– By Raaja Kanwar
Having spent years in the thick of India’s startup scene, I have met my fair share of founders – more than I can count. Behind the polished pitch decks and big projections, I’ve noticed a worrying trend. It’s often the small things: the slight tremor in a hand reaching for a coffee cup, the dark circles poorly concealed, the momentary flash of panic when discussing runway. These are not just symptoms of a gruelling work schedule; they are red flags of a mental health crisis brewing in India’s start-up ecosystem.
Let us be frank – we have created a pressure cooker. In our race to build the next unicorn, we have normalized a culture that pushes founders and their teams to the brink. I have witnessed brilliant minds crumble under the weight of expectations, promising ventures implode not because of market forces, but because their leaders were running on fumes.
The empirical data corroborates these observations. 74% of Indian entrepreneurs report experiencing significant stress. Nearly half of the employees in our start-ups feel anxious or depressed. The rate of mental health issues among founders is 2-3 times higher than the general population. These are not just statistics – they are a damning indictment of the ecosystem we have built.
Interestingly, the very traits that make entrepreneurs successful – drive, passion, willingness to take risks – can also make them more vulnerable to mental health challenges. The line between healthy ambition and self-destructive behavior is often blurry, and in the fast-paced startup world, it is all too easy to cross it without realizing.
We celebrate “dedication,” but at what cost? The tragic case of the Cafe Coffee Day founder in 2019 brought this issue into sharp focus. It was not an isolated incident, but rather an extreme manifestation of a pervasive problem. It forced many in the ecosystem to confront an uncomfortable truth: our definition of success might be fundamentally flawed. We have created a toxic culture that equates success with sacrifice, that views burnout as a rite of passage.
As investors, we are part of the problem. We push for hypergrowth, often at the expense of sustainable practices. We nod approvingly at founders who boast about 100-hour work weeks, mistaking self-destruction for dedication. It is time we recognized that a burnt-out founder is a liability, not an asset.
But it is not just on us. The entire ecosystem needs a reality check. Incubators and accelerators glorify extreme work habits. Even well-meaning families that do not understand why their founder cannot make it to another family function.
So, where do we go from here?
To my fellow investors: It is time we started viewing mental health as a key metric in our due diligence. A founder with strong emotional intelligence and a commitment to work-life balance is not soft – they are building a sustainable business. Let us start asking the tough questions: How do you manage stress? What is your sleep routine? How do you support your team’s mental health?
To the founders reading this: Your mental health is not negotiable. It is your most valuable asset. I have seen too many brilliant entrepreneurs flame out because they bought into the myth of the invincible founder. Set boundaries. Prioritize sleep. Build a support network. And for the love of all that is holy, take a vacation once in a while. Your company will not fall apart if you recharge.
To the broader ecosystem: We need to change the narrative. Let us stop celebrating all-nighters and start applauding sustainable growth. Let us create spaces where founders can openly discuss their mental health challenges without fear of being seen as “weak” or “uncommitted.”
I have started implementing these changes in my own investment approach. I now include mental health resources as part of our support package for portfolio companies. We have hosted workshops on stress management and work-life balance. And you know what? The founders who engage with these resources consistently outperform those who do not.
This is not about coddling founders or lowering our standards. It is about creating an ecosystem that is built to last. Because here is the hard truth – if we do not address this crisis, we are going to lose some of our best and brightest minds. We are going to see more promising startups implode, more lives derailed.
The Indian start-up ecosystem stands at a crossroads. We can continue down this path of burnout and breakdown, or we can pioneer a new way forward – a way that values mental health as much as market share. That sees well-being as a key indicator of a company’s health.
The choice is ours. And the stakes could not be higher. It is time we gave our entrepreneurs the support they deserve – not just with capital, but with compassion. Not just with term sheets, but with tools to thrive. The future of India’s innovation economy depends on it.
(Raaja Kanwar is the Chairman & Managing Director of Apollo International Group.)
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