‘If you worked with me directly, WhatsApp me’: Zomato cofounder Deepinder Goyal after 8,000 emails from ex employees

Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal on Wednesday said he had received over 8,000 emails in the past week after inviting former employees to return. He asked those who worked with him directly to reach out on WhatsApp for a quicker response. 

“Over the last week, we received over 8,000 emails. About 4,000 from people who have been part of the Eternal journey at some point. Rest from people who haven’t worked here but want to. Thank you so much for this. I didn’t expect this at all,” Goyal said in a post on X. 

He said that most of these emails were stories, and were full of emotions and honesty. “There’s a lot of context and history in them. And a lot of our current team has no context on people who left five, ten, fifteen years ago. Eternal is in its late teens right now. The only person who can truly read these emails and know who to respond to is me. And it is not humanly possible for me to read through 8,000 emails, and pick and choose the right ones to respond to, quickly.”

“We are still going through every single one. It will take time. But if you worked with me directly, and you wrote in, and you are waiting for a reply, here is what will work quickly: find my number and WhatsApp me. Looking forward to reconnect.”

Earlier this month, Goyal reached out directly to former employees, saying the company had evolved and that “the door is not closed” for those who once worked there. In a post, he wrote, “If you used to work at Zomato, whether you chose to move on, or I was the one who asked you to leave, this is for you.
I know that for many of you, Zomato didn’t have the environment or the leadership you needed at the time. But I know for sure, that you loved being at Zomato, and it is quite possible that you never felt like home anywhere else since you left.”

“We have over four hundred people at Eternal today in their second or third stints. Many of them are doing their best work now. Maybe because they’ve grown, but also because the company has grown. We are more organised, a little less chaotic, and hopefully, I’ve learned a few things along the way too. If you haven’t reached out because you think the door is closed, or because you think I’m holding onto the past, I’m not. I want you back,” he said.