Failure to meet growth targets. Gaurav Munjal CEO of Unacademy said “I think 2023 was an average year for us. But 2024, if not great, was above average. However, we did not hit our growth goals,” he stated during the meeting.
Munjal acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, saying, “It’s been tough, and that’s why I have one piece of bad news: we won’t be able to do any appraisals this year.” He added, “I know I mentioned appraisals two or three weeks ago, but when we started the process, we realized we made a mistake.”
Munjal attributed the company’s underperformance to market challenges, headwinds, and declining revenue from offline centers. Despite these setbacks, he assured that the company was not at risk of failure. “The good news is that our burn rate is extremely low now, and we have a significant runway ahead. We do not face any survival risk,” he stated.
The CEO asked employees to consider the bigger picture, pointing out that Unacademy is still strong while competitors are struggling. “We are still standing while our competitors are going down one by one,” he said.
However, people on social media quickly noticed the irony of Munjal wearing an expensive Burberry T-shirt during the announcement. The T-shirt he wore costs between $200 (~Rs 16,000) and $570 (~Rs 47,000) on different online sites.
About CEO Gaurav Munjal
Gaurav Munjal has had a long passion for tech, starting to code in grade 12. He attended St. Xavier’s Secondary School and was active in the Science Club. Later, he earned a computer engineering degree from NMIMS University.
While in college, Munjal created a YouTube channel to upload video tutorials on Java programming and other topics. He later renamed the channel Unacademy.
After graduation, Gaurav Munjal started his first business, Flatchat, which helped people find suitable flatmates. He also worked as a software developer at Directi while managing his YouTube channel.
In 2015, Gaurav sold Flatchat to CommonFloor, a real estate portal.
Gaurav Munjal Startup
Gaurav Munjal shared his idea of creating an online educational platform with his close friends. He started with Roman Saini, a brilliant student who cracked the AIIMS entrance exam at 16 and later became an IAS officer by excelling in the UPSC exam. Roman was the ideal partner for Munjal’s startup idea.
Roman left his job to help Munjal turn the idea into a working business. Hemesh Singh, Gaurav’s business partner and former CTO at Flatchat, also joined the team. With this, Unacademy’s founding team was ready to go.
About Unacademy
The app was launched in 2015. This India-based online educational platform provided learning resources and helped students prepare for competitive exams like GATE, NEET, and JEE.
Within a year, it became popular by offering free educational content to students. It went viral as many learners and educators joined the conpany’s community.
Unacademy became a unicorn after receiving $150 million in investment funding from Softbank. The company also secured significant funding from investors like Tiger Global and General Atlantic. In 2021, company had a valuation of $3.4 billion.
Munjal envisions his startup as a tech-driven platform that improves learning and builds community. The platform offers interactive tools, live classes with teachers, and a wide range of learning materials to meet various educational needs and preferences.
Looking ahead, Munjal aims to expand company’s reach and improve its educational content. He plans to use technology to make high-quality education accessible to everyone, helping students from all backgrounds achieve their academic goals. OG
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