'We've run out of money': CEO shuts down 4-year-old Indian startup over video call

A 4-year-old Indian startup shut down abruptly, leaving 19 employees jobless after the CEO announced in a surprise all-hands video call that the startup had run out of money and all investors had pulled out.

The shutdown came without warning. According to a Reddit post by one of the affected employees, the team received an unexpected email from the CEO midday, requesting an urgent meeting.

During the call, employees were told they would not be paid for the month, the startup was ceasing operations immediately, and they should not report to work the next day. 

"In that meeting, he told us something none of us saw coming: the company had completely run out of money. We wouldn’t be getting paid this month, and effective immediately, the company was shutting down. All of our investors had pulled out. He told us not to report to work the next day," the post read.

“There were no layoffs. No bridge funding. No communication that we were in real trouble,” the employee wrote, adding that the closure still hasn’t sunk in. The CEO reportedly offered to help employees find new roles through his network, but staff members remain uncertain about what to expect.

Our startup shut down overnight—19 of us lost our jobs
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Netizens reaction

"I was in the same situation in november , I remember waking up in the morning and thinking that today I'll complete this task and I won't have any jira tickets left for this sprint and will enjoy it now. But suddenly in the standup my CEO informed us that investors have asked us to shut down all operations in a month , so we have only one month to find new jobs . I was shattered as it was my very first job...So I think don't lose hope you'll definitely get something just give it some time and trust the process," a user expressed.

"I have been through this. First reaction and the one that lasts is SELF DOUBT. Trust me OP, this shall too pass. Opportunities arise out of no where. For now keep belief in yourself alive. It is tough time for sure. But keep fighting," another wrote.

"Same situation in our company too. Out of 19 employees, 13 were taken in by the client we used to get projects from — they received official offer letters and have already joined that company. From the remaining 6, 3 were asked to resign. The other 3 of us (including me) are just stuck — no offer letter, no layoff email, and no communication at all. We haven’t received any salary since May. PF hasn’t been credited since June 2024, and while TDS is still being deducted from our salaries, it hasn’t been deposited. It's a complete mess and the uncertainty is draining," a third added.