An ex-startup founder has opened up about his struggles with job hunting after shutting down his bootstrapped business. This sheds light on a rarely discussed chapter of the entrepreneurial journey. The former founder shared his experience in a now-viral Reddit post.
He co-founded a healthy food and beverage startup with two friends. They managed every aspect of the business, from marketing and customer service to operations, finance, and compliance. However, the company eventually had to be closed due to a lack of funding.
“We built a product in the healthy FnB space and managed every part of the business ourselves,” he wrote. “We were bootstrapped, learned everything on the fly, and kept it running as long as we could. Eventually, we reached a point where we had to either raise money that we weren’t ready for or accept that maybe it wouldn’t scale the way we had dreamed.
Following the closure, the responsibility of winding up the business fell on his shoulders.
However, when he entered the job market, he was met with numerous rejections and frustrating feedback. “Despite receiving praise during interviews, recruiters often called my background ‘too founder-y’ and claimed I was either overqualified or not domain-specific enough.
Ex-founder faces job market challenges
I’m not asking for anything outrageous. Just a chance,” he said. He added that this was not a rant or a call for pity, but an attempt to highlight an often-ignored aspect of entrepreneurship.
His story resonated with several others who have faced similar hurdles while transitioning from entrepreneurship to employment. One user commented, “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.
Another user advised job seekers to approach startup founders directly, rather than using conventional job portals. They are more likely to understand and value the experience of an entrepreneur. The post reminded people that the end of an entrepreneurial journey does not always come with headlines or success stories.
Sometimes, it ends quietly. Yet, sharing these uncomfortable truths might make the road a bit easier for the next founder who needs to start over.