New Delhi: A Reddit community started a poll to determine the most underrated to the worst startup founders in India and Byju Raveendran emerged as the worst of the lot. Redditors unanimously bashed Byju’s founder for fostering a toxic work culture and scamming parents in the name of education. Many recollected their experiences with the company and ranted on the forum.
The poll organised by Reddit’s startup community evaluated the founders of Indian startups. Members of the group unequivocally named Raveendran as the worst founder considering his ill-treatment of employees, investors, customers, etc. Redditors pointed fingers at Raveendran for damaging the reputation of the Indian startup ecosystem with his malicious practices.
Byju Raveendran voted ‘worst founder’ by Redditors; Zoho founder polled ‘best founder’
Netizens bashed Byju Raveendran on Reddit.
Image credit: The_Decent_Observer/Reddit
Others accused the e-learning platform founder of scamming his customers under the pretext of educating their children, leaving them drowning in debt. Many others on the platform criticized his organisation for exploiting employees and promoting a toxic work culture. They enlisted a long list of remarks that showed Byju’s in a negative light.
One individual remarked, “He screwed everyone whom he hired… he spoiled Indian startup reputation abroad.”
Raveendran is currently drowning in a sea of allegations. After lapsing on debt repayments both in India and the US, the company is facing insolvency proceedings.
Based on the Reddit poll, there was a close competition between Raveendran and Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal. Recently, Aggarwal made headlines with his controversial opinions on work-life balance and has been facing severe backlash due to the poor service to Ola Electric customers.
Meanwhile, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu earned the title of the best founder. Redditors praised his initiative to bring employment to his hometown, his impressive business model and the excellent product offered by him.
