‘Don’t onboard your spouse to spice up your startup’: Bengaluru founder warns couplepreneurs

Bengaluru-based founder Anurag Singh has warned entrepreneurs from onboarding spouses in their startups. 

Founder warns couplepreneurs

“Don’t onboard your spouse to spice up your startup,” he said in a LinkedIn post that has gone viral. 

While entrepreneurial love stories like Ghazal and Varun Alagh (Mamaearth) are celebrated as #CoupleGoals, Singh claimed that those are exceptions, not the norm.

Business can take a toll on mental health, finances, and personal time. Now, throw marriage into that high-pressure mix?

“You’re playing with fire,” Singh shared, pointing at co-founder conflicts, emotional burnout, and financial instability as some of the top reasons why ‘startup romance’ goes south more often than not.

“For every Ghazal & Varun Alagh (Mamaearth) success story, there are 10 others crumbling under financial stress, divorce filings, and neglected kids,” the startup founder wrote.

“If you’re romanticizing "startup love," here’s your reality check,” he added, listing some major drawbacks for couplepreneurs.

Startup founder shares pointers on why couples should not do business together

Presenting a case study of a Bengaluru-based SaaS couple, Singh said they split after fighting over a VC term sheet that demanded one founder’s exit.

“Therapy won’t fix a broken cap table,” he forewarned.

The startup founder went on explaining how OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal didn’t co-found with family, and Radhika Ghai of Kindlife built her D2C brand solo post-divorce.

According to Singh, building a startup is hard, but building a marriage is harder.

“Doing both together?” he asked followers. “That’s a statistical anomaly, not a strategy,” he opined.

Anurag Singh is the founder of Bunny Bash, India’s first portable theme party company. He also founded the advertising company, Green Flag.

Netizens react

"Mama Earth's story does not fit here! Do some deep research, and refer the suit filed by the original owner will show an entirely different perspective of this duo," commented an individual.

"Such a reality check. I’ve always wondered how couples manage both—this really puts things in perspective," replied another person.

Another founder responded: "It’s tough on business and married life. My wife and me built Qua Nutrition clinics and still run it today. I could do a three hour podcast on why it’s the best thing and why it’s the worst thing."

Read Anurag Singh's complete LinkedIn post here.

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