Blogs

Burhan Mirza On The Hard Truth About Entrepreneurship No One Talks About

Everybody wants to become an entrepreneur these days. It’s this shiny dream full of freedom, money, and maybe even a little fame if you play your cards right. But here’s the thing: 90% of what you see online about entrepreneurship is fake, edited and romanticized.

And I’m here to tell you the truth about it.

After spending years running businesses and investing in startups, I’ve come across certain patterns that have made one thing clear: entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. It’s a grind. It’s lonely. And it’s unforgiving.

Want more advice? Here’s a list of Burhan Mirza’s brutal truths related to entrepreneurship. These are things no one talks about, but every real leader faces sooner or later.

1. You’ll Work More Than Any 9 to 5

If you’re starting a business because you “hate the 9 to 5,” you’re in for a rude awakening. Most entrepreneurs work 12–14 hour days. Not because they love hustle culture, but because in the early stage, everything depends on you.

You will have to do it all, all by yourself, in the beginning. From operations, hiring, and customer service to marketing, finance, and more. You’ll work weekends. You’ll skip weddings. You’ll get messages from clients at 2 a.m. And you’ll have to show up every single time.

If you’re not ready for that, don’t start.

2. You Will Doubt Yourself Constantly

Imposter syndrome isn’t just for employees. As an entrepreneur, you’ll feel like a fraud at least once a week. “Am I making the right decision?” “Is this idea even good?” “What if I fail publicly?”

And the worst part? There’s no one above you to reassure you. You are the top. So you have to learn to manage that fear. Sit with it. Use it as fuel, not a wall.

3. Money Won’t Come Fast

Most people think they’ll start a business and be profitable in six months. That’s a lie. Real businesses take years to stabilize. In fact, over 45% of startups globally don’t become profitable for the first 2–3 years.

You might burn through savings. You might take loans. You’ll definitely have moments where the account balance hits near zero. And that’s normal. But no one posts screenshots of their overdraft fees, do they?

4. Your Personal Relationships Will Suffer

Let me be blunt: entrepreneurship is hard on families, marriages and friendships.

You’ll have to cancel plans. You’ll forget birthdays. You’ll be mentally checked out even when you’re physically present. It takes discipline to protect your relationships and maturity to realize that building a business isn’t a license to neglect the people who matter.

Set boundaries early. Or you’ll wake up with a successful company and a broken life.

5. You’re Going to Fail; Probably More Than Once

Most successful entrepreneurs have a graveyard of failed ideas behind them. But the world only sees the “exit” or the headline. What they don’t see are the three startups that didn’t go anywhere. Or the partnerships that fell apart. Or the product launches that bombed.

Failure is not optional; it’s part of the process, and that too a very necessary one. The real test is how fast you bounce back. How ruthlessly you learn. And how committed you stay, even after things fall apart.

6. Funding Won’t Fix a Broken Business Model

I’ve seen startups raise millions with no real product. And I’ve seen bootstrapped founders scale to 7 figures with zero external funding. The difference? Clarity and execution.

Don’t chase funding unless you have a solid model that works. Because money doesn’t solve broken processes, it only amplifies them. If you’re bleeding out at the unit level, investment will just make you die faster.

Final Word

Entrepreneurship is brutal, beautiful, lonely, freeing, exhausting, and deeply meaningful, all at once. But don’t do it for the aesthetics. Don’t do it to “escape the 9 to 5.” And definitely don’t do it because it’s trendy.

Do it because you have a vision that burns too strong. Because solving problems gives you life. And because you're ready to lead, even when it’s messy, lonely, uncertain, and thankless.

That's the only kind of founder that makes it.