Content note: This article includes references to gender-based violence, which may be distressing for some readers.
This article is part of the Business Insights Series, where we speak with entrepreneurs, builders, and business leaders to understand the challenges they face, the progress they make, and the lessons they learn along the way. In this edition, we spoke with Pranay Manjari, founder of Safe Odisha for Her, a grassroots organisation based in Odisha, India.
Her organisation, Safe Odisha for Her, is dedicated to preventing gender-based violence at the village and community level. It combines economic empowerment, local leadership training, and participatory governance to create what it calls “violence-free villages.” The team includes a diverse group of core leaders, advisors, and fellows working together to strengthen women’s voices in their communities.
Pranay transitioned from a stable career in corporate social responsibility (CSR) to building a mission-led organisation from the ground up. With a background in education and campaign work, she previously led the nationally recognised Daughter Forever campaign, influenced gender-based advertising standards, and ran for local office in Bhubaneswar to understand political systems at the ground level.
What started as a vision quickly became a daily reality, one where she wore every hat in the organisation.
“It is me who will document. It is me who will fundraise. It’s a very tiring job.”
Pranay’s story is a window into what many founders face: exhaustion, financial risk, and the urgent need for systems that don’t rely on heroic effort.
Shifting from structure to self-starting
Before launching her own initiative, Pranay spent over a decade in structured environments , first as a project manager in the construction industry, then as a CSR leader responsible for education initiatives that reached over 15,000 children. These roles provided a familiar rhythm: clear deliverables, a defined hierarchy, and steady institutional backing. When she moved into her own venture, none of that came with her.
“I invested all my retirement funds. I don’t have a job. It’s been financially draining.”
Everything rested on her. There was no operations team to delegate to, no financial cushion to fall back on. From programme design to building a team, from writing grant proposals to creating curriculum, every moving part had her fingerprints on it. She even ran for political office, aiming to better understand how local governance functions at the grassroots level.
What many founders underestimate is the shock that comes from leaving structure behind. Managing new tasks is only one part of the shift , the greater challenge is becoming the sole decision-maker for matters that were once shared across a team. The role of founder, especially in a social impact venture, often comes with invisible expectations: to be resourceful, strategic, inspiring, and tireless , all at once.
Resilience can fuel you through the beginning, but it won’t build sustainability on its own. Grit doesn’t replace documentation, delegation, or operational focus. This is where the cracks start to show. The mission may be valuable, but the organisation doesn’t yet have the internal strength to support it.
If you’ve ever taken that leap , from employee to founder , you’ll know this space well. It tests what you’re made of, but it also reveals what you’re missing. That’s where the work begins.
And in Pranay’s case, she’s done this without shortcuts, without fallback plans, and without institutional safety nets. Her story reflects the hard truth many founders live through, yet few openly talk about. It takes courage to continue in the face of burnout, loneliness, and uncertainty. And it takes a rare kind of vision to stay focused on the long-term purpose when the short-term costs feel so high. Her determination goes beyond admiration and offers valuable lessons. It shows us what’s possible when belief in the mission is strong enough to withstand the weight of the build.
The systems she needed , and didn’t have
In a study conducted by sociologist Nina Eliasoph, she explored how grassroots organisations often become performative under the pressure to attract and retain funders. Instead of deepening engagement with the community, teams spend growing amounts of time producing reports, showcasing impact, and telling the kinds of stories that align with donor expectations.
What begins as empowerment can shift into performance, with real participation giving way to what funders want to see. This dynamic is one many founder-led organisations navigate daily, and it echoes throughout Pranay’s experience.
What Pranay built in just over a year stands out, 26 fellows trained, 6 women-led micro-enterprises launched, and a three-part model that threads together economic empowerment, grassroots governance, and women’s leadership. These are practical interventions shaped through lived experience in rural India, focused on shifting daily realities and long-term outcomes for women and communities.
Still, numbers tell only part of the story. Behind them, the daily operations were fragile.
“Even though we do a lot of work, we don’t document it. We don’t share it. Because doing work takes all your energy first.”
