Byju's rapid growth a cautionary tale for young entrepreneurs: MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Draft AI regulation framework to be released by July: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Edtech firm Byju’s tried to grow too fast undermining corporate discipline and young entrepreneurs should learn from such mistakes, according to Union Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“It was a company that tried to grow too fast, without creating the rigour and corporate discipline that a growth company like that should have at a time when money was flowing and equity was cheap… Eventually, that cycle always turns,” Chandrasekhar said at the Mumbai Tech Week organised by Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai, on February 19.

“So if you are not smart at that time and don’t learn from those who came before you, you will make mistakes and I think, Byju’s is that mistake,” he added.

This comes at a time when some of the most highly valued startups, including Byju's, Paytm, Ola, and Dream11, have come under fire for a range of issues, casting a shadow on India’s technology and startup ecosystem.

When asked about the government’s stance on the gaming sector, Chandrasekhar said that it is a crucial segment of the economy that requires encouragement and support.

“I’m a big bullish supporter of the gaming sector. It is just so mixed up in terms of perception with all the other bad actors in that segment of real money, which are betting and money laundering. So we are progressively going down a road of creating a framework to allow safe infrastructure and permissible gaming. I would request entrepreneurs to keep faith,” he said.

The minister also added that companies like Ola that are building in a new industry are expected to counter challenges and pushback.

“All four examples that were mentioned are extremely human sorts of problems,” he said. The minister added that entrepreneurs make mistakes and it is a natural course of building a business.

“There is a thing about discipline that some people instinctively get and some people need to take a couple of losses to understand. These issues should not necessarily be understood as something that defines entrepreneurship,” Chandrasekhar added.

The minister said that there will always be people who will be smart and tend to avoid mistakes along with those who make the mistakes.