#31. Escape the Poverty Stack, Build in Public 💸

Comfort, comparison, and dopamine hits are keeping you stuck. This issue's for those ready to trade mediocrity for momentum.

Hello, sharp minds!
Welcome to the 31st edition of More than Buzzwords- your weekly download of scroll-stopping insights, tweet-sized gut punches, and startup stories that matter.

This week, we’re talking about escape velocity — not the physics kind, but the mindset kind.

Because sometimes, what holds us back isn’t funding, timing, or even luck. It’s the comfort trap. The dopamine drip of short-term wins. The illusion of stability. The quiet addiction to comparison. If you’ve been stuck in “almost,” this edition is your sign to move.

Here’s what’s in the builder’s briefcase this week:

🔹Tweets That Cut Deep – Four brutal truths: why stamina beats speed, how a cold call became a masterclass in curiosity, why building rewires your brain, and the subtle poverty stack that kills ambition.
🔹Startup Spotlight – Meet Oxyzo, the fintech engine quietly powering India’s SME surge, a proof that not all revolutions need to be loud to be seismic.
🔹The Real Plot Twist – What Unacademy’s leadership shake-up reveals about startup second acts, personal vision vs. company direction, and why the “messy middle” is where the real building begins.

Whether you’re a side-hustler with a Google Doc full of dreams or a founder in the messy middle, this one’s for you. Build in public. Escape the stack. And remember: momentum > perfection.

Let’s get into it. 👇

Tweets That Cut Deep 🔪

Every week, I bring you the four best punches I found on X.com - from founders, operators, and thinkers who don’t sugarcoat the hustle. This week’s lineup is for anyone feeling stuck, scared, or simply itching to build.

Whether you’re still dragging your feet on that “someday” business idea, or hiding your ambition behind comfort disguised as stability, these tweets will sting a little… and then push you to move. 👇

1. The Slow Burn Wins 🏅

@dickiebush

My 6-step formula for guaranteeing failure:

1. Expect results to be instant
2. Start at an unsustainable pace
3. Think you know more than you do
4. Switch between projects constantly
5. Give up the second you meet resistance
6. Compare yourself to those way ahead of you

There’s something deeply uncomfortable about this tweet, because it’s painfully accurate. We talk a lot about founder mindset, product-market fit, and scaling playbooks. But this thread lays out the anti-playbook – the subconscious habits that derail even the best of us.

The idea that success should be quick, frictionless, and linear is one of the biggest lies in the startup ecosystem. We’re primed to expect virality, traction, and market validation on Day 1. But in reality, compounding takes time. And more often than not, progress is invisible before it becomes exponential.

The real trap? Mistaking resistance for failure. Or worse, comparing our messy middle to someone else's polished outcome. When you zoom out, you realize that the most successful operators aren’t the ones who got it right the fastest. They’re the ones who stuck around long enough to get it right.

This list is a mirror. Are you sprinting at an unsustainable pace? Abandoning too soon? Chasing too many threads without finishing one? These aren’t just mistakes, they’re habits that quietly drain your leverage.

The antidote is simple but hard: commit to consistency. Iterate before you pivot. Measure progress in learning, not just metrics. And remember, the most important work often looks boring in real time.

This tweet is a gentle punch in the gut. One that reminds us: stamina beats speed. Humility trumps pride. And your ideas deserve more than a two-week trial.

2. Lessons from a Wrong Number ☎️

@aviralbhat

Unicorn founder friend answers an unknown number

Turns out to be a telemarketer, instead of closing the call, my friend has a conversation

I ask him why he continued speaking - "it helps me understand internal operations, scripts, and support across companies"

Fascinating

This one made me pause. Because let’s be honest, we’ve all ghosted unknown numbers faster than you can say “spam alert.” But this founder? He leaned in. And that shift in mindset is chef’s kiss founder behavior.

It reminded me of a conversation I had with someone who runs customer support for a D2C brand. She mentioned that she randomly tests other brands’ helplines, not as a spy, but to steal good scripts. “Some of the best copy,” she said, “is tucked away in IVR menus and hold messages.”

This tweet captures that same spirit: stay curious about the ordinary. Founders (and frankly, anyone building anything) need to obsess over systems - how they break, how they work, how humans interact with them. And sometimes, the best systems education doesn’t come from books, but from unusual situations, such as asking a telemarketer how they were trained.

Also, it made me reflect on how often we operate in a vacuum. We curate our inputs by only listening to podcasts we agree with, follow people with similar worldviews, and automate out “distractions.” But insight doesn’t always wear a name tag. Sometimes, it comes dressed as a cold caller.

So, next time an unknown number rings… maybe don’t pick up. But maybe pick up, stay five seconds longer, and see if there’s something in there for your builder brain to chew on.

3. Start Something, Learn Everything 🚀

@gregisenberg

EVERYONE SHOULD START A BUSINESS

1. because AI agents make it possible to move like a team of ten

2. because you can start one while you still have a job (and probably should)

3. because it rewires your brain

4. because $100 and an audience gets you further today than $1M did in 2010.

