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Running a startup is usually seen as a race to increase revenue, close deals and cut unnecessary spending. But a recent post by Chandigarh-based founder Pratham Jindal has started a different conversation online after he revealed that he spends nearly ₹8 lakh every month or Rs 96 lakh yearly on employees who, according to him, “don’t bring in a single rupee” for his company directly.
Jindal, who is the founder and CEO of Praper, shared his thoughts in a LinkedIn post where he spoke about the importance of support teams in a growing business. His statement quickly caught attention because many startups are often judged by how lean they operate and how much revenue each employee generates.
He wrote, “Revenue roles include editors, designers, salespeople - they directly make the business money, so every founder prioritises them. The ROI is visible.”
At the same time, he said many founders delay hiring for departments that do not directly contribute to sales figures. These include HR, administration, IT, founder’s office, content and office operations.
Jindal admitted that he had also ignored such hiring decisions earlier because the impact was harder to measure on paper.
“Nobody looks at them and says: ‘This person made us ₹20 lakhs this quarter.’ So founders keep delaying those hires. And I've been guilty of that too,” he wrote.
In the LinkedIn post, he mentioned tasks such as handling payroll issues, coordinating interviews, following up with vendors and approving invoices late at night. According to him, these activities slowly started eating into the time and energy he should have been using elsewhere.
He explained that he eventually created a simple method to understand when support hiring becomes necessary. “Write down every task you handle in a week. Next to each one, note how much time it takes,” he wrote.
Jindal further added, “If your list is eating up 8-10 hours per week, it's time to hire for the support roles.”
“Because your biggest resource isn't money. It's your time and bandwidth,” he wrote.
The startup founder concluded the post by saying that he no longer considers the ₹8 lakh monthly spending as a burden on the company. “That’s why I no longer see those ₹8 lakhs as an expense,” he added.
Jindal, who is the founder and CEO of Praper, shared his thoughts in a LinkedIn post where he spoke about the importance of support teams in a growing business. His statement quickly caught attention because many startups are often judged by how lean they operate and how much revenue each employee generates.
Every role cannot be measured only through revenue
In his post, Pratham Jindal explained that founders usually divide hiring into two categories, revenue roles and support roles. According to him, revenue roles are easier to prioritise because the return is visible almost immediately.He wrote, “Revenue roles include editors, designers, salespeople - they directly make the business money, so every founder prioritises them. The ROI is visible.”
At the same time, he said many founders delay hiring for departments that do not directly contribute to sales figures. These include HR, administration, IT, founder’s office, content and office operations.
Jindal admitted that he had also ignored such hiring decisions earlier because the impact was harder to measure on paper.
“Nobody looks at them and says: ‘This person made us ₹20 lakhs this quarter.’ So founders keep delaying those hires. And I've been guilty of that too,” he wrote.
Realisation came after losing hours every week
The entrepreneur said things changed when he realised that a large part of his time was getting consumed by routine operational work instead of focusing on business growth.In the LinkedIn post, he mentioned tasks such as handling payroll issues, coordinating interviews, following up with vendors and approving invoices late at night. According to him, these activities slowly started eating into the time and energy he should have been using elsewhere.
He explained that he eventually created a simple method to understand when support hiring becomes necessary. “Write down every task you handle in a week. Next to each one, note how much time it takes,” he wrote.
Jindal further added, “If your list is eating up 8-10 hours per week, it's time to hire for the support roles.”
Why he no longer sees it as an expense
Jindal argued that founders often think too much about salary costs without calculating the hidden cost of burnout, distractions and lack of focus. According to him, the real value of support employees lies in freeing up the founder’s time.“Because your biggest resource isn't money. It's your time and bandwidth,” he wrote.
The startup founder concluded the post by saying that he no longer considers the ₹8 lakh monthly spending as a burden on the company. “That’s why I no longer see those ₹8 lakhs as an expense,” he added.
