From Flipkart to Startup Struggles: OkCredit’s Founder Share His Journey

In the high-energy corridors of Flipkart, where billion-dollar deals and rapid innovations shaped India’s e-commerce landscape, a young IIT-Kanpur graduate named Harsh Pokharna was witnessing something extraordinary. He saw colleagues and acquaintances turning their ideas into funded startups, raising millions, and scaling businesses at an unprecedented pace. The thrill of building something from scratch and making a mark on the startup world was too tempting to resist.

With a vision in his heart and dreams of financial success, Pokharna took the plunge. He quit his comfortable job at Flipkart, believing that the road to becoming a successful entrepreneur was a straightforward one—come up with an idea, raise funding, and build a thriving company. But what followed was far from the dream he had imagined. Recently, he took social media to share his startup journey which highlights the dark side of the ecosystem. Let's find out more with TICE.

The Harsh Reality of Startups

"I quit Flipkart to build a startup because I wanted to make a lot of money very quickly. Founders were raising millions of dollars in funding all around me. It seemed easy," Pokharna admitted in a recent social media post that has since sparked widespread discussion among the startup community.

Reality, however, hit him hard. In the first two years post-Flipkart, Pokharna tried his hand at three different startup ideas. Each one seemed promising, yet none took off. His savings started depleting rapidly, and the euphoria of entrepreneurship was quickly replaced with anxiety. To keep himself financially afloat, he turned to freelancing. It was a humbling experience—one that changed his entire perspective on what it truly meant to build a company.

The Making of OkCredit

Persistence, however, paid off. After multiple failed attempts, Pokharna, along with his co-founders Gaurav Kumar and Aditya Prasad, found a pain point in India’s small business ecosystem: the cumbersome process of maintaining credit records manually. This led to the birth of OkCredit in 2017—a digital ledger app designed to simplify bookkeeping for small businesses and shopkeepers.

What started as a simple solution soon gained traction. By leveraging technology to digitize credit transactions, OkCredit addressed a crucial problem that millions of small business owners faced daily. The startup began growing rapidly, securing funding from top-tier investors and establishing itself as a key player in India’s fintech ecosystem.

The Biggest Startup Lesson: Startups Are No Shortcut to Success

Despite OkCredit’s growth, Pokharna is quick to remind aspiring entrepreneurs that startups are not a get-rich-quick scheme.

In his candid post, he shared a crucial lesson: "It’s a long-term game, not a shortcut to success. Play it only if you truly want to solve a problem, or you’ll end up disappointed."

His words resonated deeply within the startup community. Many founders and aspiring entrepreneurs chimed in with their own experiences of failure, resilience, and perseverance. One social media user commented, "People see the money and success but fail to recognize the sacrifice, hard work, and vision behind it."

Another added, "Failure is part of the game. Resilience matters. Your journey and experiences are remarkable—thanks for sharing."

From a Graduate Trainee to a CEO

Pokharna’s professional journey is a testament to the unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship. After completing his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, he joined Flipkart as a graduate trainee. But the desire to build something of his own led him to take risks that most would shy away from.

Today, as the co-founder and CEO of OkCredit, he stands as an example of what it truly takes to succeed in the startup world—persistence, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to solving real problems.

Despite OkCredit’s success, Pokharna remains grounded. He acknowledges that the startup journey is far from over and that new challenges will continue to arise. But if there’s one thing he has learned, it’s that entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint.

For those dreaming of launching their own startups, his advice is clear: "Do it for the right reasons. Solve a real problem. And be prepared for the long haul."

Pokharna’s journey is not just about building a fintech company; it’s about redefining what success in the startup ecosystem truly means. And for every aspiring entrepreneur looking for inspiration, his story serves as both a cautionary tale and a beacon of hope.