An NRI entrepreneur who returned to India after 10 years in the US shared his sobering experience of failing in three separate business ventures. Despite his previous success and industry background, Aniruddha Anjana allegedly faced severe hurdles: customer defaults on construction projects, a silent bureaucracy during a drone survey project, and local corruption in the restaurant sector. He claimed that his experience taught him that the Indian ecosystem often rewards cleverness over honesty.
“After returning from the US after 10 years in a corporate job and building a million-dollar startup, I thought business in India would be easy. I was wrong 3 times. I came back with confidence — a decade of US work experience, a successful venture already running. I thought starting up in India would be a natural next step. Here’s what actually happened, and what each failure cost me,” Florida-based founder Aniruddha Anjana wrote on Instagram.
The entrepreneur then detailed why he had to shut down all three of his Indian ventures. He explained that he closed his first business out of sheer frustration after endlessly chasing clients to clear their unpaid dues.
{{/usCountry}}The entrepreneur then detailed why he had to shut down all three of his Indian ventures. He explained that he closed his first business out of sheer frustration after endlessly chasing clients to clear their unpaid dues.
{{/usCountry}}The second one, because he lost trust in the system after a drone survey for city planning yielded nothing. The funder alleged, “FlyDining Indore (F&B) — I lost my trust in the process. This one was supposed to be the smooth one. Instead, corruption and open blackmail from local players shut us down in 6 months.”
He explained that these three failures taught him a lesson. “India is not built for people who want to do business with honesty and respect. To win here, you often have to be clever before you’re ethical. That’s part of why India is a poor country where rich people live — the system rewards the wrong things.”
He continued, “The reason I am still smiling is that my US venture is still running and profitable, because it’s the only reason I could afford to fail three times in India and walk away standing. Today, I have no plans to start another business in India.”
He concluded the post by urging those considering relocating to India from abroad to think before making the move.
What did social media say?
An individual commented, “Thanks for sharing this, Ani. It takes so much courage to be you. Your journey keeps inspiring everyone here.” Another expressed, “This is so true! Have lived through this!”
A third posted, “That is very true, it's very easy to get offended by something like this, but people need to understand the underlying reality.” A fourth wrote, “Very true. It's difficult to get even the simplest things done in India because of the system and the people. The worst part is, it will never change. Sometimes people come back for family. But they should call their families to the place they live instead of going back!”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Hindustantimes.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)