A founder’s recent social media post about a senior employee’s departure has sparked a heated debate regarding loyalty and business foresight. After a key staff member declined a 100% salary match, citing fears that the company could not sustain such an expense, the founder revealed that the business has since achieved 3X growth. While the founder attributed this success to sheer entrepreneurial will, the story has divided opinion on whether employees should be expected to share a founder’s high-risk appetite.
“One of my senior staff quit. She got a 100% hike from a funded company. After consulting with some of my friends, I decided to retain her with matching the salary. We were not big but we were profitable,” founder and CEO Karthick Raajha recalled.
In his LinkedIn post, he shared that giving out “100% hikes was next to impossible at that stage,” yet the company still decided to do so. He added, “This person also was highest paid around that time. She didn’t accept the new offer.”
Raajha claimed that the employee, who was well aware of the company’s financial situation, told HR that the “company won’t survive for long”.
The CEO stated that his company proved the former employee’s ominous prediction wrong and has grown over the years. “However smart you are, you don’t or won’t understand few things in business. It’s not the cashflow, pipeline, revenue or leads, it’s the founder who makes it work for the initial few years. We grew 3X last year. We are on track to 5X this year. Thanks to people who never trusted me, you make me.”
How did social media react?
An individual posted, “It’s great to speak about the growth journey, but it does not mean belittling folks who were not part of the continued journey. Again, as a founder, we all know the risks of running an entrepreneurial venture. Milestone celebrations are great, but this does not need a chest-thumping exercise, especially at the cost of belittling someone else.” Another expressed, “She was looking out for herself, and I don’t think she should be put down for that. Employees would never have the same conviction in the business as the founder, and that’s expected and should be accepted.” Raajha argued, “When did I put her down? The whole point of this is not someone leaving. Please read the post again.”
A third commented, “She didn’t see your vision and that’s where the gap is. The employee and employer need to share this in some cases, especially long-term.” A fourth wrote, “Founders take risks. Employees manage risks. Both are doing their job.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Karthick Raajha completed his MBA from Anna University in Chennai. He started his career as a practice marketing analyst.
Over the years, he worked across various roles. He founded his current company, Revv Growth, in 2023. He has also taken on the role of CEO at his startup.