Rishav Agarwal, the innovative Founder of Picxele, recently took a bold step in 2023, letting go of a substantial monthly income to focus on rebuilding his venture. In a compelling LinkedIn post, Rishav shares the challenges he faced, the sacrifices made, and his ambitious plans for Picxele™ in 2024.
Rishav Agarwal reflects on the pivotal decision made in June 2023 when he chose to part ways with a US-based company offering a lucrative 3,00,000 INR monthly payment for his consultancy services. Despite the financial allure, Rishav decided to leave on a positive note after a month of collaboration. This marked a turning point where he consciously scaled down various commitments to concentrate on resurrecting Picxele™, a testament to his unwavering dedication to the venture.
The entrepreneur outlines the drastic changes he implemented post-consultancy, highlighting a deliberate decrease in involvement in consulting where time commitments were intensive. He also curtailed his activities in the Dhandho Fellowship cohorts and reduced the evaluation and investment in startup deals. Rishav Agarwal shares that these decisions were instrumental in his pursuit of rebuilding Picxele™ and its imminent relaunch.
So, why did Rishav make such a significant sacrifice? The entrepreneur expresses his desire to rebuild Picxele™ and counts this challenge as a personal achievement. Notably, he emphasizes the achievement of creating a product without raising external funds – a feat he proudly contrasts with the common narrative of bragging about building products after securing millions in funding.
Rishav acknowledges that while others might perceive this period as a Funding Winter, for him, it was a Revenue Winter. Despite the challenges, he looks ahead to 2024 with optimism and lays out his ambitious plans. These include organically growing the Picxele™ app to 1 million users with a minimum of 50,000 Monthly Active Users (MAU), accelerating the development of new features, particularly the Project Section, and aiming to secure 50 retained clients in that segment.
In addition to these goals, Rishav Agarwal plans to open a much-needed Upskilling segment catering to both skilled and semi-skilled gig workers in the blue and grey-collar space. He introduces new team members Tejaswini Triupattaya Pankaj alongside existing members Tushar and Harshit. Together, they form a dedicated team ready to take on the challenges of 2024.
Rishav outlines his additional responsibilities, including evaluating startups and assisting them in fundraising, admitting a limited intake of startups in paid cohorts of Dhandho Fellowship, offering consultancy for short-term projects via topmate.io, and focusing on scaling The Ecosystem Community. He expresses a commitment to fostering a spam-free and supportive community.
The entrepreneur expresses gratitude to key figures who have played pivotal roles in his journey. Hiranmay, Monalisha, and Narayan, with whom he has collaborated since 2021 at Tummoc, are acknowledged as essential pillars of support. Vaibhav, an almost investor turned mentee, has contributed significantly to Rishav’s fintech knowledge, alongside Pulak and Sachin. Lastly, Rohit and Aneesh have been instrumental in his understanding of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) through Done Deal.
Rishav Agarwal’s journey, outlined in his LinkedIn post, epitomizes entrepreneurial resilience. Navigating revenue challenges, he forgoes easy income, choosing to rebuild Picxele™ organically. His plans for 2024 showcase not just ambition but a commitment to innovation, growth, and community building.
As Rishav Agarwal looks forward to the upcoming challenges, he promises to remain the same raw and honest person, unapologetically true to himself, and ready to navigate the entrepreneurial landscape with authenticity. In a world where success stories often revolve around fundraising milestones, Rishav’s narrative stands out as a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit’s resilience, determination, and willingness to make unconventional choices for the sake of a greater vision.
