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Founder Says $22B Edtech Startup Byju’s Now Has No Valuation After Market Downturn - Byju Raveendran, the founder and CEO of Byju’s – one of India’s largest education technology companies, has acknowledged that the valuation of his startup has plummeted to zero after previously reaching $22 billion. Speaking to journalists recently, Raveendran outlined how aggressive expansion plans and the downturn in markets have left the company without any current valuation. Once seen as India’s most valuable startup, Byju’s grew rapidly thanks to a string of acquisitions which saw it enter over 40 new international education markets. However, Raveendran now believes this prove fatal as global financial conditions weakened in 2022. Key investors who had […] https://lnkd.in/gjWUi6vj #StartupUpdates #StartupNews #EntrepreneurLoop #StartupWorld #EntrepreneurNews

You live by #startup #valuation, you die by #startups #valuation Alarming story of flawed #valuationgame in #startupecosystem #Byju Raveendran's Net Worth Was ₹ 17,545 Crore A Year Ago. Today It Is.. ZERO! This sharp decline in Byju Raveendran's net worth comes in the wake of multiple crises that have rocked the once high-flying startup. #Byjus #startupindia https://lnkd.in/g7PpR9PR

📉 From $22 Billion to Zero: The Tumultuous Journey of Byju’s In a striking development, HSBC now values Indian edtech giant Byju’s, once soaring at $22 billion, at zero. This dramatic decline marks one of the most notable startup downturns in recent memory. Byju’s has faced a challenging year marred by missed financial targets, governance issues, and high-profile resignations. The Bengaluru-based startup struggled to meet its financial reporting deadlines, missing its target by over 50%. The turbulence didn’t stop there. A $1 billion funding round fell through, exacerbated by public criticism from major investor Prosus, which accused Byju’s of disregarding advice. In a desperate move, Byju’s raised $200 million this year at a valuation of about $250 million, but this funding is now legally disputed by significant investors, including Prosus. HSBC’s research note also downgraded Prosus' 10% stake in Byju’s to zero, reflecting ongoing legal battles and funding woes. This isn’t just about Byju’s. Other startups like Pharmeasy, Meesho, DeHaat, and ElasticRun have also seen their valuations halved, reflecting broader market corrections in the startup ecosystem. The takeaway? The startup world is as volatile as ever, reminding us that meteoric rises can be followed by sharp declines. #startup #edtech #Byjus #investment #valuation #HSBC #Prosus #entrepreneurship #businessnews

Byju’s founder says his edtech startup, once worth $22B, is now ‘worth zero.’ [Note: based on media reports] When I left Oracle and jumped into the startup world during my Executive MBA, I felt that moment of excitement. I raised ₹20 lakhs from the Government of India. But something wasn’t clicking; my heart wasn’t singing. So, I did what I am afraid/stupid to do — I dropped it. Why? ✍ Starting a business is about solving real problems, not chasing hype. Today, when you are too focused on funding, Shark Tank fame, and investor buzz. But here’s the truth: ✍ Funding won’t save you if you’re not addressing a real-world problem. Your mission should be innovation, tackling pain points, and creating value with #INTEGRITY. ✍ And let's not forget about #cashflow; it’s the lifeblood of any startup. In the case of Byju’s and its $20 billion valuation, what went wrong? I can’t say for sure. But I remember the passion and vision of Byju sir from that unforgettable 2011 stadium event in Bengaluru. I believe he’ll come back stronger. Gen Z needs to snap out of the funding dopamine and think critically: ✍ What problem am I solving? ✍ What will people genuinely pay for? ✍ How will this sustain itself long after the funding hype fades? ✍ How can I ensure steady cash flow while building lean operations? #Innovation and #Integrity—not funding—are what make startups survive. So here’s my challenge to you, founders: ✍ Stop obsessing over your next pitch to investors. ✍ Start obsessing over the problem you’re solving. ✍ Build with long-term value in mind, not just for the next round of funding. ✍ Focus on maintaining a healthy cash flow and lean operations to support sustainable growth. In the end, it’s not about how fast you raise money; it’s about how #well you build a solution that lasts. #StartupJourney #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Integrity #CashFlow #LeanStartup #RealProblems #ValueCreation #Funding #BusinessGrowth #GenZ #EdTech #SustainableBusiness #FounderAdvice #B2B #StartupLessons #ProblemSolving #LongTermVision #StartupSuccess #EntrepreneurMindset#Leadership #Visionary #Integrity #Philanthropy #Resilience #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #SocialResponsibility #Mentorship #SustainableDevelopment #BusinessEthics #Legacy #Inspiration #Trust #Empathy #Courage #LongTermThinking

