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Founder who survived on bread, water at 18 thinks everyone should go ‘completely broke’ once
A Mumbai-based founder claimed that surviving on bread and water at 18 removed his fear of startup failure and financial losses.
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A Mumbai-based founder recently took to social media to share how hitting rock bottom at 18 shaped his entrepreneurial resilience. Recounting a time when he was so broke that he survived solely on bread and water for seven consecutive days, the entrepreneur argued that experiencing extreme financial hardship is a vital life lesson. While acknowledging that poverty isn't noble, he emphasised that surviving total helplessness taught him he could overcome any future business failure, financial crisis, or rejection.
“I was broke as F**k when I was 18. And, I think everyone should be completely broke at least once in their life. I know that sounds like a horrible thing to wish on someone. And I don’t mean the kind of broke where you can’t afford the vacation you wanted, or you have to wait until next month to buy something. I mean actually broke. Broke for education, broke for food!” wrote Mumbai-based founder Abhishek Agarwal.
Explaining his statement, the founder continued, “My story - I had that moment when I was 18. For 7 days, I didn’t even have money for food. So I ate bread and drank water. That was pretty much it. I remember the hunger, but I think what stays with me more is the helplessness of it.”
Agarwal recalled how the experience taught him that he could survive anything. “That knowledge has quietly followed me through every risk I’ve taken since - When something goes terribly wrong in business, when money disappears, when someone rejects me, when something I believed in completely fails. That’s why a part of me genuinely believes everyone needs their own “most broke” moment in life.”
He continued, “Not because poverty is noble. It isn’t. Not because suffering automatically makes you stronger. It doesn’t. But because there is a certain kind of courage that only comes from hitting rock bottom.”
What did social media say?
An individual wrote, “Great post. Sometimes the toughest moments teach us something success never can: we are capable of surviving much more than we think.” Another posted, “Resonated highly, I was broke af post my master’s and I mean the helplessness and hunger broke, I survived that, so now I have this quiet confidence that I can survive anything. Come what may.”
A third expressed, “The honesty makes the message even stronger. Respect for being so damn organic & vulnerable - stories like this connect because they are not really polished.” The fourth commented, “The most powerful part here isn't being broke. It's discovering that your circumstances can get worse without you becoming helpless. That kind of experience can change how you look at risk, failure and uncertainty.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Abhishek Agarwal earned his degrees from UCLA Anderson School of Management and London Business School. He started his current company in 2025.
