Kunal Shah business losses, profitability: Rs 5215 cr in loss and zero profit – LinkedIn post sparks debate; CRED founder responds

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Kunal Shah business losses, profitability: Rs 5215 cr in loss and zero profit – LinkedIn post sparks debate; CRED founder responds

While Shah, the founder of Freecharge and CRED, continues to receive attention across media platforms for his vision and ventures, Samalopanan offered a contrarian view, pointing to the stark financials of Shah’s companies.

Authored by: ET Now Digital

Updated Jul 6, 2025 10:17 IST

Kunal Shah business losses, profitability: Rs 5215 cr in loss and zero profit – LinkedIn post sparks debate; CRED founder responds (Image: Canva/ET NOW Digital)

A LinkedIn post by Deloitte Senior Consultant Adarsh Samalopanan has triggered a debate in India’s startup ecosystem, after he criticised entrepreneur Kunal Shah for building businesses that have remained unprofitable over the past 15 years. While Shah, the founder of Freecharge and CRED , continues to receive attention across media platforms for his vision and ventures, Samalopanan offered a contrarian view, pointing to the stark financials of Shah’s companies.

Deloitte Senior Consultant Adarsh Samalopanan LinkedIn Post

“Kunal Shah co-founded Freecharge in 2010,” Samalopanan wrote. “By 2015, the company earned Rs 35 crore in revenue but ran up cashback-fuelled losses of Rs 269 crore.”He added that Snapdeal acquired Freecharge in 2015 for Rs 2,800 crore, only for the company to be sold two years later to Axis Bank for Rs 370 crore, just 14% of its earlier valuation.Turning his attention to Shah’s more recent venture, Samalopanan wrote that CRED, launched in 2018, has reported a cumulative revenue of Rs 4,493 crore but net losses of Rs 5,215 crore in seven years. “Fifteen years into entrepreneurship, he has yet to record a single profitable financial year, so remind me again why we celebrate him?” he asked.

Kunal Shah responds

Kunal Shah replied in the comments, saying, “Absolutely correct. We should be celebrating thousands of entrepreneurs who have created very profitable companies without external capital.”

Kunal Shah responds to viral post

However, Shah also underlined the need to support risk-takers. “We should celebrate everyone who is taking risk in life and being an entrepreneur because in the post-AI world, being a job seeker is going to be more risky. We need more job creators,” he added.

Online reactions divided

The post received a mixed response on LinkedIn, with some users backing Samalopanan's viewpoint and others highlighting Shah's long-term impact.“Absolutely true. I still wonder how such valuations were calculated in 2015… something hidden which we may not know,” one user wrote.Another commented: “Profitability matters—but in the startup world, it’s not the only thing. Freecharge and CRED changed how people think about payments, credit, and rewards. Shah has sparked conversations, shaped user behavior, and pushed boundaries.”Another user added: “I don’t know about celebrating anyone but I don’t believe in equating loss to failure. Several businesses including Amazon were unprofitable for years but eventually delivered value.”

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