After Edtech giant Byju's laid off 2,500 employees from several departments in order to cut expenses, Bollywood actor and businessman Suniel Shetty in a LinkedIn post suggested what startups can do to survive in a time of economic uncertainty. He said that at this time companies should think like Rahul Dravid.

“Think long term. Think sprint vs marathon. Think Rahul Dravid. Stable & slow is just as great,” wrote Shetty.

While sharing a picture from a leading global accelerator programme which had tips on how to survive in what could be a difficult period over the next couple of years, Shetty said, “This is a good time for early stage, small & mid-size businesses to establish a few operating principles, at least until the sentiment starts to improve.”

Tips shared by Shetty

Here are the tips shared by Suniel Shetty on making companies survive the economic downturn.

Stay Alive - Assuming no one can predict how bad the global slowdown will get, plan for the worst. If you’re not seeing growth, switch to a survival mindset. Even if it means just hitting salaries & basic profits. The opportunities will return if you stay alive.

Find your course - It’s easy to be pressured into a direction based on what we see around us. Because X company did it a certain way, raised money, grew at a certain rate, or hired 30 folks, doesn't mean it needs to be your journey too. Identify a pace that suits your story. Don't be in a rush to scale.

Don’t worry about the uni/soon/mini-corn status - It’s scary when every other startup you come across claims it's going to be a unicorn in 3 years. Don't let that be the goal. Apple, Google, Disney etc were focused on doing what they did, really well. Just build a solid business, and valuations will follow.

Switch to the bootstrapping mindset.

Rely on your cash flow to fund growth - Find ways to optimise cash flow. Investing more than you earn, on growth, or overleveraging is a bet that could wait.

Focus on profitability - Long-term growth can come from reinvesting profits. That’s how we ran our restaurants. Profits & savings from one were put into building the next.

Prioritise customers - Imagine the delight of a customer when the team of a startup he decided to buy from, is genuinely interested in taking & adapting the feedback he might have to offer.

Byju's laid out a strategy last week to reduce its marketing and operating costs and turn a profit by March 2023, which will result in the layoff of 5 percent of its workforce, or around 2,500 employees, over the following six months.

According to Divya Gokulnath, a co-founder of Byju, the company will begin concentrating on establishing brand awareness abroad through new collaborations and hiring 10,000 teachers for both its Indian and international operations, as reported by news agency PTI.

Also read: BYJU’S gets $250 million more from existing investors, promises profitability in 2023

First Published:Oct 18, 2022 11:34 AM IST