An Indian employee has shared a shocking story of betrayal at a small startup where he worked for almost three years.
The employee (@Solid-Juggernaut5384), who joined as a fresher with a package of 7 LPA, revealed on Reddit that he was promised a large part of his pay as shares that would vest after three years.
At the time, he did not realise it was a trap to keep him tied to the company.
“Got betrayed in a startup company due to a toxic employer,” the caption of the post reads.
Toxic startup exploits worker:
In the post, the Redditor explains that only 3 LPA was paid in hand, while the remaining 4 LPA was in shares.
For two and a half years, he gave his all. He worked long hours, including weekends, often putting in 15-hour days.
“Most of the team left, and suddenly it was just me and one other person doing everything,” he adds.
The employee also revealed that his fixed salary of 50,000 rupees was suddenly cut to 30,000 rupees due to ‘performance-based’ deductions.
Later, the company advertised his package as 16 LPA, but 12 LPA was ‘variable pay’ that he never got.
Despite the pressure and low pay, he stayed because he counted on the shares to pay off a debt of five lakh rupees.
The shocking turn came one month before him completing 3 years. He was fired over a trivial issue, not starting a high-priority task for one hour.
According to him, the real reason was that the founder did not want to pay the 4 LPA owed through shares.
Here’s how people reacted to the post:
Reddit users reacted strongly to the post, expressing shock and sympathy for the employee. Many called out the startup for toxic management, unfair pay practices, and exploiting workers.
One of the users commented, “Average startup culture in India is normally bad; this is just another example.”
A second user commented, “Is this a rage bait. I don’t know why you stayed when everyone jumped ship. Why didn’t you?”
“Sue the company, let them pay the lawyers if they can’t pay you,” another user commented.