I've worked with the CEO/COO at Unacademy. AMA.
Though in all probability, what you've already heard is true.
JabsJabs99
Stealth
a year ago
What was the best moment and the worst?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Best moments were early on when we still had fancy lunches at work.
Worst moments were working till 7am on Monday mornings after working through the weekend to meet ridiculous deadlines.
If lunches were the best thing or your entire career in a firm, says a lot about the firm. Good that you moved on.
See more comments
Indusplateau
Stealth
a year ago
When profitable?
Eternal1
Stealth
a year ago
Gaurav apni asli ID se aao
Eternal1
Stealth
a year ago
If he can go for hour long podcasts then definitely can post a few comments, multi-Tasker he is
See more comments
MetalMan20
Stealth
a year ago
What's your take on the COO, and working with him ?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Not too many good things to say here. Has the company on a leash. Listens to zero inputs and follows through whatever comes down from the CEO. Has been known to fire people at a whim. If you're working with him, it's like you're asked to not have opinions on anything. Treats everyone like garbage.
I remember Gaurav Munjal once for a role at Unacademy and he gave me a strong Lala vibe. I felt he will run the company like lala ki dukan. And it felt like Roman is there to bring them free publicity and connects of IAS officer. Is that true?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Roman is definitely the face and the brand appeal. I didn't work with him much, but I've heard he's checked out. The CEO has no regard for anybody, anything, or any time lines. He's surrounded by a bunch of insufferable YesMen/Women who live in fear of opposing him. Everyone is expendable.
More of a general edtech question but how do they not shit themselves with the massive losses and the fact that they're not really adding any value to people's lives with scammy courses designed so poorly that there's almost no practical application?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Inflated egos I guess. Plus there's not much in the way of actually checking the quality of their output. Direction from the CEO changes twice a month so there's never any time to make things of decent quality
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Yes. We were all forced to
ProteinPancakes
Stealth
a year ago
This ObeseBulk81 fellow has made it his mission to defend Uncademy whenever possible it’s almost as if they’re part of HR 🤣
See more comments
donna
Stealth
a year ago
How is Gaurav as a CEO? I read on morning context that he has a very aggressive personality. Employees are fearful of him.
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Everything you've read is true and probably worse. Company direction changes every 2 weeks. Reports are thrown at people. It's not going to change since there's no opposition to any of his strategies.
Clarky
Stealth
a year ago
Grapevine / gossip : it’s one of the company which has an executive recruiter that works very closely with the founders. When they want to get someone out who they are not able find reasons to fire, they get this exec recruiter to place them in other startups. It is a whole different story that at least 4 other new startups did fall pray to this ploy and hired these folks but cut to 3 months - regretted the hiring decisions.
People who they are not able to fire are the erstwhile founder entourage who are not competent at all but stayed bcos of being e yes-people.
Eternal1
Stealth
a year ago
Munjal sounds so pretentious, so full of himself .. more of a my way or highway kind of a guy. Are all these assumptions true in reality ?
Bleh_
Stealth
a year ago
As true as it can get.
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
I would say there isn't a culture. It's 100% operations. Everyone runs behind trying to bring life to ideas thrown randomly by the CEO and enforced by the COO. If you have an opinion, you're shot down or fired. If you're not available at 3am on a weeknight, you're fired.
Leadership has massive inflated egos.
Scrooge_McDuck
Stealth
a year ago
Do you think they will survive or go down in flames along with Byjus? And if they will survive, then how? On the back of Akash?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
I think they'll survive because the size of their issues aren't as big as Byjus, plus the major cost centre isn't physical selling, so there isn't a gigantic sales force to sacrifice. They'll focus on offline now for the time being.
Relevel, Nextlevel, Graphy etc are crumbling
Noctus
Stealth
a year ago
Will unacademy survive 2023
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Offline Centers are basically tuition centres. The workforce has been slashed by 75% since 2022. I think they'll survive but without the edtech. They haven't reached Byjus level of inflation just yet.
BitterPill
Stealth
a year ago
I think the technology bit of the business is pretty much dead in the edtech space. Can they reach an IPO purely with their offline business? Also running a profitable brick and mortar business requires different skills. Do they have the skills required to run an offline business successfully? I think it is a sinking ship. Why are the employees not actively looking for alternative opportunities?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
I don't think it's an exxaggaretion to say that the majority of the workforce is looking for opportunities outside.
They do not have the capabilities to run offline stores. They hired exceptional talent in leadership and asked them to do things that had nothing to do with their expertise. I don't think an IPO for a coaching centre is valuable. I'd be surprised if their current valuation isn't slashed by 60-70%.
What is your take on the VP of Design? Is all the gyaan on Twitter translated at work?
It’s all true. He plays politics at leadership level without letting any blame come to him by being aggressive but he has mentored his team very well and hired excellent folks. His small team delivers super stuff at blazing speed so he protects them too. Only a couple designers were laid off amid the 200+ layoff in tech team. He’s the only competent leader in their tech team right now.
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Yes. If you have a difference of opinion, you're asked to leave.
I'm trying to contact Gaurav to pitch our Startup. What do you think are the chances ?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
He's a narcissist who believes his name as an investor will make or break startups. Go for it.
Ugnrga748
Stealth
a year ago
How real is the Relevel program? I have heard that it is made tough on purpose so that, they can sell expensive courses after the test. How much of is it true?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
I can't comment on the agenda behind courses, but the product team doesn't believe in it. The entire offering was built on an idea that the CEO thought was cool, not something that they could demonstrate a market for
chackochan
Student
a year ago
relevel isn't tugh imo
See more comments
PastaChef
Stealth
a year ago
I've interacted with Roman a couple of times before he joined Unacademy, when he had just joined Civil Services.
I found him to be insufferable, obnoxious and too full of himself. Is he still the same at Unacademy?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Same and more.
AshK07
Stealth
a year ago
is the ceo exactly like the person mentioned on the article in the ken ? like the incidents about meeting another startup founded at a hotel with two bodyguards etc
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
Yes. It's all accurate.
1. At what stage did you join the company and how long did you work there?
2. Did you have an inkling of the issues since the very beginning (like the kind of people the CEO/COO are) or is it something you only realise now in hindsight?
3. Do you think anything could've been done to prevent the situation they are in now?
JFC
Stealth
a year ago
I worked for 18 months. I joined right before the edtech funding collapse. From the second month is when I'd say there were red flags.
I wasn't prepared for how random everything is there, or how scared people were. Unlike other toxic startups, most of the company were good, motivated and smart people who were all united in awe at just how stupid the CXO level was. Everyone kept up with ridiculous demands, without daring to push back.
There was a massive influx of OYO leadership that drove things to the ground. Zero time was spent on trying to be strategic, all of the time went in coordinating with leadership to decide which font size the CEO wanted his reports in.
If the CEO had left some of the decision making to more capable people, and wasted less time involving 100+ people to make reports that didn't go anywhere on a daily basis, I think there would have been some decent innovation.
Recently watched his podcast with zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath and felt the same. Is this Gaurav guy any good according to you?
Discover More
Curated from across
