The pandemic has proved risky and loss-filled for most start-up professionals, especially when the founders have invested their life savings in giving their dreams a concrete shape and structure. They are dealing with a multitude of problems from lack of projects to work on, fall out in revenue generation to being unable to pay and sustain employees.

“If things don’t become normal again and the market opens up soon, I will have my whole life screwed because of the pandemic. And I can’t take the thought of ruining others’--my family, friends who have invested, my employees and the angel investors--life as well”, said Anand, a co-founder of a home-based food delivery app based in Bangalore. He continued, "Our start-up focuses on empowering the home chefs by bringing their best dishes on the platform so the people can order their favourites right from the comfort of their homes. 

With the lockdown, everything came to a halt; we could rarely get any traction on our website. Moreover, due to the unavailability of delivery boys, few people who came to the website were left disappointed too as we were either unable to deliver their order or there was a delay. We don't pay the chefs if we don't get any orders, but we still have a core team that needs to be paid and with the fundings and revenue being stopped, this has gotten more difficult. My partner and I have been paying our core team from our pockets and that has made us now worry about our own daily expenses now. Also, some of our chefs are not from economically sound backgrounds and our orders were a source of income for them through which they would either manage their household expenses or some other minor expenses. With no orders, they are feeling the blow of this as much as we do--they are stressed and unhappy about it and keep talking to us, requesting us and sometimes literally begging us to bring them orders, but it is out of my hands. And their pleadings haunt me through the day.

Whatever it is, I also feel guilty for putting my partner in trouble along with me. He had to go back to Rajasthan, his hometown, as he exhausted all of his savings. Though we can manage things from our respective cities, getting funding is even more difficult now that we are working remotely. It is difficult to manage our meetings completely remotely as the people we were waiting on for fundings are struggling with their own financial issues. 

My marketing and the website team has put in a load of effort to make my dream project work, but I am not sure if we would even be able to survive in the market any more. I have a feeling I will have to shut shop soon and this is going to affect many families at one go. Even with the unlock phase, we rarely receive an order or two everyday as people are still worried about the virus spread.

I feel the food industry has been demonised unnecessarily and with the right precautions we can keep ourselves safe from the virus--but that is not to be. 

I am worried that before the virus gets us, lack of income will--I am extremely worried about my chefs and in-house management and online teams--I hope none is pushed to the extreme limits. I have openly given them an offer that I will help them with counselling if they feel the stress is getting to them , but getting them business is not something within my hands. 

I just hope to see get through this phase, I will make it up to the team but please I just hope things don't collapse. If this ship sinks, it is going to take with it the happiness of many and possibly me too...I don’t think I have it in me to face the reality of closing down the business when and if I have to do it any of these days."