Hey HN,<p>I'm Bibin Mohan, a 37-year-old founder from India. I started selling firecrackers at 15 and jumped into entrepreneurship full-time at 22. I’ve been at it ever since — 15 years, 9 different startup attempts, and still grinding.<p>I dropped out of college in 2009 to co-found a web and digital marketing agency with three friends. They left within a few years, but I kept it going and still run it today. It pays my family's expenses, but not much more.<p>In between, I got lucky — in 2014, I became the social media consultant to India’s former Central Minister of Shipping & IT through my agency. It was a proud moment, but also a reminder that consulting doesn’t scratch the startup itch for me.<p>Here’s my startup timeline:<p>1. Quadregal (2009–Present): Web & digital agency. 500+ projects completed. Bootstrapped and sustains my living.<p>2. Likebids (2010–2011): Social bidding platform using Facebook Likes to win products. It went viral, featured on Mashable. FB changed its ToS and killed the model right before a possible investment.<p>3. Facebook Apps (2011–2012): Built viral apps like “My Best Chat Friend” (used FB APIs to calculate your most chatted friend). One app hit 1M users in 6 months. All were shut down when FB banned auto-publishing.<p>4. Glist (2020–2021): A 10-min grocery delivery startup in India (like Zepto). Interviewed at YC, didn’t get in. Got an offer of $120K for 70% equity — we declined and shut it down due to lack of capital.<p>5. Ippow (2021): 20-minute medicine delivery. No cofounders, no capital, no traction.<p>6. Healthy (2022): EMI-based healthcare package booking. Stalled due to disinterest and funding issues.<p>7. 5mino (2023): Mental health + time-focused app. Built it, no downloads. Learned a lot though.<p>8. Flowstate (2024): Simple app that plays relaxing music. Got 2K+ downloads organically. Growth stalled.<p>9. Tillit (2024–Now): My current project with two cofounders. It's like Faire for India. We’re turning local homes into mini-warehouses, enabling faster wholesale delivery and giving shopkeepers credit-based inventory. Retailers save money, time, and space. The idea works — I’ve validated it in the field. But we’re constrained financially, funding everything from my agency income. And we need to offer credit, which is hard to scale without capital.<p>Now here’s my dilemma:<p>My wife asked me today if I’m crazy to keep chasing these ideas instead of just taking a job. I’m 37, married, with a child. I've built multiple products, none have "made it", and I'm still hustling every day, believing the next one will.<p>So — do I need more motivation, or should I finally quit?<p>Have you seen someone like me turn it around this late? Am I just being stubborn, or is there still hope if I keep going?<p>Would really appreciate some honest advice from this community.<p>Thank you,
Bibin Mohan