[Max5414]

I was a Byju's salesman. I was with them for 3 months and let me tell you this CEO knew how he was making sales was unethical and still maintained a blind eye towards it. From training we were taught to make sales, and sales by hook or crook was the only goal. Unrealistic targets and call time used to be given by sales manager on weekly and daily basis and if you couldn't complete it means you were marked absent even though if you have worked that day.

We were asked to secure appointments of parents by saying that thier child has secured scholarship from Byju's and we were being strictly told not to come out of the house without making sales.

I have been to houses of many children and 99% of them were poor and were struggling to meet the ends. They used to send thier children to school by sacrificing one time meal for the fees.

My moral compass didn't allow me to scam them. I didn't make a single sale in 3 months and went through hell from my manager, was transferred 3 times to different cities and ultimately quit. I was newly married and was going through a very tough time and needed the job and money so I endured it for 3 months.

Karma will catch up to them.

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by Max5414

My moral compass didn't allow me to scam them. I didn't make a single sale in 3 months and went through hell from my manager, was transferred 3 times to different cities and ultimately quit. I was newly married and was going through a very tough time and needed the job and money so I endured it for 3 months.

Karma will catch up to them.

Hope you are in a better place now. Thank you for sharing.

Sales is tough, but scummy sales stinks and leaves one pondering after scamming someone.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Max5414

My moral compass didn't allow me to scam them. I didn't make a single sale in 3 months and went through hell from my manager, was transferred 3 times to different cities and ultimately quit. I was newly married and was going through a very tough time and needed the job and money so I endured it for 3 months.

It is not easy to do the right thing in such circumstances. No one would judge you even if you had put your own family's priorities ahead of those you were selling to.

The fact that you still did the right thing is truly something to be proud of.

[NiInJa]

My brother-in-law's kids were targeted by these Bjyu robbers during the Covid wave, he was almost going to enroll both his kids into their WhitehatJr scheme, but my wife gave him an earful and stopped him from doing it. Best move ever. He told us how WhiteHatJr guys prepared a proper plan for the kids and painted a rosy picture and how they would miss out on some great opportunities if he did not enroll.

What was rather odd, was that Byjus Sales rep never called us, despite us having a kid ready to go to school back then, and I and my wife were ready to face these people if they ever called. Maybe we lived in a big city (and are relatively well informed) and my B-I-L was in a small town in North India. They had their targets marked.

My wife worked in a bank's telemarketing division selling credit cards and loans back in the day to repay her education loan waiting to get a proper job. She has been on the other side of the business as well, so yes, she never has any empathy towards callers selling loans, credit cards even if they earn a pittance and are under immense pressure to generate sales. It is plain business, you call a person, offer them the bank's services with some standout features, they don't answer or are rude, you move on to the next number, no feelings associated, after all, you are the one disturbing them. But, when sales rep start fiddling with emotions of people, that too on sensitive topics of their own kids' upbringing, things become personal.

The way they tried to sell their products, I really wished the founder would get the stick this time, as we have seen with other such stories, the founders have escaped with lot of money in their pockets while the employees have suffered. And boy, has karma done its job!

I am curious to know what next is in store for Byju's. Will the founder be back in jam packed CAT sessions?

[androdev]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

...
And boy, has karma done its job!

I am curious to know what next is in store for Byju's. Will the founder be back in jam packed CAT sessions?

All key stakeholders know they are gambling - their hope has always been to find an exit like an IPO before the ship sinks. While the show is on, everyone who has access will siphon money out of the system (not always legally) to ensure they come out good in case the ship sinks, which they know to be the more likely scenario. So karma doesn't catch up - they are all filthy rich - will become celebrity investors or founders or fund managers in their next stint.

Except for the initial business model, none of what's going on is the founder's show. Very rarely a first time founder conjures up a business growth of multi billion dollars - it's the nifty hand work of the capital which likes to remain anonymous. Capital is the metaphorical devil that buys souls of the founders - some are too happy to sell, some get trapped unknowingly with no way out.

[ValarMorghulis]

Ola Electric looking to raise Rs 5,800 cr via IPO, to file DRHP by Dec 20: Report

Ola Electric is looking to list at a valuation of $7-8 billion by early 2024

Link

Ola which made a profit of $ 1 million in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) (first time), is looking for a valuation of $7-8 billion!

Meanwhile, TVS had a net income of $91 million in FY22 and a market cap of $11 billion.
Bajaj had a net income of $700 million in FY22 and a market cap of $21 billion.


Are OLA VCs looking to dump their shares on to retail investors?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by androdev

Capital is the metaphorical devil that buys souls of the founders - some are too happy to sell, some get trapped unknowingly with no way out.

This is a dark secret well-known in the startup world. Only way to avoid it is to stay bootstrapped. Then nobody will know you unless you really become big like Zoho or Zerodha.

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by Samurai

This is a dark secret well-known in the startup world. Only way to avoid it is to stay bootstrapped. Then nobody will know you unless you really become big like Zoho or Zerodha.

