'Rs 5,215 crore in losses, no profitable year, so why do we celebrate Kunal Shah?': Deloitte consultant

Deloitte Senior Consultant Adarsh Samalopanan, in a recent post on LinkedIn, questioned the celebration of Kunal Shah's entrepreneurial journey despite mounting losses and zero profitability over 15 years.

"Fifteen years into entrepreneurship, he has yet to record a single profitable financial year—so remind me again why we celebrate him?" Samalopanan wrote.

Shah co-founded Freecharge in 2010. By 2015, the company had earned Rs 35 crore in revenue but racked up losses of Rs 269 crore. Snapdeal later acquired Freecharge for Rs 2,800 crore, only for Axis Bank to buy it two years later for just Rs 370 crore, which is less than 15% of its earlier valuation. In 2018, Shah launched CRED, which has since become one of India’s most talked-about fintech startups. According to Samalopanan, CRED posted cumulative revenue of Rs 493 crore over seven years, while incurring net losses amounting to Rs 5,215 crore.

The post triggered mixed reactions, with some LinkedIn users defending Shah’s long-term vision and impact, noting his role in revolutionising digital payments before UPI’s dominance.

Others raise concerns about inflated valuations and the celebration of unprofitable ventures.

"Absolute true. While still I wonder on how such valuations been calculated in 2015.. Something hidden which we may not know..," a user wrote.

"He is celebrated because he doesn't just build companies—he changes markets. FreeCharge revolutionized digital payments before UPI even existed. CRED turned credit card bills into a premium experience for millions. Profitability? Not yet. But in startups, real success isn't just about black ink—it's about who dares to redefine the rules first," another noted.

"With the same logic , WhatsApp never made profit , so the founder is useless,' a third expressed.

Kunal Shah replies

Responding to Adarsh's post, CRED CEO Kunal Shah wrote, "Absolutely correct. We should be celebrating 1000s of entrepreneurs who have created very profitable companies without external capital."

"We should celebrate everyone who is taking risk in life and being an entrepreneur cause in post AI world being job seeker is going to be more risky. We need more job creators," he added.