IIM graduate from Bengaluru shares ‘peak Bengaluru moment’: ‘I want to ask flatmate to pay my rent…’

Bengaluru is truly the Silicon Valley of India, with a vibrant startup ecosystem and teeming with entrepreneurs. A viral post on LinkedIn recently shared a hilarious anecdote about how your seemingly ordinary neighbour can turn out to be a hotshot in the startup world and be fabulously wealthy. Taking to LinkedIn, a product manager named Muskan Atar shared how her flatmate was a founder but she had no idea about the valuation of her company.

Recently, she found out that her firm was very successful and valued at several crores and has offices in every major city. Comparing her situation to her flatmates, Muskan quipped that she is still trying to pinch pennies on vegetables. “Meanwhile, me on Splitwise: “Bhindi divided among 3 people, ₹5/person.”

She concluded the post with a joke that she intends to let go of her strong, independent aura and ask her roommate to pay her rent.


The post went viral on LinkedIn, gaining more than 2,000 likes. One LinkedIn user joked, 'If she had such a successful company, why was she sharing a flat?' “Fundamental question: why does she have a flatmate if she has XXX crores? A more important question is: is her company integrating AI into the workflow? If not, I would say stick to Splitwise, but make sure payments happen on time," the comment read. In another comment, the commenter clarified he was joking and expressed admiration for bootstrapped endeavours.

“I was just joking. If she's reading this, let her know that I fully support bootstrapped startups, especially those who may be looking out for a good fractional CMO…” he wrote. Another suggested: "Yes you should and ask her to give high position in her company.."

According to her profile, Muskan is a Senior Product Manager at a fitness-orientated company. She holds an MBA from IIM Lucknow.