I'm laying myself off. Indian start-ups have killed my sense of purpose
Why: I know that with all the job layoffs happening, it's kinda stupid to quit but I just can't. After almost a decade in the startup scene I'm taking a break, probably for good.
From AI to B2C to ed-tech and more I have worked with startups at every stage of growth and across sectors. Almost in every one of these w/o exception, I have experienced burnout, mindless pressure, and being underpaid because I'm not from an IIT or IIM.
Context: I love technology, I have been a sci-fi nerd since school and I threw myself into the stories of startups changing the world. But because of family finances and the overall culture of startups I haven't taken a break in about 10 years and it's starting to show.
I don't have savings to last me more than 3-4 months but at this rate I'll end up checking out of society.
Unsolicited advice:
- Most startups and the VCs that back them know they're going to fail but don't internalise their failure as yours.
- Always, always take care of your mental + physical health. Doesn't matter if you're intern and you're expected to slog 12-15 hours in the name of learning.
- I missed moments with my ageing mom and dad, school friends and just time to read and relax because I was afraid of missing out on "networking" and "office night outs". Fuck all that, it is and it will always be family and frit first.
Finally, Fuck all you hustle bro CEOs, they have done more to damage the mentor health of a generation more than any politician. I feel stupid and useless because you can't help posturing and creating panic in the name of disruption. Hope AI takes your jobs too.
PS: See you on the other side.
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Sorry to hear about your experience. Specially the underpaid part sucks being from non target IIT IIM. Trust me the bias exists in Big tech companies too. I’m surprised that startups still carry this bias.
All the best to you and have fun with the break
They all do
Thank you so much man! And yes, reading the replies gives me more hope.
Interesting and enlightening post. Thanks for putting your heart out for everyone to see.
I am a bit surprised though about the underpaid part, and for savings of just 4-5 months. I had heard about Tier3 College guys in Bangalore earning 65+ lpa at just 6-7 yrs experience. Was all that a rumour? Because that package at that experience, for a Tier 3 guys, looks fabulous to me. Is it not so for others?
65+ lpa is not the package of 1 lac people out of say 40L techies in Bengaluru
They are handful, may be few 100 and into niche tech where demand supply mismatch is huge...once economics get balanced...the salary correction will come in place just like php, java, html etc.
@Sherlock007 I know I know, but that was not the point. This person worked with startups (supposed to be paying more, specially in Bangalore), and worked for 10 yrs with full zeal and interest, and still feels underpaid. And then there are some others being paid humongous money, that’s why I wondered.
After 10y of workex...only 3 month runaway...
Bro/Sis, you screwed up your financial health atleast.
Please work on this... mental health and physical health can only be attained if u have healthy cash flow or runway
You were underpaid cause you settled for that job and more over worked overtime for that lower pay. Employers are businessmen, they will want to extract max out of you with as little pay as possible. Its up to you to not let them do that. Its a dog eat dog world my friend. My advice will be look for remote US/SEA opportunities, they pay alot and work load is way less.
Ideally, yes. After my break I'll either find a fully remote role or join a boring big company where sanity will survive even if it's boring.
I agree, have followed the hustle culture, have been burnt out, kind of recovered but now I want to build a side project but just don't feel like putting in effort.
Don't know when this will go away.
I have seen false sense of purpose being forced into the employees of Tech startups. Every little task is made to look like urgent and after a certain time the exhaustion is real. The pay gap is real and it is not going to go away anytime because even if one guy from these tier 1 institutions goes to the top, I have seen them peddling false propaganda about skill of the employees.
This is a very real observation! Tbh, I think the newer generations are more mission/value driven (given basic needs are met more easily). Founders/startups easily twist this to their advantage and maybe this is bad for our mental health