Yeah, but then you would be deliberately kept out of the "celebrity" circles, where the so called unicorns and would be unicorns are being worshipped.

[Kams_cars]

Originally Posted by Max5414

I have been to houses of many children and 99% of them were poor and were struggling to meet the ends. They used to send thier children to school by sacrificing one time meal for the fees.

My moral compass didn't allow me to scam them . I didn't make a single sale in 3 months and went through hell from my manager, was transferred 3 times to different cities and ultimately quit. I was newly married and was going through a very tough time and needed the job and money so I endured it for 3 months.

One of my younger cousin who was fresh out of college had joined Byju's and he too had the same feedback about the management and the target audience.
The target audience is generally those daily wagers, small vendors and they are told to promise them to turn their kids future into a fancy IIT campus hire with lakhs(or crores) and sell the packages.

Eventually, even my cousin gave up and resigned, there is no end to companies like Byju's.

[silverstreakcbe]

Originally Posted by Max5414

I was a Byju's salesman. I was with them for 3 months and let me tell you this CEO knew how he was making sales was unethical and still maintained blind eye towards it. From training we were taught to make sales and sales by hook or crook was the only goal. Unrealistic targets and call time used to be given by sales manager on weekly and daily basis and if you couldn't complete it means you were marked absent even though if you have worked that day.

My experience as a salesman was in a travel and tourism company called Sterling resorts. Just after college, i could not get any suitable job for my education and had to fall for the job coming my way. Little did i know i had to play with people's emotions and making them believe that their hard earned money was being given back in one way or other.

One of my jobs' primary objective is to convert existing investors (in Sterling Tree Magnum) to Timeshare resort booking. The target was to look for middle class people who had invested in 5-10 trees (approximately 10k to 20K) expecting a good returns. Since the company went bust with their mis-planning, the investors were left cheated. Person like me had to convert those certificates to Resort with some additional costs (5K-10K) depending on amount they had invested. The baseline here is hook or crook get the money by committing something or other. Many a times, i was abused, threatened by the poor customers who already felt cheated. I don't blame them for they did not know anything except what they believed in.

Eventually, i could not take it any longer on lying to people and profiting from their trust. So, i quit my job. Then i was offered to be transferred to another location but with selling a different product, which i politely denied as i lost the belief that i was not doing an ethical job.

[MaddyCrew]

Originally Posted by androdev

Except for the initial business model, none of what's going on is the founder's show. Very rarely a first time founder conjures up a business growth of multi billion dollars - it's the nifty hand work of the capital which likes to remain anonymous. Capital is the metaphorical devil that buys souls of the founders - some are too happy to sell, some get trapped unknowingly with no way out.

Couldn't have said it better. This is a key part of the story the mango man in us seems to miss so easliy.

[Max5414]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Hope you are in a better place now. Thank you for sharing.

Sales is tough, but scummy sales stinks and leaves one pondering after scamming someone.

Thank you! I am doing well now.

Engaging in scummy or unethical sales practices can have negative consequences both for the individual involved and for the broader reputation of the sales profession.

Scamming someone not only harms the person being scammed but also damages trust in the business community. Trust is a crucial element in any successful business relationship, and ethical behavior is key to establishing and maintaining that trust.

[W.A.G.7]

Honestly, Byju's scam is turning out to be much more than expected. Many months ago, my father had got some information via phone and was about to fall for the trap of these tuitions and coaching. The salesmen did a good job of convincing my father to enrol my son for some classes. Ultimately, my wife and I put our foot down and did not enrol my son in any of their classes. My father was pretty convinced though, at that point. Today, his opinion has changed 180 degrees about this company. In hindsight, I think it was the wisest decision that we ever took. I just wish Byju's pays heavily for the damage they have done to all these unsuspecting parents and students; just to fill in their coffers. To think of it, once upon a time, they had Shah Rukh Khan advertising for them!

[Burgman_tales]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

Meanwhile, TVS had a net income of $91 million in FY22 and a market cap of $11 billion.
Bajaj had a net income of $700 million in FY22 and a market cap of $21 billion.

By this logic even TVS is overvalued compared to Bajaj

Jokes aside, I always thought Bajaj and TVS would be similar sized companies, the difference seems humongous

[clementj]

Originally Posted by Samurai

This is a dark secret well-known in the startup world. Only way to avoid it is to stay bootstrapped.

This isn't a dark secret but very well known. Every start up founder knows that he or she has to make that decision whether to build a business that delivers value ethically or pitch stratospheric, world dominating growth in a dogs lifetime which one can never hope to pursue without exploitation.

VCs get in expecting to make big exits in short timeframes ~ 15-16x in 4-5 years. While some firms tout values in their investment principles, the fundamental principle is multiply the money.

Once they jump in, the founders have little choice with ethics or values. The only constraint is to play within the boundaries of what is considered legal and illegal, do what it takes and get to the target and then raise the next round, and the next round until some see the finish line and dump the burden on gullible retail investors.

Byjus is no different in its journey. But the fact that they went as far as making families sacrifice a meal a day to put money into investors pockets is a step too far.