Moved Mountains To Pay Salaries: Byju Pens Letter to Employees

After Byju Raveendran, the Founder and CEO of Byju's, disclosed today that the edtech company has successfully credited all pending January salaries to its employees within the last two days. In a letter penned by Raveendran to the workforce, the founder informed them about the significant developments in the ongoing saga surrounding Byju's financial and leadership challenges.

Raveendran disclosed the immense effort undertaken to navigate challenging financial landscapes, ensuring that the team received their due compensation without delay. The CEO cited persistent struggles in meeting payroll obligations and highlighted the intensified challenges faced during this particular payment cycle.

TICE News has a copy of the letter sent to the employees

Dear Team Members,

Over the last two days, I have been overwhelmed by the countless messages and emails that have reignited the fire in my soul. Nothing matters to me more than your belief in my ability to deliver. I fight for you. You fight alongside me. This is the sacred relationship that has helped me weather every storm.

I know you were told that you will get your salaries by Monday. Many of you wrote to me that you wouldn’t mind waiting even more because you know what I am going through. But you did not have to wait even till Monday. I have been moving mountains for months to make payroll, and this time, the struggle was even bigger to ensure that you receive what you rightfully deserve.

Everybody has made sacrifices, everybody has grappled with decisions they never desired to make, and everybody is a little bit weary in this battle, but nobody has chosen to give up. This is because we are proud of what we have built. When we have self-respect, we have enough. 

I am not implying that these challenges have not shaken me. Entrepreneurs are supposed to be stoic and steadfast. They indeed have an irrational capacity to suffer and the ability to eventually prevail over all that pain. But they, too, laugh, cry, work, weep and bleed the same way as any other person navigating the joys and complexities of life. They, too, hope and worry about what tomorrow might bring. They, too, hug their kids when they get scared.

Two days ago, I saw my father, the most resilient person I know, breaking down after seeing the news. My father is my role model; I am a teacher because he once was; I am an entrepreneur because he always taught me to follow my dreams. That he, my rock-solid support, was moved to tears made me feel a sudden pain.

But then, your support and love came flooding through, and I realised it is our vision and mission that makes me fight against all odds. It gave me renewed strength to fight for you, fight with you. To be clear, this fight is only against a few vested interests who were trying to sabotage the company by impeding the rights issue. Nothing has galvanized our team more than their effort to destabilize our company. Hundreds  of BYJUites, including ex- BYJUites have written to me, expressing their desire to do whatever it takes to protect the dream that we all saw together.

Every entrepreneur knows that only what is lasting is worth pursuing. Money is momentary. I have never cared about it. Glory is fleeting. I have never pursued it. Happiness is temporary. I have never had time to grab it. What will last forever is the deep bond that we share as a family.

 The world reads regularly about my daily struggles. But I will someday tell you about my monthly miracles. Over time, I believe that a hidden miracle accompanies every struggle; one has to keep moving forward.

This month, you are my miracle.

During good times and bad, it comes down to people. It always comes down to people.

 Thank you for everything.

Byju Raveendran

Artificially Induced Crisis by Select Investors

Subsequent to Raveendran's communication, the senior management corroborated the delay, attributing it to what they termed an "artificially induced crisis by select investors." This assertion was made in another internal letter to employees, shedding light on the external pressures faced by the company.

"Nothing has galvanized our team more than their effort to destabilize our company," he added.

Investor Standoff and Shareholder Rights

In response to mounting challenges, Byju's released a separate statement aimed at the media. The statement emphasized the constraints imposed by the shareholder agreement, asserting that investors lack the authority to vote on changes in the CEO or management. This announcement closely followed a campaign initiated by a group of investors seeking to oust the current leadership.

The Byju's chief also shared an emotional account of the struggles he has been going through at a time when the company has been under fire since the start of 2022 for a range of issues, including a liquidity crunch, accounting irregularities, scrutiny from government bodies, alleged mis-selling of courses and mass layoffs, among others.

My Father Broke Down After Seeing The News: Raveendran

"Two days ago, I saw my father, the most resilient person I know, breaking down after seeing the news. My father is my role model; I am a teacher because he once was; I am an entrepreneur because he always taught me to follow my dreams. That he, my rock-solid support, was moved to tears made me feel a sudden pain," Raveendran said.

The ed-tech firm Byju's continues to fight lawsuits from lenders. Adding to the problem is the lenders filing an insolvency petition against the company in a US court, days after which Byju's Alpha unit declared bankruptcy.

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