A social media post on what it takes to run a startup has struck a chord across the entrepreneur community. Mehul Agarwal, who is currently building Koyal, a GenAI Audio-to-Video Filmmaking platform backed by Y Combinator, has shared an image of his sister – also a co-founder in the company – sitting with a laptop on her own wedding to remind everyone that launching and building a startup is far from the glamorous ideal many people imagine.
“People romanticize startups but it is a lot of work,” Agarwal wrote, highlighting a truth that seasoned founders constantly emphasise but aspiring entrepreneurs often overlook.
“Not a photo op, parents yelled at both of us,” he added.
About Koyal AI
Koyal’s Agentic AI platform uses a suite of benchmarked SOTA multimodal AI generation and translation models to generate custom characters, settings, and animations that maintain a cohesive aesthetic.
Agarwal’s post serves as a refreshing reality check, reminding people that startups are work-intensive, challenging, and deeply personal endeavours.
The Myth vs Reality of Startup Life
The rise of social media has amplified stories of overnight success, lavish office spaces, and six-figure exits. These narratives paint a picture that building a tech company or brand is exciting and easy — reinforcing the romanticized startup myth. But industry veterans often tell a different story:
Long Hours: Early-stage founders routinely work nights and weekends, juggling product development, customer support, marketing, and fundraising.
Budget crunches, self doubt: The highs of landing a big customer or successful launch are often matched by the lows of setbacks, budget crunches, and self-doubt.
