‘Build right, not just fast’: boAt’s Aman Gupta delivers hard truths as BluSmart unravels

India’s startup ecosystem is grappling with the fallout of the Gensol Engineering scandal and the ensuing turmoil at EV ride-hailing firm BluSmart. Weighing in on the situation, boAt co-founder Aman Gupta has offered a stark reality check. In a widely shared tweet, Gupta expressed sympathy for those affected but also used the moment to call for a deeper reckoning within the country's startup ecosystem.

“The BluSmart situation is tough. Sad for everyone involved. But also a much-needed reality check for all of us in the ecosystem,” Gupta wrote.

His remarks come as BluSmart, closely tied to Gensol and its co-founder Anmol Singh Jaggi, faces an unprecedented operational crisis. With its app showing no rides available across Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru, and reports of drivers going unpaid for weeks, the company appears to be on the brink. A BluSmart driver, speaking to Fortune India, confirmed that earnings had been delayed and company representatives were unresponsive.

But the heart of the crisis lies with Gensol Engineering. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued a damning interim order against Gensol and its promoter-directors—Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi—citing grave governance failures, including the diversion of funds meant for EV procurement. According to Sebi, company funds were allegedly used for personal indulgences, including luxury real estate, forex transactions, and even a ₹26 lakh premium golf set.

The Jaggi brothers have now been barred from accessing the securities market and from holding board or managerial roles in Gensol. Meanwhile, BluSmart—already under financial strain—is struggling to stay afloat, with a monthly burn rate of approximately ₹20 crore and fresh fundraising efforts stalling. The collapse of a proposed ₹315 crore vehicle lease deal with Refex Industries only worsened matters.

In his tweet, Gupta reflected on the far-reaching impact of such failures: investors losing money, founders losing years of effort, employees losing stability, and customers losing a service they relied on. “But more than that, this has also dented trust in the ecosystem. You’ll now hear: ‘Yaad hai BluSmart ke saath kya hua tha?!’” he wrote.

Calling for a renewed emphasis on governance and ethics, Gupta—himself a Chartered Accountant—highlighted the need for clean books, timely audits, and transparent reporting. “All so-called ‘not so cool tasks’ make businesses sustainable,” he said, urging founders to look beyond growth metrics.

“EQ, IQ & GQ (Governance Quotient)—sab important hote hai,” he said, adding that the true foundation of a company lies in how it is built, not just how fast it grows. “Compliance and ethics aren’t boxes to tick. They’re the foundation,” he noted.

Despite the gloom, Gupta ended on a note of optimism. “The Indian startup ecosystem is resilient. We always rise stronger. And we will this time too,” he said.

As BluSmart teeters and Gensol fights for survival, Gupta’s words act both as a warning and a call to course-correct—a reminder that in building startups, governance is not an afterthought, but the very backbone of trust.