Unacademy's CEO Gaurav Munjal Gives Advice To Startup Founders; Here's What He Said

Gaurav Munjal, the CEO of Unacademy, shared valuable advice with aspiring startup founders. He emphasised the importance of genuine motivations behind starting a venture

Gaurav Munjal, CEO of Unacademy

Source : X

Over the past ten years or more, there has been a remarkable upsurge in establishing startups across diverse sectors in India. Many graduates from prestigious institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) have opted to embark on entrepreneurial journeys rather than pursuing traditional corporate careers.

However, the path of entrepreneurship has not been uniformly smooth for many of these startups. Gaurav Munjal, the CEO of Unacademy, shared valuable advice with aspiring startup founders. He emphasised the importance of genuine motivations behind starting a venture, cautioning against embarking on the entrepreneurial path for the wrong reasons. Munjal also underscored the significance of patience in fostering sustainable growth for startups.

“Founders don’t realise this on Day One but building a Business in India is a Long Game. Takes 15-20 years to build an Iconic Company. Those who Startup to make quick money give up along the way. Don’t do it for the wrong reasons,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

Founders don’t realise this on Day One but building a Business in India is a Long Game. Takes 15-20 years to build an Iconic Company. Those who Startup to make quick money give up along the way. Don’t do it for the wrong reasons.

— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) May 22, 2024

Munjal's post garnered several responses from users, a significant portion of whom supported his suggestion.

“At a recent event, @mukeshbansal06 mentioned that he did an analysis of public companies in India. On average, the first decade was all about learning the market and setting a base. Majority of the value creation and capture happened in the second decade,” wrote one of the X users.

Another X user wrote, “Absolutely true, infact i feel we are first generations building dynamic startups at this pace and scale, before this it wasn't considered in the way which we are doing it now.” 

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are iconic companies. In the Indian startup ecosystem, the true test of a founder’s mettle is their ability to weather the storm and stay the course. Long-term vision leads to enduring success,” wrote a third user.