🚀 Attention startup founders! Here's a crucial lesson I've learned: "Founders who chase valuation rather than value end up losing both valuation and value." Let's break this down: • Valuation is subjective and often based on market hype. • Value creation focuses on solving real problems and generating sustainable revenue. • Prioritizing valuation can lead to unsustainable business models and negative unit economics. Remember: ✅ Build products that add genuine value to customers ✅ Focus on sustainable growth and profitability ✅ Create a strong foundation for long-term success As Peter Thiel wisely said, "Creating value is not enough - you also need to capture some of the value you create." The recent years have seen several high-profile startups experience dramatic valuation cuts, with Byju's being a prominent example. Here are some notable cases: ## Byju's Byju's, once India's most valuable edtech startup, has seen a staggering 99% drop in its valuation: • Peak valuation: $22 billion in 2022 • Current valuation: $225-230 million (as of January 2024 Reasons for the decline: • Aggressive acquisitions leading to high debt • Post-pandemic slowdown in online learning • Delayed financial reports and auditor resignations • Legal disputes with creditors • Allegations of toxic work culture and financial mismanagement ## Other Startups Facing Valuation Woes ### Arrival • Peak valuation: $11 billion in 2021 • Current valuation: Approximately $20 million (before Nasdaq delisting) ### Better.com • Peak valuation: $7.7 billion in 2021 • Current valuation: Estimated 90% drop ### OYO • Peak valuation: $12 billion in 2021 • Current valuation: $2.5 billion ### PharmEasy • Peak valuation: $5.6 billion • Current valuation: $700 million ### Meesho • Peak valuation: $4.9 billion in September 2021 • Current valuation: $3.9 billion (20% drop)[2] ### ShareChat • Peak valuation: Not specified • Current valuation: $2 billion (60% discount) ### Udaan • Previous valuation: Not specified • Current valuation: $1.8 billion (50% discount) These examples highlight a broader trend in the startup ecosystem, where factors such as changing market conditions, rising interest rates, and industry-specific challenges have led to significant valuation corrections. The cases serve as a reminder of the volatile nature of startup valuations and the importance of sustainable business models and financial management. #StartupAdvice #Entrepreneurship #ValueCreation #BusinessGrowth

📢 HSBC Declares Byju's Valueless: Edtech Giant's Fall From $22 Billion to Zero!" HSBC's recent research note reveals that Byju’s, India's ed-tech giant once valued at $22 billion, is now considered worthless. The Bengaluru-based startup has been plagued by resignations, financial reporting issues, and governance problems, leading to a shortfall of over 50% in its target. These issues also derailed a $1 billion fundraising effort by Byju’s. Prosus has publicly criticized the startup for ignoring its advice. This year, Byju’s raised $200 million at a post-money valuation of approximately $250 million. However, this valuation is now legally disputed by some of its largest investors, including Prosus. HSBC's research note estimated that Prosus' 10% stake in Byju’s is worth zero due to ongoing legal cases and funding issues. The bank also noted declines in the valuations of several other startups: Pharmeasy is now valued at $2.8 billion, down from a high of $5.6 billion. Meesho is valued at $2.5 billion, down from $4.9 billion. DeHaat is valued at $400 million, down from $800 million. ElasticRun is valued at $800 million. Stack Overflow is valued at $900 million. GoodHabitz is valued at $100 million, down from $200 million. #startuppedia #hsbc #byju #startupvaluation #startupnews

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮 𝟰𝟬-𝗖𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗮-𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 - What other are doing after their doomed edtech startups? After a ton of Edtech startups shutdown, massive job losses, corporate governance issues, cash flow issues, many EdTech founders have moved on to spending their money they got from the investors on other things. 𝗕𝘆𝗷𝘂'𝘀 𝗕𝘆𝗷𝘂 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗻 and his family shifted base to Dubai just before India’s ED issued look-out notices against them for alleged money laundering acts. Former Byju's CEO, 𝗔𝗿𝗷𝘂𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻, is now writing a book on India’s edtech industry. BYJU’S India CEO 𝗠𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗵𝗶𝘁 is working on an offline education venture like Byju’s Tuition Centre model. 𝗭𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗮𝘁𝗵, cofounder of 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗿, exited his startup in July 2021 and last year bought a sea-facing real estate property in Mumbai for INR 40 Cr. 𝗨𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 group CEO 𝗚𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗹 spent a lot of time in the US to raise funds. Unacademy have also held talks with other players for an acquisition. 𝗩𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂'𝘀 K-12 business tanked severely post pandemic. It still has not recovered but its founder and CEO 𝗩𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗶 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗻𝗮 is looking towards offline expansion and in vernacular languages. The most prominent exit was of 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗛𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗷 who sold it to BYJU’S in 2020 for $300 Mn after just 18 months of operations quit exactly one year post the deal. He then worked as special advisor to Goa chief minister. His website says, he now travels and is open to the adaptation of his books into movies. Bajaj calls himself a yogi and claims to be helping aspiring authors publish a book in 12 months through some free courses. 𝗟𝗶𝗱𝗼 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗹 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵 is battling employee accusations and complaints after he declared his startup bankrupt in Sep'22 after firing its employees and couldn't pay off debts. Unacademy’s bought 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗞𝗮 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮. Its founder 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 now tweets about investments, stock markets and early retirement planning. 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵'𝘀 bought 𝗶𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗻 for $30 Mn. iNeuron’s founder, 𝗦𝘂𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗵𝘂 𝗞𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗿 now runs a podcast where he talks about life and success. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲: 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝟰𝟮 (𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀) 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲: Backstage with Millionaires - #Edtech #Founders #Funding #VentureCapital

