‘It worked out well’: Byju's validates Messi deal in letter to employees post FIFA win

Edtech major BYJU'S faced massive criticism for appointing popular football player Lionel Messi as the brand ambassador of their social impact arm, Education for All, in November. However, the company’s CEO, Byju Raveendran, has on Friday addressed the issue in an email he sent to the employees on the occasion of New Year’s. 
 
“Speaking of Messi, it all did work out well in the end for him, didn’t it? A little bit of faith at every step, and a lifetime of learning - this is the not-so-secret formula for his success. There is a lot for us to learn from him and we are privileged to be able to,” he wrote. 

As reported by Business Today earlier, the controversy over Messi's appointment erupted because it came barely a month after BYJU'S laid off at least 2,500 employees, or 5 per cent of its 50,000-strong workforce, to control costs and move towards profitability. The company had also reported Rs 4,589 crore in losses for FY21, the largest ever loss reported by an Indian start-up.

Coming back to the letter to the employees penned by Byju, the existence of which has been confirmed by the company and has been accessed by BT, the co-founder and CEO mentioned that the edtech firm currently serves 5.5 million children and this number will double in the next two years, thanks to Messi’s presence. On December 18, Argentina recorded a historic win in the FIFA World Cup 2022 finals against France. Messi was the winning team's captain.
 
BYJU’S is known for spending heavily on their advertising and marketing. As BT reported earlier, in 2019, they became the lead sponsor of the Indian cricket team after taking over the sponsorship from Oppo, the contract of which for 2017- 2022 was worth Rs 1,079 crores.  Recently, they also renewed their contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a reported Rs 454 crore. In 2022, as per media reports, they spent $40 million (or Rs 330 crores) to become the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup.
 
Also, as per regulatory filings, the company spent more than Rs 2,500 crore on advertising and marketing in FY21 amid losses that ballooned to over Rs 4,588 crore which came after a delay of 18 months.
 
Byju concluded the letter by saying that this year brought for them several lessons but he is determined to advance with hope and grit in the coming times.