In a U-turn, Housing.com CEO retracts resignation

Housing.com CEO Rahul Yadav on Tuesday withdrew his resignation after a meeting with the newly constituted board. Yadav, who had written a scathing letter against the company board and investors, also apologised for his “unacceptable” comments.

“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,” he said in a statement.

Yadav, 26, had resigned from the real estate start-up, accusing the board members and investors of not being “intellectually capable enough to have any sensible discussion anymore”. He had given the company seven days to help in the transition.

On Tuesday, an official statement from Housing.com said, “Today the Housing board met, and has been reconstituted to include all main shareholder representatives. After some good conversations, the board has reaffirmed its faith in Rahul Yadav’s vision at Housing.”

Japanese major Softbank has invested Rs. 550 crore in Housing.com. The company’s board comprises Yadav, COO and co-founder Advitiya Sharma, Softbank’s Nikesh Arora, Helion Venture Partners’ Ashish Gupta and Nexus Venture Partners’ Suvir Sujan.

This is Yadav’s second brush with controversy. He had earlier written an email to VC firm Sequoia Capital’s Shailendra Singh accusing him of poaching Housing.com’s employees.

The reactions

Other entrepreneurs and investors used the opportunity to express their views on how things can go wrong at a start-up.

“Housing saga is the beginning of the end of investors’ the great IIT-B gold rush. Brace for impact,” Kanchan Gupta, an entrepreneur, wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter. Deepinder Goyal of Zomato tweeted, “Housing is what happens when investors leave founders with little skin in the game. Especially, 20-year-old founders with nothing to lose.”

Anand Lunia, investor in Grabhouse.com, said, “Housing failed to deliver to the hype. You need a lot of properties to close a transaction, not just a fancy design. That’s why we are here.”

There were some good words too. Rehan Yar Khan, a prolific investor in various start-ups tweeted, “I personally think under Rahul’s leadership Housing built an amazing product, raised tons of money and built an effective brand”. Business Line