India, April 23 -- An IIT graduate who quit a Rs.28 LPA job to build a startup says he ended up spending Rs.10-12 lakh in under a year, only to face what he describes as a "deeply broken" ecosystem driven by connections and optics rather than merit.

In a Reddit post titled "I Quit a Rs.28 LPA Job for doing a Startup. Here's What Actually Happened," the user shared a candid account of the risks and realities behind chasing the startup dream.

"After almost a year in the Indian startup ecosystem, I feel people should hear the other side. The whole "startup ecosystem" in India feels deeply broken. It's marketed as this meritocratic, innovation-driven space, but in reality, it often runs on connections, optics, and gatekeeping," the user wro...