The 18-Month Buffer (And Why Building Alone Still Costs Me)

In my first two years running Knighthood, I signed contracts with customers who paid late—I felt I needed growth.

₹15 lakh stuck in working capital. I extended my overdraft facility and delayed salaries to associates until customers paid. Reversible mistakes, but expensive lessons.

The pattern was the same: I looked at the numbers, convinced myself the deal made sense, and moved forward. No one pushed back. No one asked: "You're financing their business with your working capital—can you survive if they stretch to 90 days?"

When you're building alone, bad decisions slip through because there's no one to catch them.

Why My Father Saved 18 Months

My father learned the cost of poor buffers in 2003 when big clients destroyed his business within six months. [The full story here]. When he restarted in 2014, he was cautious in a way I didn't understand.

He calculated monthly expenses: ₹1 lakh. He saved ₹18 lakh and gave it to my mother—strictly for living expenses. He kept another ₹9 lakh for business expenses. Retirement savings stayed in fixed deposits, untouchable.

The timeline:

• 5 months to land first customer
• 9 months to cover fixed business expenses
• 24 months to draw salary equal to his previous corporate job

By year three, his salary exceeded his old income. The ₹18 lakh buffer in my mother's account started growing, not shrinking.

He wasn't being paranoid. He was buying runway to survive his own learning curve.

My Buffer Was Lower (And I Got Lucky)

When I left Ola, my calculation was simpler. I was staying with my parents. Dad's business was generating cash. I could manage on ₹50,000 monthly. I saved ₹15 lakh—expecting to stabilize within 12 months.

My father passed away before that year ended. I took over his business instead of building from scratch. I got lucky on timing.

But even with that luck, I made mistakes in those first two years—the late-paying contracts, the ₹15 lakh working capital trap. I didn't have anyone pressure-testing my thinking.

The Isolation Problem

The loneliness studies say 76% of founders feel isolated. But the operational cost isn't emotional weight—it's judgment erosion.

I can talk to old colleagues, but we don't have shared context. They're solving corporate problems. I'm solving cash flow and client management. The conversation doesn't work.

I miss the office dynamic—someone walking by saying, "Wait, why are you doing it that way?" That casual pressure-testing kept bad ideas from shipping.

Now I have operator friends in similar journeys. We talk when we find time. It's better than nothing, but coordinating takes effort. One friend suggested we formalize it—periodic "management review" sessions every 5-6 weeks where we present our businesses and others play devil's advocate.

I'm planning to start that in March 2026. I don't know if it'll work.

AI as Thinking Partner

I use AI for specific roles:

• "Take on the role of a Contract Expert and review these new customer terms. Highlight all risks I'm taking on."
• "Act as an SEO consultant. Analyze this blog post and optimize it based on my brand guidelines and business goals."

Most solo founders don't have access to contract experts or SEO consultants. AI won't match real experts, but it provides breadth when you lack access.

Most decisions are reversible. AI helps me see blind spots before I ship. It's not a replacement for peers, but it's better than deciding in a vacuum.

What I'm Still Figuring Out

Friendships feel different now. Each friend serves a different role—college friends, old colleagues, operator network. I adjust my presence accordingly. It's not exhausting—it's reality.

The operator circle is different. Shared context. They understand working capital pressure, difficult clients, payroll weight. I can be honest there in ways I can't with others.

I'm testing whether periodic operator reviews can replace daily peer pressure-testing. I'm testing whether AI can substitute for missing expertise. Results: unknown.

The 18-month financial runway my father built bought him time to make mistakes and recover. The social runway—peers who pressure-test your thinking—prevents some mistakes from happening in the first place.

I have the financial buffer. I'm still building the social one.

The Calculation

The calculation: 18 months of expenses plus 25% buffer. If a side hustle is already generating 50-60% of needs, maybe 12 months. But not less.

The buffer isn't pessimism—it's buying time to survive your own learning curve.

I'm testing operator circles and AI thinking partners. I don't know yet if this scales.