“It’s about time - Shantanu Deshpande should stop acting like he is an Entrepreneur”-Acid

Here for some gossip about startups

Thoughts?

Apart from the good news that Namita is out, what are your thoughts on this step?

Recently, the founder of Apna appeared on Rajshamani's podcast, boasting about his entrepreneurial journey and the success of his startup. However, his portrayal of Apna as a revolutionary product is misleading. https://themorningcontext.com/internet/all-is-not-well-at-apna Here's a brutal takedown of him https://x.com/ravihanda/status/1730453950485401872 Despite his claims, the company is currently laying off employees, experiencing stagnant revenue growth, and facing significant financial losses. The founder, who has spent most of his life in the US, now presents himself as a champion for Bharat (India), but the reality is starkly different from the image he tries to project. His attempts to appear as if he has everything figured out contrast sharply with the company's troubling financial situation and operational challenges. The podcast feels fully paid but is not revealed which is illegal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq-Ajgs2oec&t=1s&ab_channel=RajShamani

So I've been fed his podcasts a lot lately by the YouTube algo. And while it's amazing one of India's best startup entrepreneurs is getting really good guests to come on his show, I just can't stand him. He interjects before the guests have a chance to finish their thought and at times it feels like the podcast is a platform to air his views rather than the guests. Especially his insistence on traumatic childhoods as a prerequisite for greatness and why capitalism is best. PS: Please don't come at me like his fans in the comments, legit want to know if this is just me or something others feel too.

They were backed by Elevation and Accel, had raised ~$7mn Seems like getting transactions to happen was too tough, despite building a network. Getting money out of Indian SMBs, a consistently tough model. Link to post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/so-long-anar-farewell-reflection-nishank-jain-oifxf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

Kudos to him for speaking up on this issue. As a founder you feel working anything less than 365 days is a crime Link: https://analyticsindiamag.com/kunal-shah-tells-entrepreneurs-to-take-two-days-off-a-week-to-think/ Kunal Shah Tells Entrepreneurs to Take Two Days Off a Week to Think