The reality for many small or early-stage founders is this: the deeper the work, the harder it becomes to pull up and report on it. Without internal systems , no CRM, no donor funnel, no documented processes, a project that gains traction can quietly start to unravel. Pranay had no shortage of ideas, commitment, or initiative. But running an organisation without operational structure is like driving at night without headlights. You move forward, but it’s reactive, draining, and risky.
The organisation’s ability to support meaningful work depends less on having specific tools and more on building overall capacity. Systems don’t replace passion, but they do protect it. When everything depends on the founder’s stamina, sustainability becomes a daily negotiation. This is the moment many founders need to pause and ask: can this grow without me being in every part of it? And if not, what’s the very next system I can put in place?
Even a lightweight dashboard, a shared task board, or a simple database of contacts can begin to unstick the founder from the centre. Systems give small organisations the foundation to stay steady during early growth, when everything feels urgent and resources are limited.
What business leaders can learn from this
If you’re running a small or purpose-driven organisation, Pranay’s experience might sound familiar. Many founders step into leadership with strong conviction and vision, only to find that without systems, even the most meaningful work becomes overwhelming. Good ideas and deep care are essential, but structure turns them into something that can grow.
Too often, purpose-driven leaders try to do it all. The mission is personal, the budget is tight, and the team , if there is one , is part-time or informal. This creates an environment where burnout becomes common and expected within the way things are set up. Pranay’s journey reminds us that impact grows stronger when the work is replicable, shareable, and supported by more than one individual’s endurance.
Here are three takeaways:
- Build your system before your spotlight
Before launching that fellowship or campaign, map your tools: content tracking, donor pipeline, impact metrics, intern onboarding. Start small, but start early. Systems improve decision-making even while the work is ongoing. They provide clarity when moving quickly and help prevent costly missteps. - Delegate early and clearly
Pranay attracted volunteers, interns, and supporters from top Indian universities , but struggled to fully delegate due to time and process gaps. A basic handbook, task tracker, or Loom video can go a long way. Delegation builds continuity by allowing others to step in, take ownership, and sustain progress over time. - Measure the invisible
Burnout, skipped meals, 16-hour days , they don’t show up in quarterly reports. But they tell you something. Measure founder sustainability as a key KPI. If your energy is running out, your systems need attention , because longevity depends on it.
Conclusion: start strong, grow wisely
The founder-led hustle makes for a compelling story. It’s full of grit, sleepless nights, and those early wins that feel like personal triumphs. But compelling stories don’t automatically translate into repeatable systems. And when growth depends on one person doing everything, what starts with momentum can stall from exhaustion.
Structure is what helps channel that momentum. Even simple tools , a content calendar, an onboarding checklist, a shared folder with SOPs , create breathing room. They make space for growth without splintering. They allow creativity to flourish alongside clarity and consistency.
If you’re in the early days of building something with meaning, take a lesson from Pranay’s experience. Begin with the systems you think you don’t have time for. Build the documentation, the automation, the delegation, even in tiny steps. These foundations don’t slow you down , they allow you to go further, with less strain.
Research confirms this wisdom. Studies of startup founders reveal that psychological shifts occur in three broadly defined phases: (1) attachment, (2) uncoupling, and (3) opportunity. Founders who successfully navigate these transitions recognize they must delegate to free up their physical and cognitive resources and understand that effective delegation doesn’t make you less valuable; it turns you into a strategic leader.
Pranay’s story highlights an opportunity to evolve, showing how real impact can grow stronger with structure and support. With the right tools and a few focused adjustments, her vision , and yours , can scale in ways that are energising rather than exhausting. Because what starts as a solo effort can absolutely become a shared, sustainable mission.
Founders carry a lot. But they’re not meant to carry it alone.
About the Author
Vlad writes about automation, operations, and the little tweaks that make a big difference in how businesses run. A former game designer turned founder, he now helps teams fix broken workflows and spot the revenue leaks hiding in plain sight.
About Serenichron
Helping businesses grow by simplifying strategy, streamlining systems, and making tech actually work for people. We bring clarity to chaos with practical tools, honest guidance, and just enough curiosity to question the default way of doing things.