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I have had my personal stint with trying to "expose" an Indian startup (I am an Indian), also coding related which gained some traction on LinkedIn (around 500+

I have had my personal stint with trying to "expose" an Indian startup (I am an Indian), also coding related which gained some traction on LinkedIn (around 500+ reactions, if they mean anything). This guy is in serious danger, trust me. I had to delete my linkedin post when my ex-manager called me to delete it otherwise the startup's employees will go crazy and try every which way to make my life hell. Unfortunately, thats what you get in living in this country and trying to voice your opinion (without any strong political and financial credentials). I have mentioned this earlier, people keep complaining of "brain drain" here in India as tech graduates keep leaving India for opportunities abroad; I thought I won't be that one and will do something for the country; it's just too difficult, I have add enough, I can't wait to leave. I always tell people to just be anonymous, having your personal identity linked when saying anything remotely offensive is just an open invitation for personal attacks and things like this.

eklavya 6y ago
I am sorry you had this experience but bad news, no place is safe from retaliatory litigation. Best of luck for your journey abroad.
- throwaway3699 6y ago
  I think the US would qualify, no? You can't be sued for telling the truth.
  - ISL 6y ago
    You can be sued for anything. The plaintiff may not win, it might get dismissed immediately, but they can always file suit.
  - nikanj 6y ago
    Read the Theranos book (Bad Blood), you very much can be sued for exposing scams
saimiam 6y ago
I'm sorry that this happened to you but now that it has happened to you and to this guy, I looking forward to the day when one or both of these two things happens: 1. anonymous whistleblowing/exposes of shady business practices becomes a thing 2. hedgefunds like muddy waters emerge in India whose goal is to find rotten companies and profit off them through short selling Hope it rains creative destruction on such companies.
- sxt 6y ago
  > anonymous whistleblowing/exposes of shady business practices becomes a thing We need this so much, the guy who started this in fact was posting anonymously, but all his accounts from Reddit, to twitter got taken down following which he was forced to use his real identity and the developments the past few weeks followed.
- marcinzm 6y ago
  >1. anonymous whistleblowing/exposes of shady business practices becomes a thing Then companies will use this to post fake "reports" about their competitors to damage their reputations. This is a societal issue, technological solutions do not solve societal issues.
helmholtz 6y ago
I'm an Indian abroad. Do it. Come here to Europe. The baseline level of self-awareness in people here is off the scale when you compare it to the typical Indian. People actually queue, instead of creating a melee at every counter. You're never worrying about people cutting you in lines. Cars stop at zebra crossings to let pedestrians cross. No one honks! They nod and smile "bonjour!" as they cross you on the street. There is no pollution here. The food is great, the coffee is even better, the $5 wine at your local grocery store is some of the best in the world. The employees you'll work with have some basic dignity and shame. If they don't know something, they'll admit it. They won't grossly lie on their resumes. You'll never hear the words "do the needful" or "prepone" or, my most hated "kindly revert back"! There is a basic amount of honesty here. You don't spend all your time worrying if the guy you're doing business with is fleecing you. You will find information about businesses online. This place is as close to paradise as it gets on planet Earth. Life, and especially youth, passes by in an instance. I highly advocate keeping this fact in mind in the face of do-gooders who judge you for your choices. The million small and large quality of life improvements lead to exactly that. A vastly higher quality of life.
- puranjay 6y ago
  What is your social life like? I worry that post 30, starting a social life from scratch might be too much, especially for someone who is admittedly not particularly social.
  - helmholtz 6y ago
    I did arrive here a bit before 30, but I've been pretty lucky with it. In fairness, most of my friends are from work, so I got lucky. I've also been able to find love here. I firmly believe that if you go to a country eager to impose your own culture and your own way of doing things, you'll see friction. If you're open-minded and willing to attempt to integrate, you'll find even a little bit goes a long way, and the locals will willingly meet you halfway.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- 6y ago
renewiltord 6y ago
Good on you for trying. FWIW a general rule of thumb that I've discovered is that it's more worthwhile to listen to the doers than the talkers. And certainly don't be misled by the guys who tell you to sacrifice for the common good when they will not. There is no racial tie to any place. As an Indian you have no more of a responsibility to improve India than you do France. You didn't choose that, you were just born there. That's like me mowing your lawn and then asking you to pay me whatever fee I came up with. India birthed you. But India did not first ask. And whether the Europeans like you there or not is also irrelevant. You are a free agent. It's probably smart to be liked and to be useful but beyond that residence there is not a gift, it's a value exchange. No one would do that if they didn't get something from it (in aggregate). Look out for yourself. Everything else will naturally come from that.

