Meet someone who once studied at IIT Kanpur, raised Rs 1.2 crore for startups, but now due to…
The Bengaluru-based CEO launched Okcredit in 2017 with co-founders Gaurav Kunwar and Aditya Prasad. Pokharna mentioned that his startup received Rs 120 crore in 2019.
Harsh Pokharna, co-founder and CEO of Okcredit, revealed that he is still struggling in 2019 with “salary as salary” even after receiving Rs 1.2 crore for his Bengaluru startup. The IIT graduate said in a detailed LinkedIn post that his experience is not unique. He attributes the founder’s financial stress to venture capitalists. Pokharna advises the founder and entrepreneur that “VCS wants the founder to stay poor…so if you are a founder, don’t let anyone keep you poor with shame,” he says in his post.
What exactly happened?
The entrepreneur elaborated on the situation, noting that despite the large amount of money raised, founders often face financial constraints and pressure. He believes this is due to venture capitalists, who he claims usually want founders to remain financially vulnerable because it gives them more control. “The founders who own money become dangerous,” he said, adding that financial independence allows founders to “based on their own terms” and may disagree with investors.
“If founders dare to ask some personal liquidity to clear their loans to eventually stop living on the edge, they tell them that they might 'lose hunger',” Bokarna said, adding: “At the same VCs are undoubtedly throwing millions of dollars at serial founders who own waterfront homes and retirement funds.”
About Okcredit
The Bengaluru-based CEO launched Okcredit in 2017 with co-founders Gaurav Kunwar and Aditya Prasad. Pokharna mentioned that his startup received Rs 120 crore in 2019.
Despite this funding, Pokharna faces financial difficulties, lack of savings and struggling with high cost of living in Bangalore, living “pays to salary”. He asserted that this kind of experience is common among entrepreneurs who often find themselves in a similar financial position despite raising a lot of money.
“In 2019, even after raising Rs. 1.2 crore for Okcredit, I went bankrupt. I kept paying for my salary. No savings and still worried about rent in Bangalore,” Pokharna wrote on LinkedIn.
Iitian CEO claims he has repeatedly observed this pattern with various founders. He noted that the founders did not benefit from the millions of dollars they raised for startups.
Social Media Response
Once SINCE Pokharna shared this post, it has spread and several users have shared their ideas.
One user wrote in the comments section: “The “Bankrupt but Build” phase is usually glorious, but the struggle is real. I've seen founders do incredible things when they endure silent financial anxiety. Not only will it lift you out of the way, it will stop your fears and allow you to choose and take risks to win bigger victories!”
Another said: “At this time, the word “Broke” has rarely been broken! Really…is the CEO going bankrupt? ! ? ! ? I think all this sparkling stuff is just robbing gold after all! ! ! Perhaps the founders also need negotiation skills, who knows Holtz. ”
