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Byju Raveendran, founder of beleaguered edtech giant BYJU’S, acknowledged that the company made “some business mistakes” when it expanded “too fast” to 21 countries due to the ‘mandate’ from the world-class investors.

“When we tried expanding from India to the whole world, We made some business mistakes. Maybe we could have taken it a little bit slowly. We were growing a little too soon, too fast. We went from India to 21 new countries. But if you ask me, in that context of 2019 to 2021, the COVID era, We have 160 investors, world-class investors, and equity investors. All of them – this was the mandate grow, grow, grow and change the way kids learn,” Mr Raveendran told ANI.

Founder of once the most valuable edtech in the country, with about USD 22 billion valuation in 2022, also accepted that due to “external macro reasons” such as the Russia-Ukraine war, major investments promised by the investors dried up, impacting the expansion and acquisition plans.

“We were raising money for growth at that time. But when the world changed when interest rates went up, when Fed increased the interest rate and, almost simultaneously, the big war started, Russia and Ukraine, suddenly the liquidity dried up. 700 million of committed capital; signed committed capital didn’t turn up,” he added.

He asserted that the edtech company was at the time planning its acquisition plans and growth, assuming that they would get the promised funds. Mr Raveendran further admitted that the edtech has been struggling for liquidity for almost three years now.

“So we were planning all these acquisitions and growth, assuming that all this money is coming. In fact, this was signed documents. There was no litigation. We didn’t go and litigate those investors who backed out because of these external macro reasons. And from then onwards, and this is early 2022, and it’s almost now three years, we have been struggling for liquidity. But fortunately, we had enough liquidity, which we made, and I have no regrets in terms of putting all that money back,” he said.

Launched in 2015, the edtech catered to students from kindergarten to class 12. The company achieved the ‘Unicorn” status, valued over USD 1 billion by 2019 and then touching the USD 22 billion valuation mark in 2022.

In June 2024, Prosus, a firm which invests in tech-based companies, slashed BYJU’s valuation by 75 per cent.

Wholesale price inflation dropped to 0.85 per cent in April as prices of food articles, manufactured products, and fuel eased, government data showed on Wednesday.

WPI-based inflation was 2.05 per cent in March. It was 1.19 per cent in April last year. ” Positive rate of inflation in April, 2025 is primarily due to an increase in prices of manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products, manufacture of other transport equipment and manufacture of machinery and equipment, etc,” the industry ministry said in a statement.

As per the WPI (Wholesale price index ) data, food articles saw a deflation of 0.86 per cent in April from an inflation of 1.57 per cent in March, with vegetables seeing a sharp drop. Deflation in vegetables was 18.26 per cent during April compared to deflation of 15.88 per cent in March. In onion, inflation eased to 0.20 per cent in April, as against 26.65 per cent in March.

Manufactured products, however, saw inflation at 2.62 per cent in April, compared to 3.07 per cent in March.

Fuel and power too saw a deflation of 2.18 per cent in April, compared to 0.20 per cent in March.

The RBI mainly takes into account retail inflation while formulating monetary policy. Data released on Tuesday showed, retail inflation eased to 3.16 per cent in April mainly due subdued prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich items. This is the lowest level of inflation since July 2019.

Easing of inflation would create enough room for the Reserve Bank to go in for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.

In April, the RBI cut the benchmark policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent. This is the second cut during the year to stimulate the economy, facing the threat of US reciprocal tariffs. The RBI sees retail inflation averaging 4 per cent in the current fiscal from the previous estimate of 4.2 per cent.

Siddharth Shankar, an Indian-origin entrepreneur who sold his business for $500 million, recently appeared on a podcast and shared his remarkable journey. The entrepreneur, based in London, is known for founding and leading Tails Trading, a company that grew into one of the world’s largest brand portfolio companies. Under his leadership, Tails Trading achieved a significant milestone with a $500 million exit for its consumer brand arm in 2024. Mr Shankar garnered attention not only for his business success but also for his candid discussions about the personal challenges that followed, including an existential crisis after the sale.

