"Don't Be Swayed By Elon Musk": Ashneer Grover's Advice To Founders

Twitter has witnessed a number of dramatic events since its new boss Elon Musk took over: From nearly half of the workforce getting sacked to the mass resignation of employees triggered by the billionaire's “hardcore” ultimatum, these moves have raised eyebrows everywhere.

Highlighting this fiasco, BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover has offered some advice to startup founders in a LinkedIn post.

“Founders. Never forget – business has Cycles! You have to be ahead of the cycle – not consumed by it,” Mr Grover wrote. “We are going through a down cycle. Cutting costs is needed to extend runway. Firing people is fashionable – but actually optional,” he added.

Ashneer Grover explained the difference between “real salary” and “paid salary” while stressing that slashing the salary of employees is better than layoffs. “It's a better solution as rehiring will be really uphill and costly. Reinstating salary is the click of a button away,” he said.

Mr Grover added that founders should not be “swayed by what Elon Musk is selling as couture”. He asserted the Tesla CEO is doing “perfectly” at Twitter but his strategy is not applicable everywhere. He suggested that founders must not take advice from investors or “so-called Boards” as they bring capital and not labour or enterprise.

Ashneer Grover also shared a Twitter post where he wrote, “First Elon Musk, took over company, fired incompetent mgmt and then did layoffs in a bloated org. Most copy cat Founders are skipping the first hard part (of firing themselves or getting bought over) and conveniently copying layoffs.” The co-founder added, “What works in M&A (mergers and acquisitions) just does not otherwise!”

Mr Grover's post elicited varying reactions from Twitter users.

“Think he will make it profitable very soon.  Twitter can lead in a very different manner. Elon has made a good bet and will lead this to logical conclusion,” a user wrote.

Another asked, “But will Musk fire himself if Twitter doesn't deliver after his take over? That's the big question.”

“Copycat has many takers but they will never be as successful as the originals,” a comment read.

Many users shared their thoughts on the current situation of the microblogging platform.

Referring to Elon Musk, one user said, “He indirectly showed us that most of the tech firms employees are ripping firms' money without doing any significant work on their part. Twitter, Meta, and Amazon is just a start.”

Some shared their opinion with Ashneer Grover.

“Companies not ready to invest in its people. They fire and hire. This is truth,” a person reacted.

Elon Musk recently issued an ultimatum to Twitter staff requiring them to commit to a hardcore work environment or accept a buyout. Following this, reports suggested that hundreds of employees resigned before the deadline of the ultimatum. Responding to the mass resignation, Elon Musk, in a tweet, said that “The best people are staying, so I'm not super worried”.