Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal asks employees to prepare for a funding winter that could last 24 months

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Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal asks employees to prepare for a funding winter that could last 24 months
Roman Saini, Hemesh Singh and Gaurav Munjal, founders of UnacademyUnacademy
  • "Winter is here. We must change our ways. We will focus on organic growth channels instead," Gaurav Munjal said.
  • Munjal has asked employees to ensure that the company is profitable across every test prep category in the next three months.
  • Unacademy announced its foray into the offline learning space with the launch of its upcoming Unacademy Centers.
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The slowdown in funding could last at least for another 12-24 months, the founder and CEO of edtech company Unacademy’s Gaurav Munjal wrote in an email to his employees.

"We are looking at a time where funding will dry up at least for 12-18 months. Some people are predicting that this [funding winter] might last 24 months. We must adapt,” Munjal said.

Munjal asked his employees to focus on organic growth channels. He emphasized that they must learn to work under constraints and focus on profitability at all costs.

“This is a test for all of us. We must survive the winter. We have a different goal this time. The goal is profitability. The goal is to generate free cash flows,” he added.

Munjal also asked them to ensure that the company is profitable across every test prep category in the three months.

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The development was first reported by Economic Times. Business Insider has reached out to Unacademy seeking more details.

Zoom calls versus travel



Last month, Unacademy laid off 600 employees. It had then said that it was an attempt to lead the company towards profitability by the end of this year.

Munjal, in latest email to the employees, noted that the company had already removed or is in the process of removing incentives for educators that are not linked to revenue. "Travel only if it is absolutely needed. Meetings that save travel cost and that can happen on Zoom should happen on Zoom," he noted.

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.

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Munjal asked the employees to ensure that the Unacademy Centers should turn profitable in FY23.

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