Shakti Mani Tripathi, a former Amazon employee, has opened up about the challenges he faced after leaving his high-paying job to pursue entrepreneurship. Currently serving as the co-founder and CTO of Reflecc, an AI-driven platform designed to automate business workflows, Tripathi's journey has been anything but smooth.
In a now-viral post on social media platform X, Tripathi detailed his rough year since quitting his lucrative ₹1 crore position at Amazon, where he contributed to the development of the Amazon Pay Later application. “2024 has been a wild year for me. I left my ₹1 crore job at Amazon without any backup, driven by the urge to finally 'start up',” he shared.
After departing from Amazon, Tripathi launched his first startup, Hoobahoo AI, in 2024. However, his initial venture faced immediate challenges, including rejection from Y Combinator and unsuccessful pitches to over 30 venture capitalists, leading to its eventual closure due to high customer acquisition costs and insufficient funding.
Undeterred, Tripathi and his co-founder, Kunal Ranjan, pivoted to develop a B2B SaaS product aimed at monitoring engineering productivity metrics. This idea was abandoned after they realised the complexities of measuring software engineers' productivity effectively. They then attempted to create Codermon AI, an AI tool for developers but ultimately decided to pivot again due to market saturation.
The duo next explored opportunities in the supply chain sector, aiming to build an AI agent for procurement; however, they soon recognised their lack of experience in this area, prompting another shift in focus.
Tripathi's perseverance led to the formation of Reflecc AI, where he and his team developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in just seven days. They engaged with over 50 potential clients and industry experts to validate their concept, resulting in three Letters of Intent (LOIs) from interested parties. Despite making it to the top 10% of Y Combinator applications, they were ultimately rejected once more.
Reflecting on their journey, Tripathi acknowledged the need for a more focused approach, leading them to pivot towards developing an AI Digital Marketer. He expressed hope that 2025 will not compel him to abandon his entrepreneurial aspirations and return to a corporate role.
Tripathi's candid post has resonated with many, reaching over 77,000 users on X, where numerous commenters shared their own experiences with failure and offered words of encouragement.
One user commented, "That’s a lot in one year! Typical founder journey though, my 2023 was similar. I did give up however and joined another startup myself. Hopefully you can keep fighting the good fight
Another user wished him luck and said, "You can take such risks in business only during the initial years of your career...So just keep going...and wish you all the best!!!"