Dunzo's head of finance becomes latest to exit cash-strapped startup

Dunzo also needs a head of finance since it is lining up $25-30 million to meet working capital requirements.

Dunzo’s head of finance, Sudarshan N, has departed the firm at a time when the hyperlocal delivery player is in the midst of a fundraise and is attempting to sort out its cashflow issues, people aware of the developments told Moneycontrol.

A chartered accountant (CA) by profession, Dunzo was Sudarshan N’s shortest stint and lasted for just over a year, per his LinkedIn. His earlier stint with Swiggy lasted for nearly four years and prior to joining the foodtech company, Sudarshan N worked at Ernst and Young (E&Y) for almost eight years.

While Sudarshan’s LinkedIn profile confirms his departure, Dunzo did not immediately reply to Moneycontrol’s email seeking details.

Sudarshan N’s role at Dunzo was vital because the company has delayed salaries, missed repayment deadlines and is faced with multiple lawsuits all because it failed to manage its cash flows. It also needs a head of finance since it is lining up $25-30 million to meet working capital requirements.

It was attempting to fix those issues by tying up with OneTap, a revenue financing company, to pay salaries on time.

In fact, in one of the townhall meetings, Mukund Jha, co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) of Dunzo, admitted that not hiring a chief financial officer earlier was a big mistake.

“What we could have done differently is another hour-long conversation…but one thing is for sure. When we did the last large equity round (January 2022) we should’ve got a CFO. We’re, however, fixing that and one will be joining around September or October,” Jha said in a townhall in July.

The company is yet to provide an update on the appointment of a CFO.

Sudarshan N joins a growing list of top-level departures at Dunzo. Co-founders Mukund Jha and Dalvir Suri are also set to exit the company, as reported earlier. Along with them, Akansha Kumari, head of product at Dunzo also left to head the product team at Jupiter, a fintech startup.

Dunzo has so far raised close to $500 million since 2015 from Reliance, Google, Lightrock, Lightbox, Blume Ventures and several others. Reliance is the largest shareholder with a 25.8 percent stake in the company, and Google was the second-largest with around 19 percent ownership in Dunzo, according to Tracxn, a private markets data provider.

Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.