It's not what you see on social media

It's a trend nowadays; everyone wants to become a founder, start a company, raise funds and be their own boss. I thought, let me share what it actually is and not what it looks like.

Whenever you hear a founder or CEO of an early-stage company, you imagine them speaking at conferences, posting milestones on LinkedIn, writing cheques and making money. Let me burst that bubble real quick.

Founding a company is one of the most stressful jobs. Don't start a company if you are not ready to grind for 5-7 years, solving the same problem at the root. People have expectations from you, and you need to wear multiple hats. You should be able to sell your vision to customers, employees, investors, stakeholders, and the world. It's not as shiny as it looks like.

This is what may day used to look like in early days of zazzy:

7 AM: Exercise and emails

9 AM: Sales calls

11 AM: Designing in Sketch (We earlier used to use Sketch before adopting Figma company-wide)

2 PM: Operations review

4 PM: Team mentoring

6 PM: Prospecting and connecting with new clients

10 PM: Finance & Planning

Weekend: Hiring interviews

As we moved along and more people joined zazzy , things started to improve, and I started focusing on 2 to 3 things rather than everything. I could survive the early days of zazzy because of the time management skills I learned years back.

I learned quickly that multitasking is a myth. Instead, timeboxing became my best friend - dedicated chunks for each role, switching contexts like changing gears on a race car. If you don't know what timeboxing is, read more here.

In fact, here I'm sharing a story that captures reality perfectly. I still remember we were just four people at zazzy, and all three team members fell sick right before a major client delivery. My calendar was already packed and I got the notification on Slack. I had to immediately reprioritize everything, cancel meetings, and dive back into design to deliver the project myself.

No delegation, no strategic planning - just rolling up my sleeves and getting it done. And that's one of the normal early days when you start the company. It's not about being the best at everything - it's about being ready to do everything. Sales, design, coding, support, marketing, hiring, accounting, user research - these aren't just tasks on a list. But it automatically falls on your lap until you hire people smarter than you in your respective field.

The real founder's life isn't what you see in tech magazines. It's:

• Switching contexts faster than a chameleon changes colours
• Problem-solving at 2 AM because that's when fires need to be put out
• Being the janitor and the CEO in the same hour
• Learning new skills because there's no one else to do it

To aspiring founders: You should reconsider if you dream of the glamorous corner office. But if you're excited about solving problems, learning constantly, and doing whatever it takes to make your vision a reality - welcome to the Founder's Club.

And to my fellow founders grinding it out daily - I see you. Keep pushing. The trenches might not be glamorous, but they're where real businesses are built.

To date, this is what my wallpaper looks like.

P.S. Yes, I wrote this between a bit of time of client meetings and while reviewing our new marketing strategy. Because that's what founders do.