Gaurav Munjal's $400 T-shirt Sparks Controversy, As He Announces For No-appraisal News
"2024, if not great, was above average. But we did not hit our growth goals!"
Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal faced a storm of criticism online after announcing no appraisals for employees during a virtual town hall, while wearing a USD 400 Burberry T-shirt. Social media users were quick to point out the irony, with some suggesting Munjal should take a pay cut himself.
During the meeting, Munjal attributed Unacademy's failure to meet growth targets to market challenges, headwinds, and declining revenue from offline centers. "I think 2023 was an average year for us. But 2024, if not great, was above average. But we did not hit our growth goals. The good part is that the burn is extremely low now, and we have a huge runway. And I kept saying that we don't have a survival risk," he said in a video that went viral.
Munjal explained, "It's been tough, and that's why I have one bad news: we won't be able to do any appraisals this year. I know I said we would two or three weeks ago, but we realized we made a mistake."
Critics on social media were divided. While some focused on Munjal's attire, others defended his actions. One comment read, "These CEOs won't lower their own standard of living but stop appraisals for the people running their businesses." Another user added, "Just take a pay cut! That money could have been used for employee appraisals."
However, there were voices of support as well, arguing that sensational headlines focusing on Munjal’s apparel rather than his contributions reflect poorly on media. "Had Gaurav's wardrobe comprised of t-shirts worth USD 4 versus USD 400, could this situation have been avoided? Would the USD 394 per t-shirt saved have materially impacted the profitability or growth of Unacademy positively?" one user questioned.
Others emphasised the personal sacrifices and challenges faced by founders, noting that decisions like these are never made lightly and often come with a heavy heart. "This is a Founding team who have on several occasions slashed their own compensations, taken pay cuts, aligned their incentives to the performance of the company, and toiled towards the betterment of access to education in the country."
Ben Horowitz's book, "The Hard Thing About Hard Things," was cited to underline the emotional rollercoaster founders experience. Founders endure tremendous personal sacrifices, often at the cost of personal relationships, physical health, and mental well-being.
Unacademy, like many edtech businesses, is facing existential challenges. Despite this, the company has created thousands of jobs and provided affordable, high-quality education to millions of students.
