India, March 13 -- Ritesh, a final-year B.Tech student, recently became the centre of a viral debate after Matiks co-founder Sudhanshu Bhatia tweeted about hiring him on a Rs.5,000 stipend. Critics quickly labelled the move as "exploitation," but in a conversation with HT.com, Ritesh clarified that the decision was entirely his. Having previously earned Rs.25,000 elsewhere, he explained why he chose mentorship over money and what it's really like to build a startup from the ground up in Bengaluru.

The 21-year-old hails from Darbhanga, a city in Bihar. He told HT.com, "I'm just a student who happened to join a small startup early and stayed because I believed in what we were building."

He explained, "Growing up, I didn't have a lot of ex...