eklavya 6y ago

I am sorry you had this experience but bad news, no place is safe from retaliatory litigation. Best of luck for your journey abroad.

throwaway3699 6y ago
I think the US would qualify, no? You can't be sued for telling the truth.
- ISL 6y ago
  You can be sued for anything. The plaintiff may not win, it might get dismissed immediately, but they can always file suit.
- nikanj 6y ago
  Read the Theranos book (Bad Blood), you very much can be sued for exposing scams

saimiam 6y ago

I'm sorry that this happened to you but now that it has happened to you and to this guy, I looking forward to the day when one or both of these two things happens: 1. anonymous whistleblowing/exposes of shady business practices becomes a thing 2. hedgefunds like muddy waters emerge in India whose goal is to find rotten companies and profit off them through short selling Hope it rains creative destruction on such companies.

sxt 6y ago
> anonymous whistleblowing/exposes of shady business practices becomes a thing We need this so much, the guy who started this in fact was posting anonymously, but all his accounts from Reddit, to twitter got taken down following which he was forced to use his real identity and the developments the past few weeks followed.
marcinzm 6y ago
>1. anonymous whistleblowing/exposes of shady business practices becomes a thing Then companies will use this to post fake "reports" about their competitors to damage their reputations. This is a societal issue, technological solutions do not solve societal issues.

helmholtz 6y ago

I'm an Indian abroad. Do it. Come here to Europe. The baseline level of self-awareness in people here is off the scale when you compare it to the typical Indian. People actually queue, instead of creating a melee at every counter. You're never worrying about people cutting you in lines. Cars stop at zebra crossings to let pedestrians cross. No one honks! They nod and smile "bonjour!" as they cross you on the street. There is no pollution here. The food is great, the coffee is even better, the $5 wine at your local grocery store is some of the best in the world. The employees you'll work with have some basic dignity and shame. If they don't know something, they'll admit it. They won't grossly lie on their resumes. You'll never hear the words "do the needful" or "prepone" or, my most hated "kindly revert back"! There is a basic amount of honesty here. You don't spend all your time worrying if the guy you're doing business with is fleecing you. You will find information about businesses online. This place is as close to paradise as it gets on planet Earth. Life, and especially youth, passes by in an instance. I highly advocate keeping this fact in mind in the face of do-gooders who judge you for your choices. The million small and large quality of life improvements lead to exactly that. A vastly higher quality of life.

puranjay 6y ago
What is your social life like? I worry that post 30, starting a social life from scratch might be too much, especially for someone who is admittedly not particularly social.
- helmholtz 6y ago
  I did arrive here a bit before 30, but I've been pretty lucky with it. In fairness, most of my friends are from work, so I got lucky. I've also been able to find love here. I firmly believe that if you go to a country eager to impose your own culture and your own way of doing things, you'll see friction. If you're open-minded and willing to attempt to integrate, you'll find even a little bit goes a long way, and the locals will willingly meet you halfway.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
6y ago

renewiltord 6y ago

Good on you for trying. FWIW a general rule of thumb that I've discovered is that it's more worthwhile to listen to the doers than the talkers. And certainly don't be misled by the guys who tell you to sacrifice for the common good when they will not. There is no racial tie to any place. As an Indian you have no more of a responsibility to improve India than you do France. You didn't choose that, you were just born there. That's like me mowing your lawn and then asking you to pay me whatever fee I came up with. India birthed you. But India did not first ask. And whether the Europeans like you there or not is also irrelevant. You are a free agent. It's probably smart to be liked and to be useful but beyond that residence there is not a gift, it's a value exchange. No one would do that if they didn't get something from it (in aggregate). Look out for yourself. Everything else will naturally come from that.