Experience working at Arambh Influence, red flags warning
My experience working at a Lucknow based startup
Posting this because I genuinely wish someone had warned me earlier. (TL;DR at the end)
I worked at Arambh Influence (also connected with ReelCraft Entertainment LLP and SKM Digi Marketing Services), and my overall experience was one of the most chaotic and unprofessional work environments I’ve seen.
The biggest issue: salary payments. I am not paid for work already performed despite repeated follow-ups, written communication, and formal complaints. Every time I followed up, I received assurances, new timelines, or vague responses, but no proper resolution. Full & Final settlement also hasn’t been processed despite repeated commitments and despite company policy stating it should be completed within 15 days.
Another major issue was how employee exits were handled. I was pressured into resigning during a meeting and was later terminated through email over insignificant claims of policy breach. From what I observed, this wasn’t uncommon. Multiple employees were asked to resign over relatively minor reasons, and the attrition rate was extremely high for such a small organisation.
The company structure itself was also very confusing. The founder appeared to operate multiple entities simultaneously, Arambh Influence, ReelCraft Entertainment LLP, and SKM Digi Marketing Services. Different names were also used interchangeably in communication and documentation, which made it difficult to understand which entity employees were technically working for and who was actually accountable.
The organisation claimed to have a legal team, but during escalations it became apparent that there wasn’t any proper legal structure in place. Even the official company email domain contains a typo (“arambhinfulence” instead of “arambhinfluence”), which honestly should have been an early warning sign about the level of professionalism and operational credibility.
One thing that shocked me personally was employees being repeatedly asked to make personal financial contributions toward company operations. That is something I have never experienced in any professional workplace before.
The work culture was equally concerning. There were frequent shouting and humiliation sessions framed as “productivity” or “morale boosting.” Instead of constructive feedback, communication often relied on intimidation, pressure, and public berating. Rules and expectations would change arbitrarily without documentation or clarity, and there was very little accountability from management regarding promises or commitments made to employees.
Ironically, despite hiring for HRs, the company lacked even basic HR systems or grievance handling processes. There was no real structure, no consistency, and no proper employee support mechanism.
Another thing worth mentioning is the lack of verifiable professional presence online. Very few employees appear publicly associated with the company on LinkedIn, and there is limited transparent information available overall.
I know startups can be messy, especially early-stage ones, and I normally try to be understanding about operational challenges. But multiple unpaid salaries, pressure tactics, lack of transparency, and constant instability go beyond normal startup problems.
I’m posting this so other job seekers can make a more informed decision than I did.
TL;DR: Worked at Arambh Influence / ReelCraft Entertainment LLP and experienced unpaid salary, delayed F&F settlement, pressure to resign, constant policy changes, and a highly unstructured work environment. Multiple entities and names were used interchangeably, HR processes were almost non-existent, and employees were asked for personal financial contributions.