“Your startup needs a founder who can stay in the game for 10 years — not someone who burns themselves out proving how much they can sacrifice. I had to counter by showing that I was making 25 times that amount in my previous corporate role.
The irony is that we were told that paying ourselves INR 25k a month was ‘too much. “When every personal expense starts feeling like money being taken away from the company, resentment slowly creeps in. And building a company is already emotionally difficult enough. “A small salary isn’t about becoming comfortable. It’s about making the journey, sustainable. ₹ 25k. ₹ 50k. Whatever the company can reasonably afford. Take something. Founder frugality is good. Founder self-deprivation isn’t a business model. An individual wrote, “Really well put. I’m early and I haven’t taken a salary yet. But you’re right that it can’t stay that way forever. Once things are steadier, it’s something I’d want to build in. Not for comfort, just so my own expenses don’t start feeling like a cost to the company. Another posted, “I agree with you wholeheartedly. The early-stage investor mindset also needs to change. You want your founder to have enough money in the bank so they’re not worried about paying bills or about living a basic life.”
