I love this. It shows so much maturity, courage, and self-esteem to have considering the inspiring words of someone who presumably has authority and then sort out what is actually useful and true for yourself.
"While McRaven’s words initially made me feel that quitting was a sign of weakness, further reflection brought a sense of pride in what I had built and clarity in the wisdom of letting go. In a world dominated by success stories shaped by survivorship bias and quiet shutdowns, I realized that the story of an unsuccessful startup needs to be told not with regrets, but with my head held high."
Sometimes the bravest thing isn't what you build but what you dare to let go of. Kashvi and Aryan may still find their path and it'll be partly thanks to the dream you lit.
Amit, this is truly beautiful, and it quietly struck an old wound I didn't realise I was still carrying.
I built DoubtConnect back in my 3rd year of college in 2022 - the idea was to lay the foundation for next half billion learners on the internet enabled by AI selling through schools. We raised $70K from Angels and Agility Ventures, Midway through, my co-founders walked away. I had a choice to make, and I chose to skip college placements and keep going alone. each 50 Million dreams across the Bharat of India.
At 22, I took personal loans to keep it alive. My CIBIL score fell to 595. Delusional me had only one belief - Reach 50 Million dreams across the Bharat of India.
It's been more than three years since I exited. I went on to work in VC, and now I'm building Clevrr AI. Somehow, in all that time, I never sat down and really looked back at that journey. Your post made me do that today.
Thank you for saying this out loud, publicly. It meant more than you know.
I love this. It shows so much maturity, courage, and self-esteem to have considering the inspiring words of someone who presumably has authority and then sort out what is actually useful and true for yourself.
"While McRaven’s words initially made me feel that quitting was a sign of weakness, further reflection brought a sense of pride in what I had built and clarity in the wisdom of letting go. In a world dominated by success stories shaped by survivorship bias and quiet shutdowns, I realized that the story of an unsuccessful startup needs to be told not with regrets, but with my head held high."
Sometimes the bravest thing isn't what you build but what you dare to let go of. Kashvi and Aryan may still find their path and it'll be partly thanks to the dream you lit.
Amit, this is truly beautiful, and it quietly struck an old wound I didn't realise I was still carrying.
I built DoubtConnect back in my 3rd year of college in 2022 - the idea was to lay the foundation for next half billion learners on the internet enabled by AI selling through schools. We raised $70K from Angels and Agility Ventures, Midway through, my co-founders walked away. I had a choice to make, and I chose to skip college placements and keep going alone. each 50 Million dreams across the Bharat of India.
At 22, I took personal loans to keep it alive. My CIBIL score fell to 595. Delusional me had only one belief - Reach 50 Million dreams across the Bharat of India.
It's been more than three years since I exited. I went on to work in VC, and now I'm building Clevrr AI. Somehow, in all that time, I never sat down and really looked back at that journey. Your post made me do that today.
Thank you for saying this out loud, publicly. It meant more than you know.