Subrata Mitra, Founding Partner at Accel, and Pankaj Mishra, entrepreneur and journalist, have co-authored Down But Not Out: Gritty Comebacks of India's Diehard Founders, a book that explores the hidden struggles behind India's startup success stories. Published by Harper Business, the book is now available across leading online and offline bookstores.
Focus on Resilience Over Valuations
The book shifts the conversation from funding rounds and exits to the human side of entrepreneurship. It draws from extensive conversations with founders across sectors, chronicling the journeys of entrepreneurs behind companies including BlueStone, Tejas Networks, Ninjacart, GreyOrange, Capillary Technologies, HyperVerge, Zolve, Uniqode, and ZopNow.
According to the authors, the defining moments for founders were rarely the successes that made headlines, but the setbacks, doubts, and failures they quietly endured.
Key Stories of Comebacks
The book details several near-death moments:
- BlueStone: Cut its team from around 150 staff to just six in 2017, then scaled into one of India's leading jewellery platforms, later backed by Ratan Tata.
- TaxiForSure: Went from an idea scribbled on a tissue at a Bangalore pub in 2011 to a $200 million sale to Ola in 2015.
- MobStac: Went back to square one in 2015 after six years, then pivoted to Beaconstac, which became one of FedEx India's larger SME customers.
- Tejas Networks: Survived Lehman's crash, Nortel's bankruptcy, a 2G freeze, a flood, and a fire that gutted its R&D labs. Revenue collapsed from ₹676 crore to ₹208 crore before listing in 2017 as India's first pure deep-tech IPO, powering BSNL's 100,000-base-station 4G rollout.
- HyperVerge: Turned down a $10-12 million acquisition offer with just six months of cash left, then went on to verify over a billion users for 75+ banks and lenders.
Personal Reflections from the Authors
Subrata Mitra said: "Over the last two decades, I've had the privilege of working closely with founders through some of the highest highs and lowest lows of their journeys. What struck me was that the defining moments were rarely the successes that made headlines, but the setbacks, doubts, and failures they quietly endured. Down But Not Out is an attempt to bring those untold stories to light. It is a tribute to the resilience of founders who chose to keep going when walking away would have been easier."
Pankaj Mishra added: "I've always thought of entrepreneurship as a trapeze act -- you let go before you know if anyone will catch you. I've lived a version of that myself with FactorDaily, which is partly why these stories pulled at me. Working on this book with Subrata was a gift."
Broader Insights for Entrepreneurs
The book also reflects on Mitra's own entrepreneurial and investing journey, including lessons from failure and what he describes as the pursuit of "truth and long-term greed" -- the belief that enduring value is built through patience, trust, and long-term thinking rather than short-term gains.
Combining candid founder accounts with personal reflections and visual storytelling, Down But Not Out explores the decisions, setbacks, and turning points that shaped both individual entrepreneurs and India's startup ecosystem. The book offers insights not only for founders and investors but for anyone seeking to build, persevere, and adapt in the face of uncertainty.
