Indian founders forced out of the companies they built have become a recurring story in business news, from the Satyam collapse in 2009 to the ouster of Byju Raveendran from Byju’s in 2024. As Indian startups raised billions from venture capital and Indian banks came under tighter regulation, founders’ stakes shrank, and boards, investors, lenders and regulators gained the power to remove them. Below are nine Indian founders who were fired, pushed to resign or voted out.
The list covers startup founders, bank and airline promoters and one corporate-fraud case.
Indian startup founders removed by boards and investors
Startup boards, backed by venture investors, have removed six Indian founders since 2015. The reasons ranged from conduct and governance to alleged financial irregularities.
Rahul Yadav, Housing.com
Founded: 2012 · Removed: July 1, 2015
Yadav co-founded the real-estate portal Housing.com in 2012, and it raised more than $130 million. His public clashes with investors escalated in 2015. He resigned as CEO on April 30 after sending a scathing email to investors, then withdrew the resignation within a week. On July 1, 2015, the board fired him, saying his behavior toward investors and the media was not befitting of a CEO.
Binny Bansal, Flipkart
Founded: 2007 · Removed: November 13, 2018
Binny Bansal co-founded Flipkart with Sachin Bansal in 2007. After Walmart took control in 2018, Sachin left, and Binny resigned as group CEO on November 13, 2018. Walmart said the exit followed an independent investigation into an allegation of serious personal misconduct, which he strongly denied. The investigation did not find evidence to back the allegation but found lapses in judgment, including a lack of transparency in how he responded.
Ankiti Bose, Zilingo
Founded: 2015 · Removed: May 20, 2022 (suspended March 31)
Bose co-founded the fashion-tech startup Zilingo with Dhruv Kapoor in 2015, and the company is based in Singapore. The board suspended her as CEO on March 31, 2022, after questions about the company’s accounts. On May 20, 2022, Zilingo fired her, saying a forensic audit found serious financial irregularities. Bose said she was given no chance to respond to the accusations.
Ashneer Grover, BharatPe
Founded: 2018 · Removed: March 1–2, 2022
Grover joined BharatPe in 2018 as co-founder and CEO and became a household name as a judge on Shark Tank India. He went on leave in January 2022 after an audio clip row and an internal audit began. On March 1, 2022, he resigned as managing director and director. The next day BharatPe removed him from all positions and alleged that his family had misappropriated funds, which he rejected. The two sides settled in October 2024.
Byju Raveendran, Byju’s
Founded: 2011 · Removed: February 23, 2024
Raveendran founded Byju’s in 2011, and it became India’s most valuable startup, at a peak valuation of $22 billion. On February 23, 2024, shareholders voted unanimously at an extraordinary general meeting to remove him as CEO and reconstitute the board over alleged mismanagement. He and his family skipped the meeting, and the company called the vote invalid. Byju’s has since been in insolvency proceedings, and as of mid-2026 creditors were running a resolution process.
Vivek Tiwari, Medikabazaar
Founded: 2015 · Removed: April 2025 (stepped down as CEO in July 2024)
Tiwari co-founded the medical-supplies marketplace Medikabazaar in 2015. He stepped down as CEO in July 2024 after auditors flagged revenue-recognition issues, and Dinesh Lodha replaced him. In April 2025, investors holding 47% of the equity voted to remove him from the board, citing alleged fraud and financial mismanagement. Tiwari denies the allegations, calls the move a “corporate coup” and has gone to the Delhi High Court.
Indian founders pushed out by regulators and lenders
In banking and aviation, the push came from outside the boardroom. A regulator and a group of creditors ended two founder-led eras.
Rana Kapoor, Yes Bank
Founded: 2004 · Removed: January 31, 2019
Kapoor co-founded Yes Bank with Ashok Kapur in 2004 and ran it as CEO from the start. In June 2018 shareholders approved a new three-year term for him, but in September 2018 the Reserve Bank of India allowed him to stay only until January 31, 2019, and it later refused the board’s request for more time. The regulator gave no reason. Yes Bank’s shares fell 34% in a day after the news.
Naresh Goyal, Jet Airways
Founded: 1993 · Removed: March 25, 2019
Goyal, a former travel-agency cashier, started Jet Airways in 1993, and it grew into one of India’s biggest airlines. By March 2019 the airline was deep in debt and two-thirds of its fleet was grounded. Goyal and his wife stepped down from the board on March 25, 2019, as part of a rescue plan led by state-run banks that required his stake to be cut.
An Indian founder who left after a fraud confession
B. Ramalinga Raju, Satyam Computer Services
Founded: 1987 · Removed: January 7, 2009
Raju started Satyam in Hyderabad in 1987, and it became India’s fourth-largest IT company. On January 7, 2009, he wrote to the board confessing that the company’s accounts had been falsified for years, including about $1 billion in non-existent cash, and resigned as chairman. He was arrested two days later. Tech Mahindra bought Satyam in 2009, and Raju was convicted of corporate fraud in 2015. This case is a fraud collapse, not a boardroom ouster, so we include it as a contrast.
What these Indian founder ousters have in common
Most of these exits share one cause: founders raised outside money and gave up control. When a whistleblower, an audit, a regulator or a missed payment exposed a problem, the people holding the votes or the licence could act. In the startup cases, investors used board seats and shareholder votes. In banking and aviation, the Reserve Bank of India and creditors did the same. Not every case ended in a finding of wrongdoing. Binny Bansal’s investigation found no evidence for the allegation against him, and Grover, Tiwari and Bose all dispute the accusations against them.
FAQ: Indian founders forced out of their own companies
Which Indian founders have been forced out of their own companies?
Rahul Yadav (Housing.com, 2015), Binny Bansal (Flipkart, 2018), Rana Kapoor (Yes Bank, 2019), Naresh Goyal (Jet Airways, 2019), Ashneer Grover (BharatPe, 2022), Ankiti Bose (Zilingo, 2022), Byju Raveendran (Byju’s, 2024) and Vivek Tiwari (Medikabazaar, 2025) are among the best-known cases. Ramalinga Raju (Satyam, 2009) left after confessing to fraud.
Was Ashneer Grover fired from BharatPe?
Grover resigned as managing director and director on March 1, 2022, after BharatPe’s board prepared to discuss a PwC report on his conduct. BharatPe removed him from all positions the next day and accused his family of misappropriating funds, which he denied. The two sides settled in October 2024.
Was Byju Raveendran removed from Byju’s?
On February 23, 2024, shareholders voted to remove him as CEO and replace the board. Byju’s called the vote invalid because the founders did not attend. The company has since been in insolvency proceedings.
Why were Rana Kapoor and Naresh Goyal removed?
The RBI limited Kapoor’s term at Yes Bank and gave no reason. Goyal stepped down from Jet Airways because the bank-led rescue plan required him to cut his stake and leave the board.