The uncomfortable truths of startup growth: Lessons from building an empire to emptiness, and back again!

The uncomfortable truths of startup growth

Startup journeys are often glorified as sleek, upward graphs filled with pitch decks, media features, and investment rounds. But here’s the reality most founders won’t tell you: the road to building something truly disruptive is riddled with personal losses, painful betrayals, sleepless nights, and uncomfortable truths. I’ve lived every bit of it.

From observing the evolution of media-tech platforms like PressHop in the UK, I’ve come to understand that true innovation rarely emerges from comfort. It’s forged in crisis. The most valuable lessons I’ve learned about startups didn’t come from glossy boardroom wins—they came from loss, resilience, and a growing need to solve problems the world tends to ignore.

From owning an empire to emptiness — and back again

Years ago, I built a business empire valued at £270 million, employing over 97,000 people across seven countries. From the outside, it appeared to be a success story. Internally, however, the reality was far more complex.

To sustain operations and safeguard over 3,200 UK jobs, our UK company, Shield Guarding, secured a £10 million loan to manage salaries, HMRC obligations, and day-to-day cash flow. Even with these personal efforts of mine, I unfortunately experienced the bank seizing £7 million worth of my personal assets, and watched my £45 million solvent Indian company that I had painstakingly built from scratch - pushed into administration and close down in front of my eyes!

The emotional cost was staggering—sleepless nights, silent battles, and difficult decisions. The tipping point came when the CEO I had entrusted with my Indian businesses after emigrating to the UK in 2007 was found to have embezzled £2.7 million, triggering false legal allegations and a gruelling 15-month battle to clear my name. Though I was ultimately exonerated, the false narratives lingered—unchecked, uncorrected.

That experience exposed a serious gap in the media ecosystem: the inability to correct stories quickly and transparently. It was around this time that I became deeply interested in emerging solutions within the media-tech space—platforms designed to restore integrity in real-time storytelling.

Why PressHop represents a paradigm shift in the News and Media landscape

PressHop connects real people to real news using the power of smartphones. In today’s world, anyone can be a witness, a contributor, or a recorder of history. But credibility remains the missing piece. PressHop offers a solution by enabling everyday individuals—“Hoppers”—to upload and sell verified content directly to media publishers. It’s often described as “Uber for real news”: fast, hyper-local, and community-driven.

PressHop uses trusted technologies like Google AI and Amazon AI to detect deepfakes and manipulated content. This practical, scalable approach keeps the system lightweight and effective—qualities every startup should strive for.

Startup growth lessons worth learning from

Having gone through immense business and personal highs and lows, I’ve come to recognise a few universal truths about startups—especially in the UK’s rapidly evolving tech space:

1. Pain Is a powerful compass - The most impactful ideas often come from personal pain points. If your product doesn’t address a real, urgent problem, it likely won’t endure the storms.

2. Truth doesn’t sell Itself - Even in a world drowning in information, truth needs distribution. Platforms like PressHop have had to build not only the technology—but the cultural movement—to elevate verified citizen reporting.

3. Don’t reinvent what already works - There’s strength in building on proven tools. PressHop’s choice to integrate existing AI solutions instead of building from scratch is a great example of smart, resource-efficient strategy.

4. Trust is the new currency - With rising misinformation—71% of UK adults report encountering it regularly—earning trust is harder than ever. PressHop’s strict moderation policies (no AI-generated content without labels, no child content, no scraped social media clips) reflect how serious this trust economy has become.

5. It’s not just about winning—it’s about lasting - At 54, I’m not chasing the next unicorn. My focus is on supporting ideas and platforms that are built to last—ones that outlive trends because they serve long-standing needs.

Reimagining journalism, one Hopper at a time

PressHop aims to connect over 100,000 global media publications with billions of smartphone users around the world. Through a three-step verification process (powered by AI and human moderators), the platform ensures that only accurate, accountable content gets published. It doesn’t just serve as a content engine—it acts as a trust engine.

No AI-generated content is accepted. Manipulated media is strictly filtered out. And importantly, PressHop doesn’t rely solely on automation—human ethics guide final approvals. Because verification without ethics is just software.

The future starts with you

The future starts with you

The hard truth is that most startups won’t survive. But those born from purpose—from necessity—stand a stronger chance.

Platforms like PressHop aren’t just products. They’re responses—to broken systems, to misinformation, to injustice. To every founder navigating your own chaotic journey: build for impact, not just for exits. Your lowest moment might just be the beginning of something that truly matters.

Let’s champion what’s real. And let’s do it together.