New Delhi: Byju’s, once the most popular name in India’s edtech world, is now in serious trouble, from money issues and court cases to negative headlines, the company has seen a big fall in the last year. But now, the founders, Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath, have finally shared their side of the story, Divya, who is also one of the co-founders, said that she and her family are being personally attacked, and it’s not fair.
She said many people think the founders are super-rich and have hidden money, but that’s not true at all…
“If we had so many crores lying around, do you think the company would be in this condition?” she asked.
She also made it clear that they have put their own money into Byju’s and haven’t taken big salaries or used the company’s funds for themselves.
Facing pressure and threats
According to both Byju and Divya, some investors and other people are using pressure and threats to force changes in the company, they say this makes it even harder to fix things. Imagine trying to repair a machine while someone keeps yelling at you, that’s how they feel.
This part shows that not all problems are from inside the company, some are also coming from outside forces. Byju Raveendran: “We’re Not Giving Up”
In a strong message, Byju said that he’s not running away from the problems.
He admitted that mistakes were made, but said he still believes in the future of the company.
He compared this to how every entrepreneur faces ups and downs.
“Setbacks are normal,” he said, adding that they are already working on a comeback plan.
Welcome to Byju’s 3.0
Byju revealed something big, they’re working on a new version of the company called “Byju’s 3.0.”, this new phase will focus more on fixing past mistakes, working smart, and growing slowly and properly, they agree that the company grew too fast and made decisions that didn’t work out. But now, they plan to focus only on what really helps students.
One of the major problems seems to be fights with investors, the founders say some investors are trying to take over decision-making in a very aggressive way, with legal actions and pressure, this creates more problems instead of helping the company recover, from a student’s view, this feels like when school teachers fight about rules but students are the ones who suffer.
Both founders said they have made personal sacrifices, not just money, but also time and emotional energy, they haven’t taken big bonuses or lived a luxurious life while the company struggled.
Divya even shared that public criticism has affected her family life.
She asked people to remember that they are also human, with families, emotions, and hopes.
While media helps in bringing out the truth, sometimes too much negative attention can hurt the people involved, this incident shows us that founders are not superheroes, they make mistakes too, they feel pain too, and after all of these they try to correct things.
Can they still make a comeback?
The situation is tough, but not impossible, the fact that the founders are openly talking and taking responsibility shows they haven’t given up yet, yes, mistakes were made. But maybe, just maybe, this time they will focus more on students than speed, and values overvaluation.
