What Co-founder tag means to Yulu CFO Anuj Tewari

Anuj Tewari, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of shared electric two-wheeler mobility firm Yulu, has been named as Co-founder of the company. His elevation comes at a time when Yulu is expecting to record eight times higher year-on-year revenue in FY24 and also targeting to become EBITDA positive by year-end. Tewari joined Yulu in 2020, and during his tenure, the company raised over $105 million across equity and debt funding.

ETCFO spoke with Tewari to understand what the co-founder tag means to him. Edited excerpts:

Q: What does the co-founder tag bring to you? Is it recognition of your efforts as CFO in strategic decision-making or beyond?

Anuj Tewari: The co-founder tag is certainly a recognition of one’s contribution and further attestation to expectations out of your role.

As you move to the “C”-suite, expectations are that you are a generalist with a functional overlay rather than a “Function specialist” and you are expected to contribute beyond what is your Job Description and think holistically. The co-founder tag takes this step further – it adds to responsibility and expectations from internal as well as external stakeholders – which involves not only the business side of the world but also Governance and accountability aspects.Yulu co-founder CFO Anuj Tewari

Q: How does your approach to driving business and finance change with the co-founder tag?

Anuj Tewari: Honestly, nothing changes – in my view, every employee in Start-up is part of the founding team and has to contribute with the same passion and sense of ownership – the title is just a formalization of the same. With this title – the only change is when you are communicating with stakeholders – you announce you have more skin in the game.

Another change, which is a slight one over CFO, is that the rest of the organization looks up to you for direction, guidance, and answers beyond Finance and you have to take more ownership of the business and drive the value.

Q: What is your advice to start-up CFOs, especially ones who want a larger skin in the game and aspire to be co-founders?

Anuj Tewari: My advice will be to introspect and evaluate carefully if you are absolutely sure about the path –Team, organization, and mission – in the order. Any dissonance will create heartburn all around later.

Co-founder is more of a responsibility than any prestigious title – it is a demonstration that you are ready to sail and sink if it comes to this. If the answer is yes – then go with the Founder’s mentality, same commitment, and ownership which you will show to your own venture or baby, keep the ego low, demonstrate you are a good team player, take hardships, and are able to bring value, even when chips are down. Even if the organization takes time to formally announce, you are a Founder!