reminds me of 100 crores each for 100 smart cities. Babus and politicians must have burped hundreds of crores there.
When i was in college people used to say very small percentage of startups actually succeeded.
Now that I've worked in industry and seen what these startups are like I'm not surprised. Most of them are just overconfident idiot yappers who don't have a solid idea
With any normal business idea like hotel, kirana shop or any normal business when someon invests money , business goes into loss, they suffer financially. But this rule never works in a " start up".
That stupid idea is the product. The main aim of a start up is to raise funds, evade taxes, sell the idea to someone else. Almost all startups fail, have you seen a financially ruined founder?
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That panic attack part due to weekend deliverables part really hit me personally. I too had a similar moment when I was supposed to work on weekends as well when I'd already clocked around 50+ hours during the weekdays itself. This fail-fast strategy which prevails at most startups, takes a huge toll on the employees' mental health
Sounds great on paper? You have probably not seen the right papers:
- everyone from level 0 to founder is mentally and financially stressed if not physically
Nasscom said 60% last year I guess, but even that's not right. you know how things work in india. - there is nothing as work life balance. Yes you get wfh sometimes but not because they encourage WLB, but because they don't have much to put in offices.
- Job security is decided by finances. In fact most of these founders have themselves been laid off from MNCs or they resigned themselves to generate a better income source.
- No equality even on papers. At least mncs put on paper that they value the LGBTQ+, women, pwd, etc.
- using glamorous words doesn't change truth. Flat hierarchy, learning curve, founding roles, lean team, esops, hyper local, disruptive, ecosystem- everyday words enough to make you look lucrative until you enter and see it.
Growth over governance is a failue:
- read the case study of byjus, dunzo, pharmeasy, blusmart. Btw these are the top tier startups which people actually recognized, there are many which don't have much available on the internet.
- other than just finances read also about Rohan mirchandani from epigemia, Nitin from Zarodha, VGS from CCD, K Aravind from Ola n about their health.
- money laundering and round tripping cases like octafx, mahadev betting, probo, winzo
- read also the cases of nykaas business officer, bigbasket data, mobikwik data over darkweb cases, boat PII leak case to know how important security and privacy is.
- zoop, surepass, digitap and how they stored aadhaar and dozens of startups how they scrap official data and store.
- hotshots case although not Indian was popular, ullu, alt balaji we're all violating regulations and it's on paper
- on fmcg just google about how they marketed themselves. yogabar, the whole truth, kapiva, country delight, fast&up
List is long and I've limited knowledge. List gets worse if you don't consider official sources. The problem is you can't be a whistleblower too, if you know the yesmadam layoff case. The proliferation of startups without a foundation of governance is just building a house of cards. We need to stop celebrating quantity (55k) and start demanding quality—both in business ethics and the way we treat the humans building them.
Nasscom said more than 60% startup employees feel burnout. Idk I mentioned it on 1st point but it disappeared somehow.
Well established firms are no good, These days they too fire without warning
Go to communist country my friend
Loss making AI startups.😭
Nowadays startups are for risk calculation. Big companies or people with extra cash give money so founders take risk, disturb their life and others life and then give profit to vc or investors.
