Mathrubootham’s perspective

Mathrubootham explained: “Most of us come from middle class backgrounds. We have not seen enough money in our lives.”

He further explained that a multi-million dollar offer for the stake is often perceived as a great result, but warned that this can be misleading.

Secondary sales can meet personal financial needs

Mathrubootham suggested that as founders grow their businesses, they should generate some of their money from secondary sales.

He believes this strategy could help them manage personal expenses such as home loans and allow them to focus more on expanding their business.

“I’m an advocate of founders taking some money from secondary sources as their company grows,” he said during the panel discussion.

Debate about secondary sales among investors and founders

The practice of founders selling their shares in secondary sales has sparked a debate among both investors and start-up founders.

This trend is becoming increasingly apparent in many young companies.

Notably, Mamaearth founders Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh sold around 32.86 lakh of the 10.67 crore shares they initially held in the company.

Meanwhile, Supam Maheshwari, founder and CEO of FirstCry, sold shares worth Rs 300 crore before filing for IPO in January.