Instead of celebrating the investment, he was forced to make a painful decision: laying off 80 employees from a 420-member team
Entrepreneur and digital creator Ankur Warikoo has recently revisited one of the most challenging chapters of his career, revealing how a moment that initially appeared to be a success quickly turned into an emotional low point.
In a heartfelt post on X, Warikoo reflected on 2016, the year following his company’s $17 million investment from Sequoia India. Instead of celebrating this achievement, he was forced to make a painful decision: laying off 80 employees from a 420-member team. Looking back, he took full responsibility, describing it as the result of his own “terrible decisions and judgment,” and expressed the heavy burden of guilt that accompanied those decisions.
“I had let everyone down – my cofounders, my team, my investors. And myself. Going to the office every day was the biggest mental mountain to climb,” he wrote.
Warikoo shared this reflection while replying to a question on X that asked, “During a very dark period, what was the best thing you did for your mental health?”
In his reply, he outlined three habits that helped him get through the phase. The first was reading. “I read ‘Better Under Pressure’ – the book literally saved me,” he said.
The second was a deeply personal routine. Every afternoon after lunch, he would step out of the office, put on Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’, and quietly cry, a ritual he followed daily for three months. The third pillar was meditation. Though it felt excruciating at first, even for short sessions, it eventually helped him shift his perspective, allowing him to move from being “a participant of my thoughts to an observer of my thoughts”.
In 2016, less than a year after raising $17M from Sequoia India, I laid off 80 colleagues (out of 420) for no fault of theirs. My terrible decisions and judgment had led us to this point. I had let everyone down – my cofounders, my team, my investors. And myself.
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) December 17, 2025
His openness resonated widely, prompting many to share their own experiences. One user responded, “This honesty takes courage. Failure hurts more when it comes from your own decisions. What matters is not the fall, but the discipline to show up every day despite the weight. Reading, movement, meditation not as hacks, but as survival tools. Many founders feel this. Few speak it. Respect.”
Another wrote, “I haven’t raised anything yet, but I still felt the pain when I had to let go of my 3 freelancers because projects were falling off. It pinches me to date. Next move was to not hire people just to fill seats but to hire them because I can make a difference to their lives.”
A third comment summed up the emotional toll simply: “Helplessness is an underrated painful emotion.” Yet another user added, “Nothing cuts through like honest vulnerability. Thank you for sharing.”
