Another setback for Dunzo as co-founder Dalvir Suri exits
Dalvir Suri, co-founder of hyperlocal delivery start-up Dunzo, is stepping down after more than six years with the company. In an email to employees on October 1, CEO Kabeer Biswas announced Suri's departure. Suri joined Dunzo back in May 2015 when it was a small start-up taking orders through WhatsApp. Interestingly, Suri, along with co-founders Ankur Aggarwal and Mukund Jha, did not hold equity in the company and only received a fixed salary, which has been delayed on multiple occasions.
Dunzo's financial struggles and fundraising efforts
Suri's departure comes as Dunzo faces financial challenges and seeks to raise between $25-30 million in funding. The company has had difficulty maintaining operations and has scaled back its customer-centric arm due to increasing losses. To cut costs, Dunzo has given up its Bengaluru office space and laid off hundreds of employees in three rounds of layoffs since its inception.
Suri's role and contributions at Dunzo
As a co-founder, Suri played a vital role in developing new business lines at Dunzo. He was instrumental in growing the company's B2B business, Dunzo Merchandise Service (DMS), which now generates most of the company's revenue. In his email to employees, CEO Kabeer Biswas lauded Suri as the "key zero to one person from the founding team that just gets things Dun."
Organizational changes following Suri's departure
Dunzo plans to discuss organizational changes resulting from Suri's exit during a company-wide meeting later this week. It remains uncertain who will assume Suri's responsibilities or how his departure will affect the company's future plans. Suri had reportedly tried to leave the company earlier but stayed after talks with CEO Biswas. This time, however, retaining him proved difficult.
Dunzo's funding history and major shareholders
Since 2015, Dunzo has secured nearly $500 million in funding from investors such as Reliance, Google, Lightrock, Lightbox, and Blume Ventures. Reliance is the largest shareholder with a 25.8% stake, while Google holds the second-largest share at around 19%. As Dunzo navigates its financial hurdles and fundraising efforts, the departure of a key co-founder like Suri raises questions about the start-up's future direction.
