Even with ₹2,800 crore in bank, we are not efficient at all: Unacademy’s Gaurav Munjal

• Edtech giant Unacademy would be shutting down its global test preparation business.
• Unacademy’s founders and top management will take pay cuts in order to accelerate its path to profitability.
• The company plans to do so as it is looking to go for an IPO in the next two years.

Edtech giant Unacademy would be shutting down its global test preparation business as it is not able to fund the right product market fit, the company’s founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal reportedly told employees on Monday, July 11.

Munjal — in an internal note to employees — highlighted that Unacademy’s founders and top management will take pay cuts in order to accelerate its path to profitability and reduce cash burn. The company plans to do so as it is looking to go for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next two years.

Must turn profitable, ASAP

“We have to do an IPO in the next two years. And, we have (to) turn cash flow positive. For that, we must embrace frugality as a core value,” Munjal added in his latest note, as per a report by Economic Times.

“Even though we have more than ₹2,800 crore in the bank (as of this morning), we are not efficient at all. We spend crores on travel for employees and educators. Sometimes it's needed, sometimes it's not. There are a lot of unnecessary expenses that we do. We must cut all these expenses. We have a strong core business. We must turn profitable ASAP,” Munjal said.

Gaurav Munjal had written a similar note to Unacademy employees back in May, raising alarms around a funding winter that could last another 12-24 months. He asked the employees to focus on organic growth channels, work under constraints and focus on profitability at all costs.

He noted that the company must survive the winter and keep profitability and free cash flow as the next goal. He had also asked them to ensure that the company is profitable across every test prep category in the three months.

Founded in 2015 by Roman Saini, Hemesh Singh and Gaurav Munjal, Unacademy is a test prep startup. The company launched offline Unacademy Centers this month to offer NEET UG, IIT JEE and foundation courses for IX to XII grade students.

It also intends to open its first Unacademy center next month in the country’s coaching class hub Kota, Rajasthan. In May, Munjal asked the employees to ensure that the Unacademy Centers should turn profitable in FY23.

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