Byju’s, the edtech giant, remains unfazed by the “negativity” around it because the love and gratitude from students keeps the company going, Byju Raveendran told his employees in an internal note on Friday.
The note comes at a time when Byju’s has been criticised in the media over allegations that the company was mis-selling and actively tricking its customers into buying its courses, which the company has termed “baseless”. Reports even stated harsh working conditions for the sales team members. Recently, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also asked the edtech major to change some of its policies and asked the company to stop selling courses to families with a monthly incomes below Rs 25,000.
“Hate is public, love is private. We have always been open to informed criticism, and we have never shied away from sharing our facts and figures. But criticism is one thing, and cynicism is quite another,” Raveendran said in the mail. A copy of which FE has seen.
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However, we are undaunted by this negativity because we know the truth. Every week, we receive thousands of messages from our students, which they send us directly, sharing their love and gratitude.”
The year – which he said was full of introspection and action – made the company prioritise sustainable growth over exponential growth for the rest of its existence after years of “steady” and exponential growth. The company even said it would turn profitable in March 2023, a path the startup was expecting to take only later, in 2024 but brought forward, thanks to “macroeconomic changes” which essentially meant capital was getting tougher to access for startups.
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Rising costs also forced that company to sack about 2,500 employees. Raveendran however said his company was still a net-hirer. “We are among the top 30 private employers in India – and the only startup in that list. We have nearly 20,000 teachers on our payroll, making us probably the largest employer of teachers anywhere in the world. And we are planning to hire 10,000 more in 2023,” his internal mail added.