5. because AI just created the biggest entrepreneurial opportunity window of human history

6. because it forces you to get good at storytelling

7. because it gives you an absurd amount of leverage in the job market

8. because you get to help people

9. because you can test demand before writing a single line of code.

10. because you can automate the boring parts and focus on the fun

11. because you can test ideas in 48 hours, not 48 weeks

12. because your ideas deserve more than a Google Doc

13. because making money in your sleep never gets old

14. because you get to stand on the shoulders of giants building on their tech (openai, shopify, cloudflare etc)

15. because it's 2025 and you can even get free startup ideas backed by trends @ideabrowser

16. because it's a rollercoaster of emotions and you'll learn a ton about yourself 17. because maybe you can't stop thinking about an idea and it's driving you mad 18. Because life is short and it's fun

This tweet nails what no MBA ever teaches you: starting something forces you to level up across the board. You learn to write better, sell smarter, manage your energy, fail in public, and figure out what matters now.

Even if your “business” is just a weekend experiment, the process changes you.

You start noticing problems around you. You see tech stacks behind websites. You recognize a good copy when you read it. You learn to price your time. And perhaps most powerfully, you start seeing yourself as someone who can create, not just consume.

This tweet captures that spirit in high-resolution. It’s not just about building companies. It’s about building competence. Especially now, with AI tools, no-code, and audience-first thinking, the cost of launching is near-zero, and the upside is exponential, even if it doesn’t “succeed” in the conventional sense.

So if you’ve been sitting on an idea like a newsletter, a niche course, a curated database, consider this as your permission slip.

Start small, stay scrappy, and let the business be your teacher.

4. The Real Poverty Trap Isn’t Money

@thejustinwelsh

The modern poverty stack:

1. Comfort zone

2. Fear of judgment

3. Instant gratification

Break free or you'll stay stuck forever.

We often think of poverty in purely financial terms, but some of the most debilitating limitations don’t show up in bank balances. They show up in behaviors.

This tweet lays out a powerful mental model: the silent stack that keeps high-potential people stuck in mediocrity. And the worst part? It’s often referred to as “stability.” Staying in your comfort zone feels safe. Holding back ideas for fear of judgment seems strategic. Chasing small, fast wins gives the illusion of progress.

But zoom out, and it becomes clear that these are the habits that slowly erode ambition.

You don’t build anything meaningful from within your comfort zone. You don’t earn respect by hiding your ideas. And you don’t gain leverage by settling for short-term dopamine over long-term value.

This framework is worth sitting with. Where in your work or life are you choosing comfort over growth? Where are you optimizing for approval instead of authenticity? Where are you defaulting to quick wins instead of laying bricks for a bigger vision?

Real growth demands discomfort. It requires being okay with the quiet stretch of no recognition. It rewards those who resist the urge to retreat at the first sign of judgment or friction.

Escape the stack. Not just financially, but mentally. That’s where real momentum begins.

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Those were the four tweets that stood out to me amidst all the noise on social media. Which one resonated most with you? Let me know in the comments below!

Now, let’s throw the spotlight on a startup that’s empowering the backbone of our country’s economy: SMEs and emerging startups.

Meet Oxyzo, helping thousands of businesses thrive with tech-savvy, problem-solving tools designed for real-world scale.

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Startup Spotlight: Oxyzo 💸

The fintech powerhouse quietly fueling India's next wave of SME growth

Oxyzo may not be a household name yet, but behind the scenes, it’s become a financial lifeline for thousands of Indian businesses. Founded in 2016 as the lending arm of B2B ecommerce startup OfBusiness, Oxyzo was built by a seasoned dream team: Ashish Mohapatra, Ruchi Kalra, Bhuvan Gupta, and Vasant Sridhar.

What started as a sidecar lending engine has now become a standalone fintech beast. Oxyzo’s mission? To make fast, secure, and tailored credit accessible to India’s overlooked growth engines: SMEs and new-age startups.

At Oxyzo, there’s a deep understanding of what SMEs actually need, not just in theory, but in the messy, day-to-day reality of running a growing business. The goal isn’t just to plug financial gaps, it’s to help small and medium enterprises scale up into serious players.

And how do they do that? By offering credit solutions that are designed to fuel expansion, boost revenues, and ultimately, lift profit margins.

Their product suite isn’t one-size-fits-all. Instead, Oxyzo offers a range of loan products: from term loans to working capital financing, with options like low-interest rates, collateral-free credit, and 48-hour loan processing that make traditional banking look glacial by comparison.

In simplest terms, Oxyzo is a full-stack credit solution for businesses.

But what makes them special in a sea of fintech lenders? Three big things:

• Customization – Unlike cookie-cutter loans, Oxyzo builds flexible, tailored credit lines depending on the business’s real-time needs.

• Tech-Powered Precision – Their entire experience is driven by data and speed.

