’My best friend betrayed me…’: Bengaluru Startup founder who battled paralysis gets Nikhil Kamath’s WTFund backing

Vikram Pai, Bengaluru-based entrepreneur and CEO of ReferRush, an e-commerce referral sales platform, opened up about his failed businesses, losing money, and health concerns while thanking Zerocdha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.

Pai expressed his gratitude to WTFund by Nikhil Kamath after his startup was selected for the grant programme. While describing his journey on the social media platform X, Pai mentioned his struggles over 6 years with 5 failed businesses.

“6 years. 5 failed businesses. 2 crores earned and lost. They called me Elon Musk. Half my body got paralyzed. I went down to my last 4k and couldn’t pay co-founders salary. Here’s the screenshot before I sent him 36k for the month. He had responsibilities. Everyone told me to quit. Even my grandma questioned me. I was called delusional. Dad said I was ‘playing business’. Aunties gossiping about my career. My mom lost belief. My best friend betrayed me. I cried,” ReferRush CEO wrote on X.

WTFund selection

Pai shared that ReferRush was among the 9 startups selected from more than 2,400 companies for WTFund.

“But I always believed. I always had food and a home. That’s all I needed. Today @referrush was selected as one of 9 out of 2400+ companies for the @TheWTFund grant. It took us 4 months to generate a lakh for our customers. Today we’re generating 1.5 lakhs a day. We’re profitable. And we’re just getting started. The first five years aren’t where you win. It’s where you get good. Grateful for my parents. For Rohan. For this opportunity. For this life.Never give up. Believe in yourself,” Pai said.

“A big thanks to @harnidhish,@Suchetkm,@nikhilkamathcio, @TheWTFund, Arshia Vivek and Piyush,” he added.

What is WTFund?

Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath has launched the second cohort of WTFund, which has selected 22 founders from nine startups. The WTFund will provide up to ₹20 lakh in grant funding, mentorship, and strategic support to help new startups.

In the first cohort, 13 startups were selected for early-stage support, helping them to build business models and attract investments.