'No Idea What To Do': Indian-Origin Entrepreneur Vinay Hiremath Clueless After Selling $975 Million Firm

Vinay Hiremath, an Indian-origin entrepreneur, recently opened up about feeling lost after selling his startup, Loom, to Atlassian for $975 million in 2023. In a detailed blog post titled “I Am Rich and I Have No Idea What to Do With My Life,” the co-founder reflected on his struggles to find purpose following the life-changing acquisition.

“Life has been a haze this last year. After selling my company, I find myself in the totally un-relatable position of never having to work again. Everything feels like a side quest, but not in an inspiring way. I don’t have the same base desires driving me to make money or gain status,” he wrote.

Despite his newfound financial freedom, Hiremath admitted to feeling uncertain about how to channel it. “Honestly, I’m not the most optimistic about life,” he added.

In an attempt to rediscover himself, Hiremath traveled with his girlfriend of two years. However, their relationship ended due to his insecurities. Describing the breakup as “extremely painful but ultimately the right decision,” he expressed gratitude and apologized to his ex in the blog. “If my ex is reading this: Thank you for everything. I am sorry I couldn’t be what you needed me to be,” he wrote.

The entrepreneur was also offered a lucrative $60 million pay package as the Chief Technology Officer at Atlassian but struggled to stay in the role.

Over the next two weeks, Hiremath explored new ventures, including meeting investors and robotics experts to pursue his dream of starting a robotics company and giving computers “arms and legs.” However, he soon realized this was not his passion and he only wanted to imitate Elon Musk. “It started to dawn on me that what I actually wanted was to look like Elon, and that is incredibly cringe. It hurts to even type this out,” he admitted.

Himalaya and Hawaii

Hiremath embarked on a Himalayan trek with no prior experience, which led to a disater. He fell ill and had to be rappelled down the mountain “while tripping out of my mind.”

He also briefly worked with DOGE heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy for four weeks, describing the experience as “a blast” and an opportunity to collaborate with some of the smartest people he had ever met. However, even this was not the right fit.

“After 4 intense and intoxicating weeks, I called off my plans to move to Washington, D.C., and embark on a journey to save our government with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” he shared. Instead, he booked a one-way ticket to Hawaii.

Hiremath now finds himself in Hawaii, learning physics. “Why? The reason I tell myself is to build up my first principles foundation so I can start a company that manufactures real-world things,” he concluded.

Hiremath’s heartfelt post has resonated with people across the globe, amassing massive attention and becoming a top trend on Google in India with over 20,000 searches on Monday. It sheds light on the often-overlooked challenges of finding purpose beyond financial success.