- Ritu Maurya was fired three days into her job by an IITian founder in front of a client
- The founder promised mentorship but was absent and critical during her initial workdays
- Maurya described the workplace as toxic and shared how the experience affected her deeply
An AI automation engineer recently shared her viral story of being fired by an IITian founder just three days into her job, only to see her income skyrocket a year later. In an Instagram video, Ritu Maurya revealed how she was fired in front of a client during her first week. She stated the founder promised hands-on mentorship during recruitment but was largely absent and unresponsive once she started. Maurya described the workplace as "toxic," noting the founder criticised her performance to the client after only 72 hours, claiming he could have done her work in an hour.
"Just two days into the job ... there were a lot of things I did not know, and he had mentioned that he would be the one guiding me, but he was nowhere to be found. He would reply to my messages hours later; he would not get on a call with me to help me understand things better," she said.
Maurya recounted the traumatic experience, revealing that it left her feeling devastated, overcome with grief, and struggling to cope. The episode's impact lingered long after she moved on.
"In hindsight, I'm glad I got off early from that workplace described as ‘toxic' by many others I met later on. And you know what?! That founder recently messaged me to follow his Instagram page, guess what I did?" she wrote in the caption of the video.
Watch the video here:
However, she bounced back. She ultimately opted to start anew, embarked on a journey of self-improvement by watching tutorials, sought guidance from peers, and asked "stupid" questions, no matter how basic, until she gained a solid grasp of the work. Her decision to share her learning process on LinkedIn ultimately led her to connect with a founder who was willing to invest in her.
And it all worked out for the best. She now earns eight times more than the salary originally offered by the IIT founder. She credits her financial turnaround to persistent self-learning and finding better mentorship.
