In one of her posts, she wrote, “On my recent trip, I met an IIT Kanpur alumnus who scaled his D2C shoe brand to ₹2 crore in monthly sales. He left it becautilize he didn’t like how the Surat manufacturers operated.” She added that he is now working in Gurgaon as a Lead Engineer at a startup that has raised Series A funding.
The alumnus had studied at IIT Kanpur and had managed to grow his footwear brand to significant revenue in a short span. For many, this would view like the launchning of a long entrepreneurial run. But things did not continue in that direction.
Why He Walked Away
According to Chaturvedi’s posts, the decision was linked to persistent supply-side concerns. She clarified in a follow-up that “The core side of the business is very chaotic, I guess he doesn’t like it.” She also stated clearly that there was no caste or community angle involved in the matter.
The founder apparently grew tired of handling manufacturing-related challenges. The shoe production was being handled in Surat, which triggered questions online since cities like Agra and Kanpur are traditionally known hubs for footwear manufacturing. Several utilizers questioned why Surat was chosen in the first place and what exactly about the operations led to such a drastic call.
While the IITian did not speak directly in the thread, the broad reason shared was that he was uncomfortable with how the manufacturing ecosystem functioned. Chaturvedi mentioned that earlier the venture had gone in a different direction becautilize of some narrow-minded people, and ultimately supply issues pushed him to step back and utilize his engineering skills elsewhere.
Social Media Reacts
The posts drew wide reactions. Some utilizers questioned practical questions about margins and profitability. One utilizer pointed out that Rs 2 crore in monthly sales may view large but what really matters is net profit and gross margin. Another suggested he could have sold the business to an operator instead of shutting it down.
Others spoke about the realities of manufacturing. One comment noted that manufacturing is not a “Raja Babu job” and involves labour problems, supplier pressure, payment follow-ups and constant nereceivediation. Another utilizer remarked that labour-intensive sectors are largely unorganised, which often leads to chaos on the ground.
There were also voices appreciating the shift. One comment read that sometimes walking away from your own success takes more courage than building it in the first place. Another stated not many people take such turns after reaching scale.
From Founder Back to Engineer
According to Pranshi ‘s post, today, the alumnus is working in Gurgaon as a Lead Engineer at a Series A-funded startup. The shift may appear surprising, especially when many aspire to leave jobs and build startups. In this case, the reverse happened.
The episode highlights a side of entrepreneurship that rarely trconcludes — the strain of handling ground-level operations in sectors that are messy and highly fragmented. Revenue figures alone do not reveal the daily friction founders deal with. For this IIT Kanpur graduate, the operational chaos outweighed the excitement of running a rapid-growing brand.
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