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Who is Vaibhav Chawla? Delhi founder’s viral LinkedIn post on shutting down Wherehouse.io
Delhi-based founder Vaibhav Chawla’s post about shutting down his company, Wherehouse.io, has prompted a series of reactions on social media.
Vaibhav Chawla, co-founder of Wherehouse.io, shared an emotional post about shutting down his company. In his LinkedIn post, he claimed a “frivolous complaint” by a client led to the detention of his team by police.
“Shutting down Wherehouse. We started Wherehouse in 2021, with a hypothesis the brands will come closer to the customers. This was pre-Quick Commerce. The hypothesis stands true. The model evolved and we pushed through every obstacle, capital constraints, operational chaos, and the brutal realities of building consumer infra,” Chawla wrote.
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He discussed making mistakes, learning from them, and staying honest. He recalled that he built “a real business, real infrastructure, real people, real impact.”
Chawla talked about the last few months being brutal and also alleged a “frivolous complaint.” The founder claimed that following this, his team was “detained without any documents, only to be released after families showed up at the police station.”
He added, “Wherehouse means nothing if we can’t protect the very people who built it.”
Revealing his struggles, he said that they reached out to “anyone and everyone” they could think of, but have lost the battle. He informed, “In the due course of months, we would proceed with transition of brands and teams and prepare for what comes next.”
Who is Vaibhav Chawla?
He completed his B.Tech in civil engineering from the Delhi Technological University. After completing internships at various companies, he co-founded a company where he served as a strategist for over a year. After a few more stints over the years, he co-founded Wherehouse.io in 2020 with Lavelesh Sharma.
How did social media react?
A Bengaluru-based founder wrote, “It was a pleasure to back you guys from the first cheque. Companies die, but founders never die - all the best for the next chapter!”
A techie who said he is a former employee of Wherehouse posted, “My heart truly broke to read this. Having worked at Wherehouse.io , I can confidently say it's a place where growth and character take shape. It's hard to explain how nice my experience was at Wherehouse.io. My heart is still with the people of wherehouse.io. Vaibhav Chawla, genuinely, I found you a true and compassionate founder. More power to you, Vaibhav and his team. I would be more than happy if I could support the Wherehouse.io team in any way I can.”
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A third commented, “Sorry to hear this Vaibhav. You built something to be proud of, and choosing to close it is incredibly hard but often the bravest decision. Wishing you the best for the next steps.” A fourth expressed, “I am sure this would have come from a heavy heart and you will bounce back, all the very best, Vaibhav.”