Don't raise funds for your startups. Hear this out👇🏻 Founders typically look for money from investors to help their company grow. A big part of what makes a startup valuable, or its "valuation," is how much money it's making. So, it's pretty straightforward: if a startup earns more, its value goes up. And when the startup's value goes up, the money investors put in grows too. That's why investors sometimes push founders to make more money. But here's the thing, even if it means spending a lot to earn a little, they'll do it. Take Byju's in 2022, for example. Their earnings jumped from 2,428 crores to 5,298 crores. Impressive, right? But their losses soared from 4,564 crores to 8,245 crores. At one point, they even struggled to pay their employees. This kind of situation has led to a massive drop in the company's valuation, from 1 lakh crore to just 200 crores. Even in the latest Shark Tank season, many sharks pointed this out to some businesses that were profitable to not take any investments and bootstrap your business. What do you think about this? Do let me know in the comments👇🏻 #startup #investment #valuation

💥 The Byju's Bombshell: From $22 Billion Edtech Unicorn to Bankruptcy Nightmare 📉 Hold onto your hats, folks! 🎩💨 The start-up world just got hit with a shocker that's left everyone's jaws on the floor. I had maintained the fact this Company is thee INDIAN 💥 Byju's, once the crown jewel 👑 of India's edtech scene valued at a whopping $22 billion, has now crash-landed into bankruptcy territory. This isn't just another startup hiccup—it's a full-blown earthquake 🌋 shaking the very foundations of the edtech industry and startup culture! As a veteran 🦸♂️ who's been riding the Indian startup rollercoaster 🎢 for over a decade, I've seen my fair share of rags-to-riches (and riches-to-rags) stories. But let me tell you, Byju's epic nosedive is in a league of its own! 🏆➡️🗑️ It's a wild cocktail 🍹 of aggressive growth steroids, questionable ethics, and the fickle romance of venture capital. Buckle up as we dissect this spectacular downfall and extract some golden nuggets of wisdom for all you entrepreneurs, investors, and startup enthusiasts out there! 🕵️♂️💡 The Meteoric Rise 🚀 Pandemic-fueled growth on steroids 💪🦠 Marketing blitz featuring Bollywood's biggest stars ⭐️📢 Acquisition spree like a startup Pac-Man 🕹️💰 Unicorn status with a jaw-dropping $22 billion valuation 🦄💎 The Catastrophic Fall 💥 Market Mayhem 🌪️ Post-pandemic demand doing a vanishing act 🎭 Venture capital well running drier than the Sahara 🏜️💸 Internal Implosion 🧨 Financial mismanagement (aka "Where did all the money go?!" 💸❓) Acquisitions turning into expensive paperweights 📚🏋️♂️ $1.2 billion loan playing hide-and-seek 🙈💰 Ethical red flags everywhere 🚩🚩🚩 Employees treated like marathon runners... without water 🏃♂️💦 Sales tactics shadier than a vampire's basement 🧛♂️🕶️ Legal hot water ⚖️🔥 Foreign exchange shenanigans under the microscope 🔍💱 BCCI knocking on the door for unpaid bills 🏏💲 The Aftershocks 🌊 Byju's stakeholders left holding the bag 😰 Employees: Job security? What job security? 💼❓ Parents and students: Educational dreams and wallets both bruised 📚💔 Investors: Watching billions evaporate like morning dew ☀️💨 Startup ecosystem feeling the tremors 🌍 Investors now eyeing startups like they're radioactive ☢️👀 Good start-ups might need to work triple-hard for that funding 💪💰 #EdtechEarthquake #StartupSurvivalLessons #EthicsOverEverything #SustainableStartupGrowth - A bubble to burst

PW (PhysicsWallah), an edtech startup, recently raised $210 million in a Series B funding round, which increased its valuation to $2.8 billion The funding round increased PW's valuation from $1.1 billion to $2.8 billion PW is one of India's leading edtech companies, and its funding round suggests investor confidence in the industry's potential. The company's co-founder, Prateek Maheshwari, says that PW's focus is on affordability and catering to the broader market, including tier II cities and beyond. Unacademy has held extended discussions with offline test preparation centre Allen Career Institute for a potential sale that could value the edtech firm at $800 million, or less than a quarter of its peak valuation of $3.4 billion, three people in the know said. On 25 January 2024, lenders began bankruptcy proceedings against BYJU'S in an effort to repay its loans. On 1 February 2024, Byju's U.S. division filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. Byju's, an Indian edtech company, is currently facing insolvency proceedings: #Education #Startup #India