Sharan Hegde, the founder of The 1%, has announced a 15% workforce reduction, marking the first cost-cutting measure since the company’s inception. Hegde explained the decision in a LinkedIn post, attributing it to AI-driven cost savings that aim to enhance profitability and efficiency. These savings, according to Hegde, will be reinvested into the business for growth.
The layoffs have sparked discussions on platforms like Reddit, where an anonymous user claimed that up to 40 employees were let go, including VPs, AVPs, video editors, content creators, and most graphic designers. Hegde, addressing the layoffs, emphasized that rapid growth often leads to mistakes in hiring and redundancy, but stressed that he and co-founder Raghav Gupta have maintained strict financial discipline, bootstrapping the company without external investment.
Hegde, an engineering graduate from R.V. College in Bengaluru, previously worked at KPMG and PwC before transitioning into content creation. Two and a half years ago, he founded The 1%, which has since attracted investments from notable figures like Nikhil Kamath.
