Zepto’s 22-year-old CEO, Aadit Palicha, ignited controversy on December 4 with his remarks on work-life balance, drawing sharp criticism and reigniting debates about alleged toxicity in the company’s work culture.
An anonymous Reddit post, reportedly by a former Zepto employee, surfaced with details of troubling experiences he faced for a year at the company. The post alleged that Zepto CEO begins work at 2 pm due to difficulties waking up early which often results in meetings being scheduled as late as 2 am.
The post further claimed that Zepto employs younger, less-experienced staff to cut costs as senior professionals reportedly avoid the company due to its workplace culture.
Additionally, the Reddit user accused Zepto of employing “dark patterns” to extract additional money from customers, such as targeting users with phones valued over Rs 30,000. It also alleged inadequate handling of customer data, unresolved security issues, and multiple leaks.
The user also claimed that the marketing head also serves as the HR head. He indicated a plausible focus on cost-cutting with layoffs expected to start by March.
Zepto CEO responds
Soon after the Reddit post, Aadit Palicha in a post on X stated “I have nothing against work-life balance. In fact, I recommend it to all our competitors :).” However, later he clarified that it was not his quote.
“FYI, not my quote – read it from an interview with Daksh Gupta,” he stated in his post. Daksh Gupta is a 23-year-old CEO of an AI startup and has been critiqued for advocating an 84-hour work week, with occasional working weekends. ]
In a post on X, he stated, “I have nothing against work-life balance. In fact, I recommend it to all our competitors :).” However, he later clarified that this quote was not his own but rather attributed to Daksh Gupta, the 23-year-old CEO of AI startup Greptile, who has been criticized for promoting an 84-hour workweek.
Aadit Palicha, with a net worth of Rs 4,300 crore is the second youngest person on this year’s Hurun India Rich List. He co-founded Zepto in 2021 alongside Stanford dropout Kaivalya Vohra.
Netizens react
The Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha’s response has faced widespread criticism on social media. One user on X sarcastically remarked, “Customers after this tweet: We have nothing against Zepto. In fact, we recommend BLINKIT and INSTAMART.”
Others ridiculed him with comments like, “You woke up early or yet to sleep for yesterday?” and “Woke up, made a tweet, got back to bed again.”
Another user condemned the Zepto’s approach, stating, “This is not a startup; it’s a dystopian nightmare masquerading as a business. Instead of addressing these very real concerns, they’ve chosen to mock the idea of treating employees like human beings. If this is the future of work, count everyone out.”
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Tamreen Sultana | 
