In a candid interview with ANI, BYJU’S founder Byju Raveendran addressed the much-talked-about allegations of toxic work culture within the edtech giant. He acknowledged past mistakes but downplayed the scale, claiming that only a small fraction of aggressive sales practices were exaggerated on social media. “Even 1% of 15,000 salespeople can create noise,” he said, adding that measures have since been put in place to fix those early missteps.

Once valued at a staggering $22 billion, BYJU’S now finds itself in crisis. The founder recently declared the company’s valuation at zero, citing massive investor pullouts and financial struggles. Despite the collapse, Raveendran isn’t backing down. He spoke about the emotional toll of the downfall but expressed a strong resolve to bounce back, stating, “I’m not giving up. This will lead to post-traumatic growth.”

Raveendran also admitted that raising a $1.2 billion term loan was a miscalculation, especially when equity options were available. “We shouldn’t have taken it,” he confessed.In spite of all setbacks, Raveendran remains hopeful and mission-driven. He vows to rebuild what he started, in whatever shape or form it takes-calling the fall “a blessing in disguise.”