Rs 8 lakh a month is what Praper founder Pratham Jindal says he spends on support employees whose work does not directly bring in revenue, arguing the outlay frees founders to focus on growth.
Jindal said his view changed after payroll, interviews, vendor follow-ups and late-night invoice approvals were consuming hours each week that could be spent on higher-value work.
His rule of thumb is to track weekly tasks and hire support once operational work starts taking 8-10 hours, shifting the focus from salary cost to founder time and mental bandwidth.
The LinkedIn post — which also framed the spend as Rs 96 lakh a year — drew broad backing from entrepreneurs and staff who said delegation, lower stress and founder-independent systems are critical to scaling.
Is spending ₹8 lakh monthly on support staff a smart investment or a cash-burning mistake for new startups?
When a founder becomes the bottleneck, is hiring more people the only way to scale the business?
As AI automates operations, will human support staff become a luxury few startups can justify?