Sushant Junnarkar on Building a Business, Running Out of Runway, and Knowing When to Stop

In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, we speak with Sushant Junnarkar, who shares his raw and honest journey of building and eventually shutting down an early-stage startup.

Sushant takes us through the complete entrepreneurial roller coaster from early traction and funding to competition, pivots, and the tough decision to shut down.

In conversation with Sanjay Swamy, he shares insights on:

• The 3 phases of a startup journey

• Why startups fail beyond just lack of capital

• The funding vs scale dilemma

• Founder challenges and decision-making under pressure

• Key lessons for early-stage entrepreneurs

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:08 - Meet Sushant Junnarkar & The Book

02:02 - Sushant’s Background & Career Journey

03:11 - The Online Grocery Startup Idea

04:16 - Breaking Down the Startup Phases

05:46 - Phase 1: Idea, Research & Strategy

09:38 - First Orders & Early Traction

12:35 - Early Growth & Press Coverage

14:34 - Competition Enters the Market

16:22 - Tech Challenges & Moving Beyond Jugaad

17:23 - Phase 3: Funding Challenges Begin

18:30 - Last Attempts to Save the Startup

20:45 - When Founder Motivation Declines

23:06 - Who Should Read It

27:42 - Key Advice: Passion & Product-Market Fit

30:31 - Why Startups Fail: Execution

34:10 - Capital, Competition & Strategy

36:10 - Final Lessons on Entrepreneurship

38:22 - Closing Thoughts

This is a must- watch episode for anyone building or aspiring to build a startup.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe to the Prime Venture Partners Podcast for more real founder stories and insights from India’s startup ecosystem!

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