The Brutal Reality of Building a Startup: Lessons They Never Taught Me

Oh, I was naive when I first embarked on this startup journey.

I still remember my optimism when we first started building our product. Everything seemed so clear in my mind. You develop a great product, set the pricing, launch it, and boom—customers will come pouring in. That was the textbook version of entrepreneurship, which we often hear in business courses and training programs.

But reality? Oh boy, reality had other plans for me.

The First Wake-Up Call: A Consumer App That Nobody Knew Existed

One of our earliest ventures was developing a mobile app for consumers. We were convinced that if the app solved a problem and had great features, people would naturally download and use it.

We built the app, polished the user experience, ensured it looked sleek, and confidently launched it. Now, all we had to do was sit back and watch the downloads roll in.

Except… nothing happened.

The download numbers barely moved. We thought maybe people just hadn’t heard about it yet. So we started creating social media content—posters, videos, articles, anything to spread the word. We poured time, effort, and energy into marketing.

And still, the numbers trickled in at an agonizingly slow pace.

I remember checking the app analytics daily, hoping to see a download spike. Maybe today will be the day we go viral. But day after day, reality set in—people weren’t discovering our app. The noise of the digital world was too loud, and we were just another tiny voice trying to be heard.

Marketing a consumer app wasn’t just about putting up a few ads or making several social media posts. It required massive effort, an actual marketing budget, partnerships, influencers, and an entire strategy to break through the clutter.

Eventually, after months of trying, we made the painful decision to scrap the product. The lesson?

A great product means nothing if nobody knows about it.

Entering Enterprise Sales: A Whole New Set of Challenges

After that experience, we pivoted towards enterprise sales, thinking this might be different. If we could demonstrate tangible business value, surely companies would see the benefits and sign up.

But once again, reality was waiting with another lesson.

Unlike consumer apps, enterprise sales meant endless pitching, presenting, and convincing stakeholders. It wasn’t just about impressing one person—we had to convince entire teams, procurement departments, and decision-makers with agendas, budgets, and timelines.

Some clients were polite, nodding along and saying they were interested. Then they disappeared.

Some asked for proposals but took months—sometimes years—to give honest feedback.

Some liked the product, but their procurement process was a bureaucratic nightmare.

And then some would ask for trials, dragging us through weeks of testing and onboarding, only to do nothing with it afterward.

I still remember sending hundreds of quotations, hoping for even a fraction of them to convert into actual purchase orders. It was exhausting.

When we did manage to close deals, there was another harsh reality—getting paid. Some clients paid promptly, but many took their sweet time. Some stretched payments for months, and in the meantime, our cash flow suffered.

And let’s not forget those who squeezed us for the lowest possible price, negotiating so aggressively that by the time we signed the deal, there was barely any profit left.

Every stage was a battle—from selling to closing, to delivering, to getting paid.

The Reality They Never Taught in Business School

Looking back, I laugh at how naive I was in those early days.

None of this was covered in any entrepreneurship course or training program, and nobody warned me about the sheer emotional and financial toll of running a startup.

I had to learn it the hard way:

• Customers don’t just appear—you must fight for every single one.
• Enterprise sales require patience, persistence, and a thick skin.
• Getting paid is its own separate challenge. Cash flow can kill a business faster than a lack of customers.
• Many people will show interest, but only a tiny percentage will commit.
• The market doesn’t care how hard you worked—only the value you deliver and how well you convince them.

Despite all of this, despite the struggles and setbacks, I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything. Every lesson, rejection, and challenge has made me a stronger entrepreneur.

Would I have started my startup knowing all this from the beginning?

Probably.

But I would have been a lot more prepared for the battle ahead.

How’s that for capturing your journey? It’s raw, honest, and full of the hard truths no textbook teaches! Let me know if you want any refinements.