When crisis loomed large on his company, Byju’s founder wept: report
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New Delhi: As his beloved start-up faced severe crisis in late April, Byju Reveendran 'broke down in tears' talking to investors, Bloomberg reported.
Online educator Byju’s, famous for its meteoric rise symbolizing India’s tech potential, has been through tough time over several months, as per reports.
Indian officials, according to the report, raided the company’s Bengaluru offices seizing laptops for alleged foreign exchange violations.
Crisis has begun to plague the company of late, particularly post the pandemic when students quit online to offline for study.
The company allegedly failed to file its financial accounts on time, alongside US-based investors reportedly accused Byju’s of hiding half a billion dollars.
One of the major setbacks for the company, alongside its fall from grace, came when Prosus NV on Tuesday gave up its board seat.
The earliest of the investors of the company blamed ‘poor governance and disregard for directors' advice’.
Nevertheless Raveendran denied wrongdoing, the company’s setbacks stare into challenges India’s start-up ventures faces.
The report points out that firms like Byju’s, suffering limited venture capital, look elsewhere for support.
In the first half of 2023, funding from outside suffered a hit falling to a ‘ four-year low’.
This could adversely affect India’s hopes to become a tech capital on par with the US and China.
Raveendran rose to become the leader of 22 billion company starting out as a private tutor.
Byju’s attracted global investors such as Sequoia Capital, Blackstone Inc. and Mark Zuckerberg's foundation.
Critics reportedly allege that ‘missteps’ and ‘enthusiasm’ of inexperienced founder contributed to the crisis, showcasing dangers of a company growing fast during boom and facing adversities afterwards.
