There is no single right number, but the honest starting point for a founder is that you already carry enormous risk in one illiquid, undiversified asset: your company. That argues for keeping your personal money noticeably safer than a salaried person's might be. Many founders hold a solid base of safe fixed income, their emergency fund plus a comfortable buffer, before putting anything into equities or other risk. Think of the safe layer as the thing that lets you keep going when the startup has a bad year, not as where you get rich. How big that base should be depends on your runway, dependents, and how much of your net worth is tied up in the company. This is a general frame, not advice for your situation, and since returns and tax on these instruments change, confirm specifics with a qualified advisor before committing.
A curated summary to orient you, not advice. The resources below are the real value.
4 hand-picked resources, 4 India-specific, 2 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
Why we picked it The mutual fund industry body investor corner: fund basics, NAVs, and how SIPs work, straight from the source.
From AMFI by AMFI
Open amfiindia.com →Why we picked it The free, India-first grounding in what to do with cash once you have it: goals, allocation, SIPs, and not losing it to fees.
From Zerodha Varsity by Zerodha Varsity
Open zerodha.com →Why we picked it A no-nonsense, ad-light India personal-finance site: plain math and free calculators for emergency funds, goals, and asset allocation, with no product to sell you.
From Freefincal by M. Pattabiraman
Open freefincal.com →Why we picked it A trusted India-first place to compare funds and think about where cash goes once you have some to invest.
From Value Research by Value Research
Open valueresearchonline.com →
