Entrepreneur and former MD of BharatPe, Ashneer Grover, has taken a swipe at tech founders seeking sky-high IPO valuations despite running loss-making companies.
The satirical skit was posted on Instagram by Sanyam Sharma with the caption, “IPO = Infinite Paisa in Online. Object of Issue: Luxury condos in Dahlias & Camellias.” The disclaimer that followed it read, “No IPOs were unsubscribed during the making of this reel. Valuation is a function of your own perspective. Any resemblance to any real IPO is purely coincidental. Read the offer document carefully before investing.”
Grover mocks tech founders chasing IPO valuations
Grover plays the role of an investment banker advising two founders – one running a loss-making tech startup and the other managing a profitable legacy business. In the video, Sanyam Sharma and Rrajesh Yadav play the two founders.
The video opens to show the profitable businessman telling Grover that he wanted to meet him regarding an IPO. The tech founder, sitting next to him, interrupts, saying he’s there for the same reason.
Grover, instead of showing interest in the profitable venture, turns to the tech founder, who proudly tells him that his company clocks Rs 100 crore in revenue and is in a Rs 700 crore loss. “But, we’ve got a lot of tech,” he added.
The legacy businessman then tells Grover that he runs a 30-year-old family business with Rs 1,000 crore in revenue and Rs 400 crore in profit. Grover, however, ignores him and heaps praise on the loss-making startup.
Annoyed, the profitable founder quips that the tech founder doesn’t even know what IPO stands for, and he was proven right. “EyePO – Infinite Paisa Online,” the tech founder says while adjusting his glasses.
For those unaware, IPO stands for Initial Public Offering.
Grover, visibly “impressed”, asks the tech founder how many penthouses he wants to buy. When he replies “five,” Grover ups the ante. “Make it six penthouses worth Rs 6 crore. We’ll turn this into Rs 7,000 crore IPO.”
“Rs 70,000 crore valuation. -100 multiple,” he went on to say, before stressing, “That’s conservative!”
When the profitable founder argues that his business deserves a higher valuation because it actually earns profits, Grover curtly tells him to “leave and never show his face again”.
Here’s how social media users reacted to this:
“So true and painfully relatable. The way we glorify losses in the name of ‘growth’ while overlooking sustainable, profitable businesses says a lot about where the ecosystem’s focus has shifted,” the founder and CEO of a startup said in response to his skit.
Another called it “direct roast of Peyush Bansal Lenskart”.
“IPO=Infinite Paisa Online is the real catch here,” commented a third.
A fourth commented, “More than the humour, the message is across.”
“Every market goes through this as valuations are for the future & people see data as the future. But at the same time, it’s very important for the founders to understand that Profitability is the only key to success, as when storytelling ends, the real grind starts,” a fifth, who is a business head, said.