10 Years, 15+ Failed Startups, 2 Missing Steps.

𝟏𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝟏𝟓+ 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬/𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬. One you can guess: 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝? Before starting this new journey, I spent hours reflecting… Thinking. Writing. Staring at my whiteboard.

Looking back at a decade of failures, I saw the same pattern repeating: 1️⃣ Validation Most of my startups/experiments began either:- -Friend gossip ideas → “Bro, it's a million dollar idea, let's make this app, it’ll blow up.” or -Pure imagination → building what felt good in my head, without market reality checks. -Trend chasing → jumping blindly into crypto hype, AI wave, or D2C boom. And every time, I skipped the most important step: proof that people actually cared. -I built in isolation. -Launched with hope. -And shut it down quietly. That’s why I created Crown Gate Filter, to make validation unavoidable. But solving validation wasn’t enough… 2️⃣ Process vs Outcome (Flaws in how I executed, even if the idea had potential) -Inspired by some guru’s course → chasing “get rich quick” promises. -Copying another successful startup → clone mindset, zero personal conviction. -Over-obsessed with traction/funding → every day refreshing numbers instead of enjoying the work. -Outcome > process → “If this works, I’ll make X crores” mindset. I was so obsessed with outcomes, revenue, traction, “success” - that I stopped enjoying the process. And when you don’t enjoy the process, you don’t even realize what you’re building. Nothing meaningful is built in a day, so when traction doesn’t come for months, you get frustrated, start doubting yourself, and once that doubt creeps in, your subconscious begins working against you. But here’s the tricky part: I’ll share why “just enjoy the process” is another trap, and how I’m solving it in future post. 💡 Reflection After 15+ failures, I’ve realised: -Working on a startup idea without validation = building castles in the air. -Focusing only on outcomes and not enjoying the process = frustration, self-doubt, and eventually your subconscious working against you. I’ve solved the first problem with Crown Gate Filter. The second one? I spent hours talking to ChatGPT, testing myself with brutal prompts to find out if I was truly obsessed with the process, or just chasing glamour/outcomes.