This man has scammed the Indian startup ecosystem 3x. And we have allowed him to repeat often. ๐ฅ His name is Rahul Yadav. And he has now left three companies in ruin. Here's what happened (for the younger lot that may not know): 1. Housing.com (2012-2015) Backed by SoftBank, raised $120M+. The product had potential, the market was also real. But what followed was a masterclass in self-sabotage. Public fights with investors, boardroom instability. Over 600 people were laid off. The company withered because of chaos at the top. 2. Broker Network (2020-2023) ~โน90-100 Cr burnt from InfoEdge. The promise was tech-powered real estate distribution. What actually happened was another implosion. No clarity or public explanation, but once again, vendors were left unpaid. 3. Kult App (2022-Now) Pitched as a premium D2C beauty brand, raised $20M. But glam on the outside, mess inside: - โน130 Cr burnt with <โน10 Cr in revenue 15 Cr routed to his advisory firm - 15 Cr+ in unpaid salaries - โน63L GST pending - Large global brands left unpaid And this isn't hearsay, I've personally spoken to major vendors and influencer agencies left hanging. Ex employees and their careers on hold - left in the lurch with unpaid salaries and bonuses. This isn't one founder getting unlucky. It's a pattern: Raise big Burn fast Exit early Leave others to clean up. Every time it happens, the collateral damage spreads. Founders doing it right are met with more scepticism Investors tighten diligence for everyone And consumers lose trust in Indian startups altogether Startups fail, but this isn't failure. This is negligence, dressed up as ambition. Repeated. Accepted. Untouched. We've glamorized chaos long enough. It's time the ecosystem stops mistaking recklessness for vision. And, we're all the blame. If we progress, we have to ensure this stops!!!! Agreed? What can we do?
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