When we think of entrepreneurs, we picture bold risk-takers, visionaries who turn ideas into billion-dollar companies. What we rarely talk about, though, are the insecurities, sacrifices, and silent battles that define their journey just as much as funding rounds or IPOs.
Behind every glossy headline is a story of self-doubt, sleepless nights and bold decisions that push the boundaries between professional and personal life.
A reddit rant post led us to reflect on some of the difficult decisions that our founders had to take along their journey.
At our recently hosted MV Day 2025, Mr. Sachin Gupta, Founder & CEO, IKS Health shared emotional challenges and insecurities faced growing IKS health from O to a billion dollar company:
Ironically, the very insecurities that haunted this entrepreneur became their source of resilience. Doubt turned into discipline. Fear became fuel. Vulnerability led to stronger decision-making. This redefines how we see weakness in business: sometimes, it’s exactly what shapes long-term success.
So, the next time you see a headline about a billion-dollar valuation, remember: behind it may be a founder who once mortgaged their mother’s house, skipped their own salary or questioned daily if they belonged in the room.
Behind every unicorn, there’s a founder who has faced lonely nights, gut-wrenching decisions, and risks that would make most people walk away. Success isn’t just about strategy or capital it’s about:
Managing self-doubt.
Balancing investor faith with independence.
Making painful sacrifices when survival demands it.
Turning insecurity into fuel for discipline and resilience.
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or already building, know this feeling like an imposter, making uncomfortable sacrifices or carrying emotional scars doesn’t make you less of a founder. It makes you exactly what you need to be: resilient, resourceful, and real. Write to us at pitch@malpaniventures.com if you're building and raising
Most startup stories begin with a twenty-something founder leaving college with nothing but a big idea and a small bank account. This one doesn’t.
This founder was at the top of his corporate game. Decades of experience, a secure paycheck, an enviable title.
And then… he walked away.
No VC money. No safety net beyond his own savings. The stakes? Everything he had spent a lifetime building.
That leap became BriskPe - a fintech rocket helping India’s MSME exporters move money across borders faster, cheaper, and with more transparency than ever before.
BRISKPE was founded in early 2023 by industry veterans—Sanjay Tripathy (30+ years with HDFC Life, Pepsi, Reliance), Nilesh Pathak (25+ years in global payments tech), and Indunath Chaudhary (15+ years in banking, payments, supply chain) .
Notably, they funded the venture themselves initially, aiming for profitability from day one rather than chasing growth via unchecked burns
Rapid Execution, Lean by Design
The idea was conceived around September 2022, the company came together in October, and by February–March 2023 they were incorporated and in beta launch. That’s a tight launch timeline - built lean, launched fast.
BriskPe addresses pain points common to MSMEs - costly cross-border fees, FX volatility, delayed payments, and lack of clarity
Their value props:
Milestones That Matter
The Bold Play
Insights for VC-Worthy Founder Stories
As an investment firm, here’s we look to spotlight in founders:
Conclusion:
If you’re a founder reading this, ask yourself - would you risk everything you’ve built at the very height of your career for one idea?
Because that’s the kind of conviction that gets our attention as an early stage capital firm.
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At MV Day 2025, we hosted a fireside chat between Sachin Gupta (Founder & CEO, IKS Health) and Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, founder of Malpani Ventures, an early-stage investment firm known for backing founders with patient, long-term capital.
It was an honest conversation about what it really takes to build a company that lasts — especially in a complex, regulated market like U.S. healthcare.
We’re sharing the full video below, but here are some takeaways that stood out.
IKS didn’t just offer a service — they built their model around what their customers needed: better outcomes, not just more manpower. This meant tying their success to things like revenue cycle efficiency and physician productivity, not just time spent.
That simple shift made IKS harder to replace and more valuable over time.
To build trust in the U.S., IKS relied on a strong advisory board. Having experts who understood the market gave them credibility early on — and helped avoid missteps that many Indian startups make when expanding globally.
Sachin spoke about mentors who helped him stay grounded, make tough decisions, and think long-term. Founders often underestimate how useful it is to have someone to learn from, especially when things get hard.
Choosing to be ethical — especially in messy systems — slows you down. But IKS chose that path. It may have cost them in the short run, but it built trust that paid off in the long run.
This Fireside session isn’t just about IKS. It’s about how companies can grow slowly, honestly, and still win. If you’re a founder building for the long term, this is worth watching.
Watch the full conversation here.