I’ve been seeing a lot of comments saying my cofounder is “exploiting” me after his post about me. So let me clarify a few things. Before joining @MatiksHQ , I had already done 2 years of internships, including 8 months at my previous company where I was earning around ₹25k/month. When I was planning to leave that role, I wasn’t desperately looking for money. I was looking for time to explore, learn, and build something meaningful. (bhai mai 2nd year m hi money minded kyu ban jata🤣🤣 and tabhi funding aayi nhi thi btw warna investors ke paise to leta hi ) Then I came across @MatiksHQ . I actually reached out to them first, asking if I could contribute as an open-source contributor because I liked what they were building and wanted to be part of it. For the first week, I worked unpaid simply because I was curious and wanted to learn. No one forced me to do that. Later we decided on a stipend.(5K for next one week) Also, my current tenure at Matiks is more than 18 months now, which means it’s almost 4 years of internships in total across different companies. So if someone still wants to say “intern hi rahega”, that’s fine, I know the kind of experience and ownership I’ve gained in these years. One more context people might be missing: when I first connected with Matiks I was still in my 2nd year of college. At that time, the founders being from IIT was honestly a big “wow” moment for me, which made it easier for me to trust what they were building. Another reason I trusted the project early on was that they were already working in MNCs, so I initially thought this was just a fun side project they were building, and I was excited to contribute and learn. People on the internet often reduce everything to “salary = value.” But early in your career, learning, ownership, and real responsibility can be far more valuable than a paycheck. Working closely with founders, building real products, and solving real problems has taught me more than most classroom lectures ever did. So no, I’m not being exploited. I chose this path intentionally. And honestly, I’m grateful for the opportunity to build something from the ground up. Not every decision is about money. Sometimes it’s about who you’re building with and what you’re becoming. This is the exact full story from my side. I know I can’t reply to every hater, especially the ones using vulgarity. sorry for the 1-day late reply, @elonmusk review hi nahi kar rahe the. and @elonmusk you should say thanks to ur community that i bought x premium just to write my journey which became controversy🤣 If someone still thinks that post was rage bait then it’s your choice.