‘Freedom lasted 11 minutes’: Entrepreneur reveals the harsh truth behind quitting a 9-to-5 job

“Quit your job, become your own boss, start your dream company.” It is the kind of advice that floods social media every day. But entrepreneur and digital creator Mehul Agrawal says the reality is far less glamorous than people make it sound.

In a now-viral Instagram post, Mehul candidly opened up about the emotional rollercoaster he experienced after leaving his stable job to build his own company. According to him, the excitement of freedom barely lasted “11 minutes” before stress and responsibility took over.

“Everyone said quitting a job to start your own company feels like freedom and trust me everyone lied. Okay, it does feel like freedom but just for like 11 minutes. And you open your laptop and realize oh sh*t, everything is on me now,” he said in the video.


Mehul admitted that while he earlier complained about his boss assigning too many tasks, entrepreneurship turned out to be even more overwhelming. “Two weeks back I was complaining that my boss is giving me too many tasks. Now I have no boss but somehow I have more tasks,” he joked.

He then described how his first few days unfolded after quitting his job. On day one, he woke up at 6 am full of excitement and spent the entire day planning the next three months. Day two was similar, but by day three, the confidence had started fading.

“I was anxious. Looking at that sheet of paper of my plan for the next three months, I was questioning every life decision that I’ve taken so far,” he said.

Despite the chaos and self-doubt, Mehul said he does not regret his decision. He revealed that he left a job that was “draining” him to build something he is genuinely passionate about. Calling Instagram his “space to document everything,” he said he plans to continue sharing both the wins and struggles of entrepreneurship with his followers.