Handling Financial Stress as an Entrepreneur

When I began my entrepreneurial journey five years ago, I was driven by passion and purpose. I invested everything I had into creating high-quality content for my ed-tech platform because I believed that the right intention and the right value would attract people to the product.

And it did. Users loved the platform. But with time, expenses started growing faster than revenue. That is when financial stress became a constant part of the journey.

You start becoming extra cautious. You cut down expenses wherever possible. Sometimes you take loans or borrow from family to keep the company alive because you know the idea works, it's just that it needs financial fuel to scale. When I started offline operations later, the expenses increased even more. Salaries, rentals, marketing, cloud costs, equipment, every month became a calculation game.

There were moments when the financial pressure took away my peace. It is difficult when you are trying to build something valuable and are also responsible for supporting your family. Entrepreneurship doesn’t pause life, both run together.

Even though I always tried to be disciplined with finances, unexpected expenses would sometimes hit without warning. But every challenge forced me to learn. I became more conscious about budgeting. I planned ahead. I prioritised what truly mattered. And I learnt to differentiate between what was urgent and what was simply not required.

Also, my startup was completely bootstrapped. It was not that I didn’t try for investments. I I built pitch decks, approached angel investors and VCs, and kept pushing but it didn’t work out. Still, I kept going.

When I look back today, I don’t just see financial stress. I see a period that trained me to think sharper, decide faster, and handle money with maturity. It taught me that entrepreneurship is not just about products, teams, or innovation but it is also about standing strong when finances test you every single day.

If I have learnt one thing, it is this: financial stress can break you or shape you. If you hold your purpose tightly, it will shape you.

And that is what kept me moving forward.