Even as Byju’s is battling to dig itself out of the hole that’s pitted it against its investors, creditors, and customers, other ed-tech companies are already talking of the company in the past tense.
Byju Raveendran failed because he didn’t listen to anyone, Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal has said. “Byju failed because he didn’t listen to anyone. He put himself on a pedestal and stopped listening. Don’t do that. Never do that. Don’t listen to everyone but have people who can give you blunt feedback. You might not always like the feedback, but take the feedback and act on it,” he posted on X. Munjal’s post was a part of a thread of his learnings from 2024.
Munjal’s comments come at time when Byju’s finds itself on the ropes with several board members having voted to oust founder Byju Raveendran and his family. The company is also being investigated by Indian agencies for irregularities, and has been forced to lay off thousands of employees. It’s also being taken to the courts by its creditors to recover their dues, and investors have now valued the company at zero.
While Munjal didn’t elaborate on who exactly Byju’s didn’t listen to which led the company to its current state, he could have been referring to the company’s big-name investors. In June last year, representatives from Peak XV, Prosus, and Chan-Zuckerberg foundation had quit the company’s board in unison. Prosus had later slammed Byju’s saying that the company disregarded its advice on issues including corporate governance, and Peak XV had said its inability to influence Byju’s to improve its compliance and governance norms was the reason behind its departure.
It appears that it’s this tiff with investors — which culminated in these investors looking to perform a coup and remove founder Byju Raveendran earlier this year — is one of the biggest reasons why Byju’s is staring at the brink. These investors have been blocking a rights issue that the company has proposed which could help it raise cash amid the current fund crunch, and this has all but crippled its operations. And Unacademy founder Gaurav Munjal appears to be hinting that Byju Raveendran disregarding the advice of its powerful investors could’ve been the biggest reason behind the firm’s downfall.