US-based engineer Jake Loosararian, Gecko Robotics' Co-founder, told CNBC Make It that he worked 100-hour weeks and faced bankruptcy while working to build his startup unicorn, now worth $1.3 billion. "Everyone said, 'Don't f*****g do it'," Loosararian said on turning his college project into a company in 2013. He added he even considered selling his business in 2015 for $500,000.