The Thrive Chapter Closes: What I Learned and What's Next
The journey of building a startup is never easy, but it's always an adventure. As one chapter closes, I'm reflecting on the lessons learned and looking forward to what's next.
A Wild Ride: Building, Learning, and Growing
It's been a month since we made the difficult decision to shut down Thrive. A decade. That's how long I've been immersed in the world of building, first with Hashtag Loyalty, then with Thrive. It's a significant chunk of my life – roughly 30% – dedicated to this journey. And what a journey it's been. "Eating glass" is a phrase that comes to mind. It's been tough, relentless, and often pushed me to my absolute limits. People would ask, "Why do you put yourself through this?" It took some deep introspection, but around 2021, I finally understood. This is my purpose. The challenge, the responsibility, the sheer act of taking ownership and driving our collective vision forward – that's what gets me up in the morning (even on the days it's really hard). It's the fuel that drives me. I realized I was less focused on reaching the next milestone, and more on the journey itself, the daily grind, the constant problem-solving. Even though Thrive didn't have the "storybook ending," I'm immensely grateful for the decade, the incredible team I worked with, and everything we accomplished. The decision to shut down was incredibly difficult. But it was made easier by our planning. We had a Plan A, B, and C. We knew when and how to execute each, which brought a sense of rationality and logic to what would otherwise have been a purely emotional decision.
I'll be diving deeper into the Thrive story in future posts, especially our fundraising journey with Krishi and Dhruv. We meticulously documented our conversations with over 130 funds and 15 M&A discussions, hoping to provide a valuable resource for other founders navigating the fundraising maze.
Today, I want to share some reflections on Thrive and what it means for me moving forward. 2024 was a pivotal year. Our objective was to secure a substantial venture round, partnering with an investor who believed in our long-term vision. We'd laid the foundation since 2020. That year, we achieved what felt like a miracle: we not only survived the pandemic but also launched Thrive. Thrive gave us the opportunity to tackle a much larger, more impactful problem. And let me address something here: I've heard people dismiss food delivery, quick commerce, even 10-minute delivery, as "not real problems." I disagree. Food is fundamental to human life. Serving a large population, whether it's providing sustenance for survival or pleasure, adds undeniable value. This isn't to take away from the incredible work being done in deep-tech, climate, or health. It's simply a pushback against simplistic commentary, often from those who haven't built a company themselves.
We saw a massive, multi-billion dollar opportunity to disrupt a stagnant category. Restaurants are facing very real challenges, and the way consumers discover and experience food is begging for innovation. We developed a novel approach – a world-first, in fact – to food discovery and ordering that has the potential to transform how restaurants operate and grow, and even influence other vertical marketplaces like fashion, health, and music. We've become so accustomed to the current online ordering paradigm that it's hard to imagine alternatives. But there are.
This category, while currently overshadowed by the hype around quick commerce (and rightfully so, given the rapid Y-o-Y growth), is still significantly under-penetrated. On the consumer side, we're only at 12% penetration. And the supply side is vastly underserved. As Bharat comes online in the next decade, this market is poised to explode. Furthermore, as commerce evolves, driven by community influence, our product experiences for delivery and dining will inevitably change. You might argue that the current duopoly is best positioned to address these changes. But consider this: the food delivery space is highly commoditized. For large, publicly traded companies, taking risks on changing restaurant dynamics or overhauling discovery algorithms (which are tied to ad revenue) is a dangerous game. The potential downside – even a small chance of failure – can significantly impact stock prices and put CEO jobs on the line. The risk often outweighs the potential reward.
From Vision to Reality: The Startup Hustle
This is precisely why startups exist. We need startups to challenge the status quo, to take the risks that larger companies can't. Our odds were long, but as entrepreneurs, we try to piece together the building blocks to create a world closer to our vision. That's what I do best: building the big picture and assembling the pieces, tiny or large, brick by brick, however long it takes. We chose courage. If we'd played it safe and stayed with Thrive Direct, we'd have made a negligible impact on a tiny fraction of our restaurant base. We saw the market shifting, mobilized quickly, and built a novel marketplace that benefits both consumers and restaurants. We achieved impressive growth metrics across both commerce and social (more on those details to come!).
Despite our progress, we were ultimately unable to secure the necessary investment. Several factors contributed, including concerns about our cap table, founder dilution, and the perceived threat from the existing duopoly. Ironically, we recognized the inherent challenge these established players faced in rapidly adapting their business models, given public market pressures and intense quick commerce competition. Investors even acknowledged this difficulty. Yet, the perceived threat from these incumbents remained a major concern.
Charting a New Course: What the Future Holds
What's next? A blank canvas. It's both exhilarating and daunting. As a founder, I'm wired to operate at 110%, so I'm approaching my next chapter with intention. Years of scaling two businesses, navigating the 0 to 1 and 1 to 10 journey, and all aspects of go-to-market strategy, growth, retention, and product development have equipped me with a robust skillset. I love building empowered and accountable teams and streamlining operations. I'm a creative, systems-based, and first-principles thinker, and resilience is a core part of my DNA. I'm currently connecting with founders and companies tackling interesting challenges across industries and exploring opportunities for collaboration as I define my next role. If you're building something interesting at the intersection of consumer & tech, AI, or even deep tech, I'd love to connect.