Our focus has changed, no IPL from next year: Unacademy Co-Founder Gaurav Munjal

Unacademy has decided to skip IPL from next year. Gaurav Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO of Unacademy shared the same on his Twitter account on the evening of July 11. 

Munjal wrote, “The last three years with IPL were amazing. Our brand went to another level. I recommend all upcoming brands partner with IPL. Our focus has changed. Hence the decision to not do IPL next year.”

No IPL from next year.

— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) July 11, 2022

This statement by Munjal came right after when his internal mail to the Unacademy employees started making rounds on the internet. In the mail, he had written, “Even though we have more than Rs 2,800 crore in the bank (as of this morning), we are not efficient at all. We spend crores on travel for employees and educators. Sometimes it’s needed, sometimes it’s not. There are a lot of unnecessary expenses that we do. We must cut all these expenses. We have a strong core business. We must turn profitable asap.”

He further wrote, “We will be shutting down certain businesses that have failed to find the product-market fit (PMF) like the Global Test Prep. We have to do an initial public offering (IPO) in the next two years. And, we have (to) turn cash flow positive. For that, we must embrace frugality as a core value.”

The brand became the official sponsor of IPL in 2020 and was slated to spend over Rs 120-130 crore over the next three years. 

When in April, the news of Unacademy sacking over 600 employees came to the fore, the brand was criticised for spending heftily on IPL advertising on one hand and not being able to retain employees on the other. 

Come May, Munjal sent a mail to his employees where he wrote that to ensure profitability, the brand has reduced its marketing budget. “We have significantly reduced our Brand Marketing Budget. We will focus on organic growth channels instead,” stated Munjal.

He added that funding will dry up for “at least 12-18 months. Some people are predicting that this might last 24 months. We must adapt. This is a test for all of us. We must learn to work under constraints. We must focus on profitability at all costs.”

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