{"product_id":"built-without-a-budget-what-i-learnt-from-my-startup-that-didnt-scale-9789948665830","title":"Built Without a Budget: What I Learnt From My Startup That Didn't Scale","description":"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.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTrikha, Tejas:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - 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.","brand":"Austin MacAuley Publishers Fze","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51735890985234,"sku":"9789948665830","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cb016338-2d03-4534-b3ff-9c3404eb8f51.jpg?v=1763544230","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/built-without-a-budget-what-i-learnt-from-my-startup-that-didnt-scale-9789948665830","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}