Sushant Junnarkar on Building a Business, Running Out of Runway, and Knowing When to Stop

In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, we speak with Sushant Junnarkar, who shares his raw and honest journey of building and eventually shutting down an early-stage startup.Sushant takes us through the complete entrepreneurial roller coaster from early traction and funding to competition, pivots, and the tough decision to shut down.In conversation with Sanjay Swamy, he shares insights on:• The 3 phases of a startup journey • Why startups fail beyond just lack of capital • The funding vs scale dilemma • Founder challenges and decision-making under pressure • Key lessons for early-stage entrepreneursTimestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:08 - Meet Sushant Junnarkar & The Book02:02 - Sushant’s Background & Career Journey03:11 - The Online Grocery Startup Idea04:16 - Breaking Down the Startup Phases05:46 - Phase 1: Idea, Research & Strategy09:38 - First Orders & Early Traction12:35 - Early Growth & Press Coverage14:34 - Competition Enters the Market16:22 - Tech Challenges & Moving Beyond Jugaad17:23 - Phase 3: Funding Challenges Begin18:30 - Last Attempts to Save the Startup20:45 - When Founder Motivation Declines23:06 - Who Should Read It27:42 - Key Advice: Passion & Product-Market Fit30:31 - Why Startups Fail: Execution34:10 - Capital, Competition & Strategy36:10 - Final Lessons on Entrepreneurship38:22 - Closing ThoughtsThis is a must- watch episode for anyone building or aspiring to build a startup.👉 Don’t forget to subscribe to the Prime Venture Partners Podcast for more real founder stories and insights from India’s startup ecosystem!#Startups #Entrepreneurship #FounderJourney #VentureCapital #StartupLessons #Podcast #PrimeVenturePartners