Byju's growth cautionary tale for young entrepreneurs: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar's statement comes at a time when some of the most highly valued startups have come under fire for a variety of concerns

Union Minister of State (MoS) for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that edtech firm Byju's tried to grow too fast, undermining corporate discipline and that young entrepreneurs should learn from such mistakes,

"It was a company that tried to grow too fast, without creating the rigour and corporate discipline that a growth company like that should have at a time when money was flowing and equity was cheap. Eventually, that cycle always turns," Chandrasekhar said.

"So if you are not smart at that time and don't learn from those who came before you, you will make mistakes and I think, Byju's is that mistake," he added.

 

Chandrasekhar was speaking at the Mumbai Tech Week organised by Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai, on Monday.

The union minister's statement comes at a time when some of the most highly valued startups, including Byju's, Paytm, Ola, and Dream11, have come under fire for a variety of concerns, casting a pall over India's technology and startup ecosystem.

Speaking about the government's stance on the gaming sector, Chandrasekhar said that it is an important segment of the economy that requires encouragement and support.

"I'm a big bullish supporter of the gaming sector. It is just so mixed up in terms of perception with all the other bad actors in that segment of real money, which are betting and money laundering. So we are progressively going down a road of creating a framework to allow safe infrastructure and permissible gaming. I would request entrepreneurs to keep faith," he said.

The minister further stated that companies like Ola that are building a new industry are expected to counter challenges and pushback.

"All four examples that were mentioned are extremely human sorts of problems," he said, adding that entrepreneurs make mistakes, and it is a natural course of building a business.

"There is a thing about discipline that some people instinctively get, and some people need to take a couple of losses to understand. These issues should not necessarily be understood as something that defines entrepreneurship," Chandrasekhar added.

The minister said that there will always be people who are smart and tend to avoid mistakes along with those who make mistakes.