A former startup founder recently opened up on Reddit about his struggles to find a job after entrepreneurship, despite having done it all. In his post, titled 'I was a founder. Now I'm looking for a job and no one's calling back or even answering', the anonymous user revealed that he had co-founded a healthy food and beverage startup with two friends, where they managed every part of the business themselves, from marketing and customer service to finance, compliance and content. "We were bootstrapped, learned everything on the fly and kept it running as long as we could," he said.
However, his dream soon shattered as, without funding, his co-founders stepped away, and he eventually had to shut down his firm and enter the job market. "We reached a point where we had to make a decision. Either raise money we weren't ready for or accept that maybe it wasn't going to scale the way we dreamed," he said. "We couldn't put in anymore money and my partners chose to step away and i had to now look for a job and thats when I started realizing how hard that shift actually is," the user added.
I was a founder. Now I'm looking for a job and no one's calling back or even answering.
byu/Wide-Low1644 inStartUpIndia
The anonymous user shared that despite several interviews and positive feedback, he was told his background was "too 'founder-y' for structured roles, not domain-specific enough for niche ones." "We're not sure how to fit your background into this role. You're overqualified," he was told.
"I'm not asking for anything outrageous. Just a chance," the Redditor said, adding, "This isn't a rant or a call for pity. It's just the part no one talks about. Sometimes, the founder's story ends quietly."
The post resonated with several social media users who had walked he same path.
"I was in the same situation a few years back after closing down/exiting my previous company. I don't know if you have any work experience apart from this or not, but I'd suggest going directly to the founders of companies that you want to work with," suggested one user.
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"I shut my business and applied for jobs at the same time. Nothing clicked. It's hard to convince people you can be part of a team again," shared another.
"Exactly the same situation as you. Had to shut down the business as I pretty much exhausted all my personal funds. Have been trying to raise funds for my next venture and also applying for jobs at the same time. Nothing seems to be working out at the moment. Keeping my fingers crossed," commented a third user.
"I am at where you're at right now. It's been 2 years no success. Surviving on some freelance work from past network. We were building in fintech. Thinking of starting up again but more meticulously the before," said another.
