Beyond the Millions: Vinay Hiremath’s Struggle with Success and Purpose

Vinay Hiremath, co-founder of Loom, opened up about his personal challenges following the sale of his startup. The Indian-origin entrepreneur made millions after Atlassian acquired Loom for $975 million in 2023.

Despite this financial success, Hiremath expressed feelings of purposelessness and insecurity in a blog post titled, “I Am Rich and I Have No Idea What to Do With My Life.”

“Life has been a haze this last year. After selling my company, I find myself in the totally un-relatable position of never having to work again,” Hiremath wrote.

He described his life as feeling like a “side quest,” lacking the motivation that once came from financial and status-driven goals.

“I have infinite freedom, yet I don’t know what to do with it. And, honestly, I’m not the most optimistic about life,” he admitted.

Reflections on Personal and Professional Choices

Hiremath candidly reflected on key life events that followed the sale of Loom. One significant moment was his breakup with a girlfriend with whom he shared “two years of unconditional love.”

He attributed the breakup to his own insecurities and expressed regret. “If my ex is reading this, thank you for everything. I am sorry I couldn’t be what you needed me to be,” he wrote.

Professionally, Hiremath struggled with the decision to leave Loom’s acquiring company. While he knew he didn’t want to stay, walking away from a $60 million pay package as CTO was not easy.

Seeking clarity, he retreated to the redwoods and resolved to pursue something new. However, early ventures—including meetings with robotics experts and investors—failed to inspire him.

“It started to dawn on me that what I actually wanted was to look like Elon, and that is incredibly cringe. It hurts to even type this out,” he admitted.

Experiments and Realizations

Hiremath embarked on various ventures to rediscover purpose. He attempted an untrained Himalayan climb, fell ill, and had to be rescued.

After recovering, he explored a role at DOGE, collaborating with figures like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Despite an exciting four weeks, he ultimately decided not to pursue this path.

“After 4 intense and intoxicating weeks, I called off my plans to move to [Washington,] D.C. and embark on a journey to save our government with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” Hiremath wrote, adding that he then booked a one-way ticket to Hawaii.

Now residing in Hawaii, Hiremath is studying physics and contemplating the creation of a company focused on manufacturing real-world products. “The reason I tell myself is to build up my first principles foundation so I can start a company that manufactures real world things,” he shared.

He is open to the possibility that his next endeavor might not replicate Loom’s success but believes it will still be meaningful.

The Road to Loom and Beyond

Born in 1991, Hiremath left the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign midway through his course to pursue a career in startups.

His first notable role was as a software engineer at Backplane, a Silicon Valley company. It was there he met Shahed Khan, who would later co-found Loom with him and Joe Thomas.

Loom, a video-sharing platform, grew rapidly under Hiremath’s leadership. He scaled the team to 250 employees, secured $200 million in funding, and expanded the user base to over 30 million globally.

Despite its early struggles, including coming close to bankruptcy, Loom thrived, culminating in its acquisition by Atlassian in 2023. The sale resulted in the three co-founders earning a combined $300 million.

Reflecting on his journey, Hiremath acknowledged the challenges of sudden wealth and freedom. He hopes his next steps—grounded in learning and creating—will provide a renewed sense of purpose.

As he stated in his blog post, “I have infinite freedom, yet I don’t know what to do with it. The point of this post isn’t to brag or gain sympathy.”