OkCredit

AI has exposed all fake founders. If you’re one, you’ll hate this. Earlier, you could hide behind excuses: “I need a tech co-founder” “I need a dev team” “I need funding” Bullshit. Today, you can build an MVP in a weekend. Talk to AI. It’ll write code, test it, fix it. You can’t hide behind “I’m non-tech” anymore - that’s not the real problem. The real problem is: You don’t want to get your hands dirty You want someone else to do the hard work You are still waiting for someone else to build your dream Wake up! If you’re still not building, maybe you never wanted to. #HarshRealities

I’m trying to do something crazy. Something most people think can’t be done. Travel the world and build a massive company. People say you can’t do both. That you have to pick one. Make sacrifices. Stay in one city. Work 24x7. Travel when you’re 60. But honestly, I don’t buy that. I don’t think you need to sit in one place, stare at the same desk every day, attend 50 standups, to build something legendary. I got this tattoo in Vietnam - a tiny plane flying around the world. Nothing fancy, but it reminds me of what i’m chasing. A life where i build big and live free. Not one after the other. Both, at the same time. No one’s done it this way before. And that’s exactly why i want to try.

I’ve picked up a new hobby 🤫 Blending (yes, vegetables. not personalities) I don’t cook. I don’t even try. So now i just chop whatever i find and make it spin. It works well for me - i travel a lot, and don’t own much kitchen stuff. Also It’s quick, healthy and makes me feel like I have my shit together (for 5 mins, but still)

We got invited for Forbes 30U30 photoshoot. And the photographers laughed when they saw us 🙈 This was back in 2020. OkCredit had just made it to the list. We were super excited. It felt like a big win. They told us to dress sharp. The funny part? None of us had proper formal clothes. We showed up in old suits from our college placement days. Aditya wore a shirt so big it looked like his dad’s. Gaurav’s shirt was in such bad shape, he had to hide it. And I wore jeans because I didn’t have formal pants. We didn’t even have formal shoes. The photographers were better dressed than us. When they saw us, they laughed. They decided to shoot only our upper bodies. But that photo? It became one of my favorite memories. It reminds me how far we’ve come. And how silly the “startup image” really is. You don’t need fancy clothes to build something big. Just belief, hunger, and friends who’ll build with you. #HarshRealities

2015: Got rejected by Y Combinator 2016: Rejected again 2017: 3rd attempt - still a NO 2018: Applied one more time and… Finally, WE GOT IN 💃 It felt like a dream come true :) Every year, ~40,000 startups apply to YC. Only 1.5% make it. It’s brutal. Here’s a tried & tested guide for you to get accepted into YC - so you don’t have to learn it the hard way: 1️⃣ Don’t beat around the bush. Say NO to jargons. Keep your answers to the point & concise. Think of it as you are explaining to a 5 year old child. 2️⃣ Prioritise deep metrics instead of vanity metrics. 100 users who love your product >>> 10000 users who just like it. 3️⃣ Share a “user- transformation story”. Talk about a story that highlights the impact your product had on the user’s life. 4️⃣ Don’t fake anything. Be real & open about the risks your company has. 5️⃣ Know someone who has been to YC before? Ask for a referral. A warm referral goes a long way. Send this to someone thinking of applying to YC. And if that someone is you - bookmark this and go all in. Rejections sting. But regret stings more. Keep building. You’re closer than you think.

I slept in temples, ate free food, and ended up in Economic Times, with Katrina Kaif in the same article 🙈 It feels weird. But also really nice. Maybe there’s something about being real on the internet. No filters. No playbook. Just my story, as it is. Thank you to all the media folks who found these stories worth sharing. This honestly feels unreal.

18 months ago, we laid off 70 people. Here’s how it went… We were burning too much. Hired too fast. It was our mistake. And we owned it. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done as a founder. But we tried to do it the right way. We spoke to each of the 70 people, personally. Told them what went wrong, why this decision had to be made, and how we’ll support them. We gave them 3 months’ notice. Helped with referrals, intros, job leads - anything that could help. 67 got placed before the notice period ended. For the 3 who didn’t, we gave 2 months’ extra salary. But look at what’s happening now - Over 120,000 people were laid off this year. And many of them didn’t even get a call. Some found out through a blocked email. Some were just removed from Slack in the middle of the day. That’s inhuman. Yes, layoffs happen. But how you handle them says everything about your culture. I know it’s tough to have these conversations, but this is what you signed up for when you became a founder. If you call someone “family” while hiring them, treat them like family when letting them go too. #HarshRealities

I didn’t know anyone in Mysore, so I moved in with a stranger 🫣 I came here with Kanak She found Bala on couchsurfing. We didn’t overthink it, just decided to crash at his place. Bala welcomed us with his calm energy, like we were already part of his home. He lives with his daughter, Martha, and a cat and dog who casually walk in and out all day. The first evening, we ate whatever was left from their dinner. The next night, we all went out together. And the day after, we ate a full spread at home. Simple food, but made with so much care. We spent a lot of time on the terrace - talked about everything from travel to raising kids to relationships. With the cool breeze and the quietness around us, it felt grounding, like something in me could finally slow down. Interestingly Bala never locks his front gate even when he’s not home. I noticed it on day one and couldn’t stop thinking about it. A kind of trust i haven’t seen in a long time. I’ve been sleeping on a mattress on the floor and I love it. Something about sleeping close to the ground makes me feel rested. I always sleep best like that. This trip wasn’t planned, but it already feels like one of those stories I’ll never forget. I’ll be living in Mysore for the next 2 months. If you’re around, DM me. Would love to meet people while I’m here :)

Not having a side gig can kill your startup. I know it sounds controversial, but I’ve lived it. There’s this loud, common advice - “If you’re not all in, your startup won’t work” VCs say it. Twitter folks repeat it. And it made me feel guilty for doing anything else. But not all of us come from money. Not everyone has savings, investor friends, or parents who can back them. I didn’t. So I did side gigs to survive - freelance work, odd projects, whatever I could get. Just to pay rent and keep chasing ideas. And in those 3 years, 5 of my startup ideas failed. If I didn’t have a side income, I would’ve quit after the second one. Side gigs didn’t slow me down. They kept me in the game. “Go all in” is easy advice - when your bank balance isn’t zero. But no one talks about how hard it is to focus when you’re broke and anxious every day. So if you’re in that zone, don’t let guilt eat you up. Do whatever it takes to keep your dreams alive. Your startup needs YOU more than it needs your 100% focus on day one. #HarshRealities

I hate working from office. It’s the last place to get real work done. I've been working remotely for 4 years now. It has its challenges, but it's way better. Offices are full of distractions - unnecessary meetings, sutta breaks, someone tapping on my shoulder every now and then. It's incredibly hard to focus. Creative, important work needs deep focus. Remote work lets me be alone with my thoughts. No random meetings, no small talk. Just my space and my flow. Ask yourself - Where do you go when you really need to get work done? I bet the answer won't be 'the office in the afternoon' :)