A Delhi-based entrepreneur has shared a moving account of quitting his high-paying Google job to work on his own startup, and how it affected him mentally. Rohit Sakunia, founder of ArtE Mediatech and co-founder of InViz AI, opened up about how the transition reshaped his confidence and priorities.
‘My ego didn’t survive the shift’
In an Instagram post shared earlier this month, Sakunia wrote that moving from being a “Google guy with a great job” to an unemployed founder with a failed startup caused his sense of self to collapse faster than he was prepared for. The loss of professional identity, he said, stripped away his ego and left him grappling with who he was without the role he had built around.
According to Sakunia’s LinkedIn profile, he was a Community Manager at Google between 2013 and 2015. “Leaving the high-paying job at Google changed my life,” he said in his Instagram post.
Loss of confidence and a silent low point
The entrepreneur said his confidence faded quietly during this period. “Confidence quietly left too,” he said. Each morning, he walked into his living room trying to act normal, while caring for his 3-month-old child despite having no clear answers about his future.
Rock bottom, Sakunia noted, was not a dramatic moment — it was defined by checking his bank account and opening multiple browser tabs searching for ways to start again. With no motivation or clarity to lean on, he said he continued showing up every day out of necessity rather than inspiration.
{{/usCountry}}Rock bottom, Sakunia noted, was not a dramatic moment — it was defined by checking his bank account and opening multiple browser tabs searching for ways to start again. With no motivation or clarity to lean on, he said he continued showing up every day out of necessity rather than inspiration.
{{/usCountry}}New fatherhood, no income
While Sakunia repeatedly told people he was “figuring it out,” he admitted that the pressures of new fatherhood, financial instability and professional failure were hard to hide. He said the people closest to him could sense the strain without him having to explain it. (Also read: ‘Disillusioned’ Indian man quits JPMorgan job and takes 70% pay cut: ‘Success isn’t big paychecks’)
The Delhi-based founder said becoming a father fundamentally altered how he viewed his situation. Holding his infant son brought both love and pressure — turning the child into what he described as both his anchor and his fuel.
Reflecting on the experience, Sakunia said failure reshaped him with humility and patience. “It smelled like humility. It stripped my ego and quietly rebuilt me into someone more grounded, more patient, and very clear about what I never want my family to go through again,” he concluded.