Viral Reddit Post Sparks Debate On Rich Founders Of Loss-Making Startups

India’s startup culture is booming, with new ventures sprouting up every day and founders becoming modern-day icons. But behind the glamor of unicorn valuations and rapid growth lies a lesser-known, darker side. A recent Reddit post has reignited this conversation, spotlighting Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. To say that the post has since gone viral would be a sheer understatement.

A viral Reddit post sparks questions around founders wealth and startup losses

Reddit has always been known as a platform where people speak their minds openly and bring up issues that often go ignored. It isn’t just a place for memes and casual talk — it’s where real, serious discussions happen too. Recently, a post on the subreddit r/StartUpIndia titled “This startup culture needs to STOP” grabbed attention for raising an important question, Why do startup founders live in luxury while their companies continue to post losses?

This post pointed specifically at Deepinder Goyal, the CEO of Zomato and Blinkit.

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While Zomato’s profits fell sharply and Blinkit is still struggling financially, Goyal is said to be buying a Rs 52 crore mansion and owns a garage full of luxury cars like Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Porsche among others.

“Zomato’s Q4 profits fell 78% YoY, and it’s down to Rs 39 crore. Blinkit continues to burn money, and in the middle of this bleeding balance sheet, founder Deepinder Goyal is busy moving into a Rs 52 crore palace at DLF Camellias, Gurugram, with five car parks, a golf course, private lifts, and Rs 3.66 crore splurged on stamp duty alone.”

This made many people wonder: how is such personal wealth growing when the businesses are not doing well?

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The post further shared how it is a reflection of the rotting startup culture in India that glorifies wealth over performance,

“This is NOT a one-off episode. This is a reflection of the rotting startup culture in India that glorifies wealth optics over performance, narrative over numbers, and where IPOs are entrance gates for founders into billionaires’ clubs.”

Giving an example the post talked about how Zomato CEO owns expensive cars,

“Goyal already owns a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche, and BMW M8.”

The post further talked about how everyday users and delivery partners suffer meanwhile founders keep on upgrading their life,

“Every day, users paid surge prices, and delivery partners broke their backs. and yet, when profits fall, we’re told to stay patient, while the founder quietly upgrades to the most expensive address in NCR.”

It concluded by saying,

“If your company’s profits can’t pay for growth, but your founder can pay ₹3.5 crore just in stamp duty, something is broken.”

While the post focused on Deepinder Goyal it didn’t just criticize one person — it opened the door to a much bigger debate about India’s startup culture.

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Check out the whole Reddit post

This startup culture needs to STOP
byu/Broad-Research5220 inStartUpIndia

Here is how netizens reacted to the post and gave their opinions

Netizens quickly flooded the comment section with divided opinions, turning the post into a full-blown debate. While many users agreed with the sentiment and questioned the ethics of such visible wealth amid company losses, others defended Goyal, arguing that startups often operate at a loss to scale and that Zomato, being nearly two decades old, shouldn’t even be called a startup anymore.

Some pointed out that the mansion was purchased years ago and is now worth much more, dismissing the post as envy-driven. On the flip side, several users criticized Zomato’s lack of proper customer service and said this is how costs are cut.

Have a look at some worth-checking-out comments,