• Responsiveness – Real support. Real fast. Their customer service has earned them quite a rep among founders and operators.
  

It’s this blend of speed, flexibility, and strategic focus that’s turned Oxyzo into one of the go-to lending partners for SMEs across India today.

Oh, and they’re not afraid to take bold bets. Oxyzo has provided growth capital to over 20 new-age tech startups in sectors like climate tech, SaaS, mobility, healthtech, and agritech. That’s not just lending. It’s ecosystem building.

Let’s talk about scale now:

• Over 10,000 companies served.

• 145+ branches across India.

• INR 5,000+ Cr in assets under management.

Numbers like that don’t lie.

In a country where credit access for small businesses is still a major bottleneck, Oxyzo is doing the heavy lifting. It’s become a trusted partner for businesses that need liquidity to grow but can’t wait around for traditional bank approvals.

From agritech startups in tier-2 cities to mobility companies in metros, Oxyzo is quietly fuelling the engines that drive India’s economy forward.

Wonder how investors look at it? In 2022, the company raised $200 million in its first external funding round, making it one of the fastest fintechs to hit unicorn status. The round was co-led by Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global, with other big names like Norwest Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and Creation Investments joining in.

Safe to say, Oxyzo didn’t stumble into unicorn territory—it raced there.

Most recently, in 2025, they raised INR 533 Cr (~$62.4 million) in a debt round led by Neo Group, to double down on SME lending and power day-to-day ops.

Oxyzo’s long-term playbook? IPO whispers have been swirling, especially with parent OfBusiness preparing its own public debut. While nothing’s confirmed yet, the signs are promising.

Nonetheless, Oxyzo is already shaping up to be one of India’s most quietly consequential fintech stories. The team is doubling down on expanding credit access, scaling its supply chain financing vertical, and serving as a trusted capital partner for India’s next wave of tech-first businesses.

In a market where trust, tech, and turnaround time matter more than ever, Oxyzo is hitting all three. Keep an eye out, this one’s got legs.

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Next up, we’re unpacking a major leadership exodus at a well-known edtech company, and the lessons it holds for anyone building or leading a team.

Keep reading to find out what’s really going on behind the headlines.

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Unacademy’s Pivot Drama: Language Apps, Offline Bets, and Founders Moving On 🤷

In the world of edtech, there’s dropping out, and then there’s logging out. Unacademy, once the poster child of India’s online learning boom, seems to be graduating into its next chapter without its original class monitors.

According to recent reports, cofounders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini are stepping away from day-to-day operations. Their fellow cofounder Hemesh Singh had already taken the advisory route last year. And now, board member and ex-CommonFloor co-founder Sumit Jain is likely to take over as CEO.

In startup terms, this isn’t just a leadership shuffle, it’s a cofounder mic drop. A little dramatic? Maybe. But definitely not dull.

From Whiteboard to Reboot

Founded in 2015, Unacademy carved a niche by democratizing online test prep. UPSC aspirants swore by it. The edtech wave loved it. VCs poured money into it. And at one point, it soared to a valuation of $3.4 billion.

But then came the dreaded plot twist: offline coaching.

Yes, the startup that once promised to take classrooms online started opening real-world centres, desks and all. It’s like Netflix deciding to open DVD rental stores again. And unsurprisingly, not everyone on the team was on board.

Munjal, instead, had his eyes set on a new shiny object: AirLearn, a language-learning app that’s still finding its feet. But this shift didn’t sit well with Unacademy’s investors, who were already worried about the company’s direction.

After all, while Unacademy did manage to slash losses by 82% in FY24, its revenues dipped, and layoffs had already left 2,000 people jobless since 2022. A risky pivot was not the lesson investors wanted to learn next.

Founders vs. Future

What unfolded behind the scenes (as per ET report) was a classic tale of founders vs. boardroom. Differing visions. A failed Allen Career Institute acquisition. And the simmering tension between keeping the Unacademy ship steady vs. jumping aboard the AirLearn rocket.

Eventually, all sides agreed it was time for new leadership. Gaurav and Roman get a payout and keep their stake. The company gets a new CEO. And the rest of us get a reminder: even the most visionary founders sometimes need to step aside to let the next phase unfold.

So, What’s the Takeaway Here?

Unacademy’s current chapter is less about failure, and more about focus. Startups, like their founders, evolve. But when personal passion projects (hi, AirLearn) clash with business realities, something's gotta give.

Also, it reinforces a brutal but necessary truth: scaling requires structure. You can build with gut for a while, but once investors, layoffs, and balance sheets enter the scene, it’s less passion-project and more chess game.

For founders reading this: It’s okay to move on when the journey you signed up for starts looking like someone else’s roadmap. For teams watching from the sidelines: Leadership changes may be messy, but sometimes, they’re the cleanest way to start fresh.

And for Unacademy? Well, class is still in session. But it’s a whole new syllabus now.

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And that brings us to the end of the 31st edition of More Than Buzzwords!

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