'We didn't make jackshit': Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal says Indian tech founders copy, don't innovate

Unacademy founder Gaurav Munjal lamented on the lack of innovation among Indian tech founders. At an event in Mumbai, Munjal said there is zero innovation, "they are only copying everything from the US", underscoring a common  narrative that Indian startups are simply replicating ideas from the West. 

"You can't tell me one single technology that we made. We didn't make jackshit," he said at TechSparks 2024. 

Munjal, known for his no-nonsense approach, also spoke about the increased scrutiny over edtech firms, especially with the Byju's saga unravelling.

'We all knew they were misselling," Munjal said stopping short of taking any names. He, however, was hopeful of the edtech sector, adding that it still held immense value despite the blips. 

On his view as to why some startup founders are  belligerent, Munjal said they suffered from 'god complex'. Munjal said many times they don't heed to investor red flags, forcing them to pull the trigger. 

 “A lot of the time, the blame falls on investors... I’ve spoken to some of those investors, and they have been advising their founders for two to three years at times. Sometimes founders don't listen, and the only option left is to dismiss the founder.” 

“Sometimes people get greedy… have this God complex, that they can do anything...acquire everyone and everything,” he added. To a question if the same can be said of investors and what should founders do to navigate a stubborn investing landscape: "Watch YouTube videos. There is a Sam Altman video on how to handle founders," he said, adding that the problem is that Indian founders don't want to invest in learning. 

Munjal said recently said the firm’s cash burn is significantly down, revenues grew in 2022 when most other edtech firms saw decline, and claimed it’s only ‘a matter of time’ before Unacademy becomes number one edtech company in India.

He expressed optimism that some of its new businesses, specially offline tuition centres, will show a ‘a lot of growth’ this year. He didn't rule out IPO plans. In January, the company had conducted a fresh round of layoffs at its upskilling platform Relevel, which is moving away from education business to focus on products around exam tests.