Byju Raveendran, once a math whiz who turned into a billionaire with India’s biggest ed-tech startup, Byju’s, has admitted that the company’s current valuation is “zero”, reported Indian Express. Byju’s was once valued at a staggering $22 billion. But now, the company is facing a financial meltdown, leaving its future in question.
Raveendran confessed that he overestimated the company’s growth potential. Byju’s expanded too fast and entered too many markets at once. This rapid expansion (coupled with accusations of mismanagement) has led the company down a troubling path. Byju’s is now dealing with unpaid dues, legal battles, and an ongoing dispute with US lenders, who accused the company of mishandling a $1 billion USD loan.
With boardroom exits, delayed financial reports, and a public spat with foreign investors, Byju’s has lost the favour of its once loyal global investors.
“The company is worth zero. What valuation are you talking about? It is zero,” Raveendran said during an interaction with reporters via a video conference from Dubai, reported NDTV.
Here’s how people have been responding to the news:
Mr Raveendran is sitting in his posh Dubai bungalow and tweeting.
The private equity investors and end customers of Byju’s are struggling to recover their lost money by working harder.— Manoj Arora (@manoj_216) October 18, 2024
Byju Raveendran has been voted the worst Indian founder by a Reddit community for fostering a toxic work culture, ‘scamming’ customers with unethical business practices and bringing a bad name to the Indian startup eco system. pic.twitter.com/eYDBpuPNjO
— Sugandh Gupta (@sugandhgupta08) October 18, 2024
Cheated many Students and poor parents
All the money should be refunded 😡😡😡
— Maddy (@BelikeGVM) October 18, 2024
The shift from prioritizing quality education to aggressive sales tactics diluted its core mission.
Looking forward to seeing how they turn this around!
— Sakshi Danej (@SakshiDanej) October 18, 2024
The day he shifted to traditional classroom tuitions, it was a dooms-day for him. his business model was good but he got carried away
— Satya Vachan (@zippynathan1974) October 18, 2024
Byju’s processes were broken from the get-go. Pressure was unbearable on top management and they escalated it downwards without buffers. Never heard one positive story from an employee. But when your product is krap, not even the best sales team can salvage the situation.
— Amitesh Jasrotia (@bookjelly) October 18, 2024
Byju’s journey has been a dramatic fall from grace.