Story of Rahul Yadav- Housing.com

There are CEO’s who had anxious relationships with their board and then there is Housing.com’s Ex-Boss Rahul Yadav. Here is the story.

His Behaviour

• Yadav secured more than $125 million in venture capital and made his Mumbai-based company one of India’s leading online hubs for real estate rentals and sales.
• He accused the investors of vague misdeeds, publicly criticised his directors, made comments on other entrepreneurs, and then resigned and un-resigned.

Board Decision Making Time

• July 1 – Board announced it had removed Yadav and installed Chief Operating Officer Rishabh Gupta as interim CEO.
• Housing Spokeswoman Zeenat Khan’s Statement – “The board believed that his behavior is not befitting of a CEO and is detrimental to the company”

Story of Housing.com

• Founded in year 2012
• Housing.com has stood out from rival services by policing fake and repetitive listings.
• There were times where their photographers themselves visited the places for the listing verification.
• The filters of the home-seekers were based not he amenities (Furnished, AC)
• Yadav was among the 12 co-founders, who were all classmates of Mumbai’s IIT.
• Yadav was good at raising funds and most notably Japanese company SoftBank with $90 million investment.
• In March, Yadav sent a Sequoia MD an e-mail and later accused him on Quora (Q&A Site) for “brainwashing” Housing.com employees.
• “If you don’t stop messing around with me, directly or even indirectly, I will vacate the best of your firm,” Yadav wrote. MD from Sequoia called for collaboration rather than “being vindictive and petty.”

Rahul’s Resignation

• Yadav clashed with investors over personnel appointments and the speed of his expansion, says the person familiar with the matter.
• By the end of April, the CEO openly derided his board, which was made up of representatives from SoftBank, Indian fund Nexus Venture Partners, and Mauritius-based Helion Ventures.
• April 30 – Yadav wrote that he didn’t consider his directors “intellectually capable enough to have any sensible discussion.” also announcing his resignation.