After receiving a verbal commitment from a venture capitalist (VC), we left our jobs to begin our startup. We negotiated a 6-month part-time transition period with our former employer, hoping to generate enough funds to support ourselves until the VC contract was signed.

Several months into the startup, we received the VC’s draft contract, which heavily favored the investor. We declined the offer, deciding to fund the startup with our own savings. However, we soon faced financial difficulties, but our suppliers agreed to accept penny shares in exchange for early content, which provided temporary relief.

After 12 months of hard work, we developed a product ready for launch and pitched to over 100 investors before finally securing Angel finance. Two decades later, the company was sold for $215 million, but the memory of the struggles we faced in securing early financing still lingers.