In a candid episode of the Trending Diary podcast, Mr Shankar first opened up about his journey from humble beginnings to building a $500 million empire without external investment or debt. He discussed how his formative years, cultural shifts, and mindset shaped him into the entrepreneur he is today, offering insights on bootstrapping, resilience, and sustainable growth. He also talked about the experience of moving to the UK, building a business from scratch and overcoming challenges. 

Mr Shankar revealed that he found the transition tough after selling his company, mainly because he missed having a daily routine. After 15 years of being constantly engaged, he struggled with the sudden lack of purpose, joking about the limits of leisure activities like PlayStation and golf. He found it hard to switch off from his entrepreneurial mindset.

“How much PlayStation can one play? How much golf can I play? What more can I do? It’s not that easy to switch off,” he explained.

Following the sale of his company, Mr Shankar received a flood of congratulatory messages, but beneath the surface-level happiness, he felt a sense of discontent. Despite the external validation, he struggled with the sudden lack of purpose and meaning in his life.

“I sold the business because I wanted the best for the business, not for myself,” Mr Shankar said. 

About Siddharth Shankar

Siddharth Shankar, an Indian-origin entrepreneur, launched his first business while studying computer science engineering. In 2016, he pursued an MBA at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, gaining a global perspective under mentors like Phillip Taylor. In 2017, he co-founded Tails Trading to connect British brands with Asian markets, focusing on empowering small businesses. After his co-founder left in 2019, Mr Shankar took full ownership, scaling Tails into the 14th largest brand portfolio company worldwide, managing 285+ consumer brands and serving 150,000+ customers across retail, HORECA, wholesale, and convenience stores. 

During COVID-19, he pivoted to local UK markets, partnering with supermarkets to ensure resilience and fuel future expansion. In 2024, he made a bold decision and sold Tails Trading’s consumer brand arm for over $500 million, a strategic move to leverage specialised expertise for the company’s next phase. 

The domestic benchmark indices opened lower on Friday amid mixed global cues as selling was seen in the IT, financial services and pharma sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.29 am, Sensex was trading 231.64 points or 0.28 per cent down at 82,299.10, while the Nifty declined 49,95 point or 0.20 per cent at 25,012.15.

Nifty Bank was down 52.40 points or 0.09 per cent at 55,303.20. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 56,700.05 after rising 169.20 points or 0.30 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,318.40 after climbing 78.45 points or 0.46 per cent.

According to analysts, on the technical front, Nifty formed a strong bullish candle on the daily chart, breaking out of an inside bar pattern and closing above the crucial 25,000 level.

“The index witnessed an intraday recovery of nearly 200 points, reflecting sustained bullish momentum. Immediate support is placed at 24,850-24,700, while resistance is seen at 25,100 and 25,235. A decisive breakout above the 25,235 level could drive the index higher toward the 25,500-25,743 zone,” said Hardik Matalia from Choice Broking.

Traders are advised to adopt a “buy on dips” strategy with strict risk management and avoid taking large overnight positions due to ongoing global uncertainties, he added.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Infosys, HCL Tech and M&M were the top losers. Whereas, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki and Axis Bank were the top gainers.

In the Asian markets, China, Hong Kong and Japan were trading in red, whereas, Bangkok, Jakarta and Seoul were trading in green.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US closed at 42,322.75, up 271.69 points, or 0.65 per cent. The S&P 500 ended with a gain of 24.35 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 5,916.93 and the Nasdaq closed at 19,112.32, down 34.49 points, or 0.18 per cent.

The April economic data presents an interesting mix of signals about the US economy. The Producer Price Index (PPI) showed a surprising decrease of 0.5 per cent, which was significantly different from economists’ expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase. This unexpected drop in producer prices suggests that inflationary pressures might be easing at the wholesale level, said experts.

“Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday discussed the Fed’s framework review, a twice-a-decade look at the central bank’s monetary-policy strategy. He said the Fed was in the process of making adjustments to account for meaningful changes in the outlook for inflation and interest rates after the 2020 pandemic,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 5,392.94 crore on May 15, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,668.47 crore.

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