Built Without a Budget: What I Learnt From My Startup That Didn't Scale

Tejas Trikha

ISBN 10: 994866583X / ISBN 13: 9789948665830

Published by Austin Macauley Publishers, 2025

Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. An apparently unread copy in perfect condition. Dust cover is intact with no nicks or tears. Spine has no signs of creasing. Pages are clean and not marred by notes or folds of any kind. Seller Inventory # wbs8507815388

Synopsis:

Built Without a Budget lands at a moment when many Gen Zs are chasing the entrepreneurial dream-but most books only tell the stories that end in glory. This one doesn't.

As a finance student at the University of Toronto, Tejas Trikha launched CouBon. This two-sided, dynamic pricing marketplace connected restaurants during their slow hours with students seeking deals. Armed with limited resources and plenty of persistence, CouBon grew from a dorm-room idea into a live platform used daily by students and partnered with dozens of restaurants-generating real revenue before closing due to scalability limits and macro headwinds.

Written while the journey was still fresh, this candid account goes beyond highlight reels to share the real grind: pitching investors cold, solving the two-sided marketplace paradox, managing churn, and knowing when to walk away. It's a survival guide for student founders-and a reminder that even when the outcome isn't what you planned, the lessons can be life-changing.

The startup story you don't see on Instagram.

About the Author: Tejas Trikha is an Indian-born, Dubai-raised founder and writer who graduated from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. While still a student, he launched CouBon, a platform that helped restaurants fill slow hours by offering deals to students, growing it to thousands of users. Alongside CouBon, he has also worked at Mubadala Capital, KPMG, and Forbes-recognized cleantech startup Xatoms. This is his first book, written to help students take action, even when they don't feel fully ready.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Built Without a Budget: What I Learnt From ...
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Publication Date: 2025
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Like New