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Housing.com Chief Executive Rahul Yadav seems to have got into the habit of shooting his mouth off and then finding his shoe in it.
On Tuesday, the 26-year-old CEO of the property-hunting website withdrew his resignation and issued this statement: “After some frank and healthy discussions with the board, I have agreed to withdraw my resignation and I apologise for my unacceptable comments about the board members. I look forward to staying on at Housing as CEO and building an even greater company, while working in full harmony with the board.”
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This was a sharp contrast to the resignation, dripping with scorn, he had written on April 30. The second paragraph of the letter, it was reported, read: “I don’t think you guys are intellectually capable enough to have any sensible discussion anymore. This is something I not just believe but can prove on your faces also!”
Immediately after the letter became public, the Twitterati went to town either describing Yadav’s resignation as “badass” or questioning if he was mature enough to lead an organisation. Both #RahulYadav and #Housing were trending all day.
This is not the first time Yadav had found himself embroiled in a spat.
In March this year, he had locked horns with Sequoia Capital Managing Director Shailendra Singh, accusing the investor of poaching Housing.com employees, after Sequoia reportedly offered a job to one. The exchange of emails went public on Quora, prompting a number of entrepreneurs in the start-up space to take sides.
Flipkart’s Sachin Bansal reportedly tweeted: “Sequoia isn’t an investor with us. I would just say I’m glad to have it that way.”
In a March 12, 2015 article on the subject, The Economic Times had reported investors were considering removing Housing.com co-founder Rahul Yadav as CEO. It had also quoted Yadav as refuting the thrust of the piece.
But in an internal email the same day, Yadav had accused The Economic Times of providing bad press to Housing.com, as the Times group, which owns The Economic Times, also owns MagicBricks, a direct competitor of Yadav’s company that was trying to raise funds in the US.
Following this, Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd, the holding company of the Times group, had sent to the Housing.com board a legal notice pressing defamation charges of Rs 100 crore, and seeking an unconditional apology.
Yadav has also earned a reputation of scorning criticism. When Alok Kejriwal, the CEO and founder of Contest2Win group of companies, questioned the prudence of two closely placed Housing.com hoardings on Mumbai’s Peddar Road, Yadav responded by calling him “dumb” on social media.
When Yadav quit Housing.com, Kejriwal responded: “People who make fun of people’s houses can’t stay in their own!”
Housing.com was founded in 2012 by 12 alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. It raised $90 million in a round of funding from investors led by Softbank in December 2014, when the company was valued at Rs 1,500 crore. The company has also been accused of cash burn.
Whether or not Yadav manages to shed the recurring outbursts of petulant outrage and consolidate his company’s position remains to be seen but he sure makes the start-up space an interesting one.
