IIT Bombay graduate loses dream job months after joining, sends 200+ cold emails and then changes his approach

At 21, Soham has already gone through internships, a failed startup, job interviews, a dream job and an unexpected spell of unemployment. The IIT Bombay graduate recently shared his career journey on X, describing how more than 200 cold emails and over 10 interviews failed to lead to his next opportunity after he lost his job. Rather than continue waiting for an offer, he returned to building products and launched six in a single month.

From IIT Bombay to early work experience

Soham began his journey at IIT Bombay after securing an All India Rank of 1296 and enrolling in mechanical engineering. During his time at the institute, he spent two years tutoring two JEE aspirants in physics and mathematics.

He also gained industry experience through internships. His first was at Matiks, followed by an internship at Raven, a YC S22 company. Those experiences eventually encouraged him to test the waters as a founder himself.



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His first product crossed 700 downloads

When Soham decided to build his own product, he initially faced a basic hurdle: he needed money for a domain and hosting.

He turned to Reddit seeking help and, after several conversations, eventually found someone willing to invest in his idea. The product went on to reach more than 700 downloads and 60 daily active users.

Despite the early traction, the project did not continue indefinitely. Soham shut it down after six months.

The experience, however, did not end his interest in building independently.

He came close to a Stripe offer

During the placement season at IIT Bombay, 18 students received interview opportunities with Stripe, with Soham among them. He said he was the only mechanical engineering student in the group.

He cleared three rounds of the process but did not make it through the final stage.

The setback was followed by another opportunity that appeared to be much closer to what he wanted. He received an offer from Chronicle, which he described as his “dream role”.

Soham joined the company in January 2026 during his final semester and was earning $2,000 a month.

Dream job ends only months later

His time at Chronicle, however, was brief. In June 2026, he said the company’s team size dropped sharply from 20 people to just four.

“I’m 21 and just graduated. Here is everything in order,” Soham wrote while laying out the timeline of his journey.

He later summed up the turning point more bluntly: “In June 2026, team went from 20 to 4. I was not one of the 4.”

The job he had described as his dream role was therefore gone only months after he joined.

200 cold emails and more than 10 interviews later

After losing his job, Soham said he tried to return to the conventional hiring route. He sent more than 200 cold emails to YC founders and appeared for over 10 interviews.

Despite those efforts, he remained without a job.

Instead of continuing to wait for another employer to give him an opportunity, he decided to shift his focus back to product building.

“So I started shipping instead. 6 products in one month. First $50 from a 2 hour build,” he wrote.

The new approach gave him something tangible to show for his time. He said he had three products live and had also grown his X following from zero to more than 4,000 followers.

Even with those developments, Soham described his current employment status in one word: “Unemployed.”

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His story draws praise online

His post drew reactions from users who viewed his current situation differently from the label attached to it.

One commenter argued that being “unemployed on paper” overlooked what Soham was actually doing, pointing to his product launches, earnings and growing audience as a more meaningful measure of his progress.

Another encouraged him to keep building, describing his experience at 21 as only the beginning.

A third user praised the journey while observing that IIT graduates taking the independent developer route appears relatively uncommon, given the access many have to jobs and startup funding.

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