Over the past few weeks, we’ve been working on returning unused funds to our investors and getting every single member of the team who stood till the last place. Today, as it dawns, I’m profoundly humbled, satisfied and grateful.
When we started DaoLens (Now Crunch), it was with the idea of giving an honest shot to what seemed like a super risky but bold opportunity that should be evaluated thoroughly. We pivoted solely because we realised that even after a year of effort, we could not put a pulse on when and if DAOs would support a business where outcomes can be predicted.
Experiments followed, and Crunch was born. As we’ve worked over the past year on analytics, there were numerous hits and misses. Overall, we lost conviction for a respectable venture scale outcome, doing what and how we were doing. Numerous discussions followed between Apoorv Nandan and myself and gradually with our partners. After proper evaluation, winding down looked like the best course of action. It’s been only 2-3 weeks, and every time I reflect, I’m more certain it was the right call to make.
It has been a blessing exploring and working with some of the best investors and mentors, who are all now friends and supportive of everything we did. When we went with the idea of winding down, we discussed at length what our role in the world should be, how privileged we are and how it makes sense to keep failing spectacularly until you make it. I have witnessed firsthand how you can be super kind with your gesture, and all I hope is to keep paying it forward.
Now, for my team - The learnings that came will not result in an ordinary outcome. So it’s a matter of time, and when that happens, I’ll forever be grateful specifically to every single team member who partnered with us, trusted us, and gave it all they had. Our journeys might be different, but personally, wherever I walk, I’ll walk with all your learnings, hopes, aspirations, and blessings — cheers to the Crunch Mafia 🥂.
If there is one thing this journey has taught me, it’s the usefulness of chasing bold ideas, whether they materialise or not. It shapes you for phenomenal future outcomes. Something in the journey shapes you, and I've fallen in love with that version of myself. So, onto more and more dreams.
On a closing note, when I was on the fence about starting up, I would always read posts like these and catch some inhibitions. If you're an aspiring founder, know that you need to start, and you will figure it out. There doesn't have to be a eureka moment or a billion-dollar plan. Sometimes modest ideas are great, too. Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, not a profession, and take the leap of faith.
Thank you, Pratik Poddar, Arjun Gandhi, Jishnu B., Vaibhav Domkundwar, Utsav Somani and a host of our other 45 or so angels. Special shoutout to Ashray Iyengar and Richie Mathews for being two phenomenal people I've become super fond of 🙏
This post was originally shared by Vikram Aditya on Linkedin.