Entrepreneurship is often glamourized. We see successful startup founders on magazine covers, hear stories of billion-dollar valuations, and scroll through videos about hustle culture and financial freedom. It’s easy to be drawn to the idea of being your own boss, chasing big dreams, and changing the world. But what many don’t talk about is the emotional cost – the crushing loneliness that often comes with building something from scratch.
Vedanta Group Founder and Chairman Anil Agarwal recently took to X to share a brutally honest message for young founders who might be facing this exact struggle. In a heartfelt post, he opened up about the unseen side of entrepreneurship – the isolation, the pressure, and the constant uncertainty.
For those who are just starting out, chasing a dream might feel exciting at first. But as reality sets in, the path can feel like a never-ending uphill climb with very little support. Agarwal compared it to living in a pressure cooker during those early years.
“The journey you’ve chosen? It gets lonely. The early years feel like living in a pressure cooker. Every day, you make decisions that could move your dream forward or take it a step back. It feels like shouting into the void – like building in the dark,” he wrote.
Despite having people around you like employees, mentors, maybe even investors, most of them won’t truly understand what you’re going through.
“Kehne ko saath apne ek duniya chalti hai, but the truth is, most people around you will not get it. Not because they don’t care, but because they’ve never had to believe in something invisible. Mount Everest ki chadhai pe bheed nahi hoti…the higher you climb, the fewer people you see.”
But even in that loneliness, there’s something powerful, something rare. It means you’re on a path not everyone dares to take. He also shared a personal memory of how he coped with this solitude during tough times.
“But that doesn’t mean you’re lost. It just means you’re on a rare path. So, if you’re in that phase – keep going. And on the loneliest nights, find something that reminds you of home. For me, it was maaji ki shawl in a cold London flat.”
Have a look at his full post here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10QViiJifinuziTHrSiV1Zosukhufnyfi/view?usp=sharing
So if you’re building something, and it feels like no one understands, keep going. The silence around you doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re climbing.