The ?500 Crore Exit That Left the Founder Broke
Harshavardhan Chauhaan
C-Suite Leader | Consumer | Strategy | Transformation | Innovation | Sustainability | Oxford Said Business School Alumnus | LBS Global Venture Program | IIM A | Retail, eCommerce, D2C, Shopping Malls, FMCG, Consulting
What no one tells you about exits that look great in the news—but destroy the founder
HC: “You know what’s funny?”
Cofounder: “What?”
HC: “Everyone celebrates exits. But no one asks how much the founder actually made.”
Cofounder: “Wait… what do you mean?”
HC: “Let me tell you about a guy. Founder of a well-known startup. Built it from the ground up. Raised big. Scaled fast. Sold for ?500 crore. Media went crazy. Called him a ‘visionary.’ Said he was an inspiration.
Then I met him a few months later. And do you know how much he actually walked away with?”
Cofounder: “I don’t know… ?100 crore? ?200 crore?”
HC: “?3 crore.”
Cofounder: “Bro, what?? How is that even possible?”
HC: “One word: dilution.”
Cofounder: “Okay, break it down for me.”
The Funding Death Spiral
HC: “He started with 100% of the company. Then the funding rounds began:
Then the exit came. The company was sold for ?500 crore.
Cofounder: “Okay, so 7% of ?500 crore is still ?35 crore. What happened?”
HC: “Ah. That’s what people don’t see. The fine print.
At the end of it all? ?3 crore.
For 10 years of his life. For all the blood, sweat, and sacrifices.”
Cofounder: “Jesus. That’s not an exit. That’s a robbery.”
Why Founders Get Played
HC: “Here’s the biggest myth in startups:
High valuation ≠ wealth.
Most founders think they’re playing the game to build a ?1000 crore company. But they don’t own their company anymore. They’re just running it for investors.”
Cofounder: “But what about those unicorn founders who make it big?”
HC: “You mean the 1% who get insanely lucky? Or the 99% who grind for a decade and leave with chiller peanuts?
Let me show you the two different games founders play.”
Founder A (VC Route)
Founder B (Smart Exit Route)
Cofounder: “Bro. The second guy makes 5x more money, in half the time, with half the stress.”
HC: “Exactly. That’s why I keep saying: the real game isn’t raising money—it’s keeping money.”
The Three Rules of Smart Founders
Cofounder: “So the biggest mistake is letting investors own too much, too soon.”
HC: “Yes. You either build for headlines, or you build for real wealth. But you can’t have both.”
Final Thought: Are You Building for Valuation or Ownership?
Most founders don’t think about exits until it’s too late. They get locked in, lose control, and end up as employees in their own company.
The best founders? They build for control, they structure their funding smartly, and they exit with real money.
So ask yourself: Are you playing the startup game? Or is the game playing you?
What’s Next?
This is just one of the many hard-hitting conversations that led to The Startup Playbook.
Every week, I’ll break down:
? Real founder stories—successes & failures.
? The actual numbers behind smart exits.
? Brutal truths about fundraising, dilution & wealth-building.
? How to build a startup that makes YOU rich—not just your investors.
?? Follow this newsletter to get these unfiltered startup truths before the book launches.
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1 天前Very well explained Harshavardhan Chauhaan! I hope this message finds it's way to a wide array of young founders. It is vital for those starting their businesses to resist the temptation of media portrayals that glorify extravagant lifestyles and inflated company valuations. Although their passion to their ventures is admirable, I've seen many inadvertently becoming entangled in a race for valuations, eventually focusing primarily on investors who seek lucrative exits. Loved how you mention about focusing on ownership and not valuations. Very lucid and clear!
BUSINESS CONSULTANCY & ADVISORY SERVICES | BUSINESS? TECHNOLOGY ? STRATEGY CONSULTING ?EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES? STARTUP CONSULTING
1 天前The real story is between these two extremes. However, it certainly puts the spotlight bang on. The way it is told makes it more interesting. In my opinion, the startup founder must be a realist when it comes to finances and funding. Too little funding will kill your startup with the slightest of headwinds which is very common. Too much funding / dilution may leave you wondering if you owner or employee!!! Startup founders much know their place in the food chain. Sometime not knowing it, actually lead to badly planned exits with little or nothing left for the founders. Thank you for sharing.
Founder Alphavalue Venture || Founder Partner Alphavalue Consulting || Charter Member TiE Bangalore || Registered Valuer - IBBI || MB - Cat 1|| Speaker || Angel Investor || Family office
1 天前Very apt
Gen AI Product Owner|SAFE Agilist|Ex- American Express, ZS|Immediate Joiner
1 天前I just claimed it and it is superb! Having read all your earlier 4 books as well (which are available on Amazon and are focussed on new gen stuff like AI and Gen AI) - this is class. I sincerely recommend this book!!