Let me ask you something simple.
If a startup can’t file its annual returns on time – what exactly are they building?
Because I’ll tell you what they’re not building:
A culture.
A habit.
A system.
And that is the real problem.
Too many startups – even the most well-funded, well-known names – treat compliance like a last-minute homework assignment. They scramble for filings. They dodge AGMs. They delay updates to investors that should have been routine.
This is not an isolated incident. It is systemic.
And it is time someone said it out loud.
Let’s Talk About Byju’s and BluSmart
Take Byju’s, for instance – one of the most recognizable edtech startups in the world. They raised billions. Grew at breakneck speed. But behind the headlines, their compliance record tells a different story. Filings delayed. Auditors frustrated. Deloitte walked away mid-way through the job, citing pending financials for FY22.
It wasn’t just a warning sign. It was a scream. And still, somehow, they kept raising.
No accountability. No course correction.
This is not a one-off case.
BluSmart, another heavily backed startup, shows the same pattern. Their last recorded AGM was held on September 29, 2023, per public filings. As of today, there’s no trace of an FY24 AGM. No sign of those financials being submitted.
But that did not stop them from going out to raise capital again – in February 2025.
On what data? On what governance framework?
These are not just missed filings. They are missed signals – on how a company thinks, operates, and scales.
This Isn’t About Deadlines – It’s About Discipline
Most people think that compliance is about ticking boxes, meeting dates, avoiding penalties. It is more than that.
Compliance isn’t just paperwork. It’s practice.
It’s a muscle.
You build it like you build anything else – with discipline, consistency, and repetition.
At first, it’s uncomfortable. Like going to the gym after months on the couch.
But then, something shifts. You start expecting it. Your team starts preparing for it. It becomes routine.
Just like brushing your teeth – you wouldn’t skip it before a big day.
At Artha, We’ve Built the Muscle Early
We don’t wait for filings to become a crisis. We build systems for them to happen on autopilot. One structure we have found especially effective came from another VC team:
– Audits for April-December must be completed by January
– That leaves Q4 to close fully
– Final audits are submitted by June – not December.
Simple. Practical. Predictable.
It works. It keeps everyone honest. It keeps us proactive instead of reactive.
So when a founder tells us, “We’ll close by December 31 – that is still within the legal limit,” we don’t just nod.
We push back hard.
Because if you’re using all the buffer, you’re not building for scale – you are building for survival.
Culture Doesn’t Start with Compliance, But It Ends There
Founders like to talk about culture.
They write vision statements, hang posters, and celebrate funding rounds. But if your team can’t follow through on the basics – like closing books and showing up to an AGM – the culture you have built is not real. It is a story.
And stories without systems fall apart.
My Message to Founders: Build the Habit Early
Compliance does not get easier later. It gets baked in now.
Build the cadence of reporting.
Create the ritual of audits.
Make your team respect the calendar, not dodge it.
It’s painful at first – but every rep counts.
The more you do it, the more natural it becomes.
And when the day comes that you are sitting in front of an investor, a banker, or a regulator – you will not be scrambling. You will be ready.
Because you built the muscle.