In the world of start-ups where competition never ends, Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola Electric, and Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato, the two biggest names in the industry are recently making headlines. While one is known for fiery online exchanges and has faced backlash for his perceived arrogance, the other is celebrated for his humility, empathy, and willingness to roll up his sleeves to connect with customers and employees.
Let’s take a look at how netizens reacted to their very different public personas.
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal’s Heated Twitter Battle
On Sunday (October 6), comedian Kunal Kamra sparked a heated online exchange with Bhavish Aggarwal when he posted a picture of Ola Electric scooters reportedly gathering dust at a service center. Kamra questioned the quality of the scooters and the safety concerns surrounding them. This criticism quickly escalated into a viral debate on X, formerly known Twitter, with Aggarwal launching a series of personal attacks against Kamra.
Do indian consumers have a voice?
Do they deserve this?
Two wheelers are many daily wage workers lifeline…@nitin_gadkari is this how Indians will get to using EV’s? @jagograhakjago any word?
Anyone who has an issue with OLA electric leave your story below tagging all… https://t.co/G2zdIs15wh pic.twitter.com/EhJmAzhCmt
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) October 6, 2024
Aggarwal accused Kamra of making “paid posts” to tarnish Ola’s reputation and even made jabs at the comedian’s career, stating, “I’ll pay more than you earned for this tweet or from your failed comedy career.”
Instead of defusing the situation, Aggarwal’s fiery response was met with backlash. Many users pointed out that, instead of addressing the 80,000 monthly complaints about Ola scooters, the CEO was busy engaging in a petty feud.
Since you care so much @kunalkamra88, come and help us out! I’ll even pay more than you earned for this paid tweet or from your failed comedy career.
Or else sit quiet and let us focus on fixing the issues for the real customers. We’re expanding service network fast and backlogs… https://t.co/ZQ4nmqjx5q
— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) October 6, 2024
Critics slammed Aggarwal for his “arrogant” and “crass” behavior, questioning why his PR team had not stepped in to prevent the online spat from turning into a PR disaster.
Netizens Reaction to Bhavish Aggarwal Posts
Netizens also began mockingly referring to him as “Olan Musk,” comparing his combative tone to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
I asked OLA bro’s AI for PR advice on the developing situation with @kunalkamra88.
It clearly does not like the response OLA bro gave. pic.twitter.com/bX6FifrThO
— meghnad (Nerds ka Parivaar) (@Memeghnad) October 6, 2024
Customer : My Ola Scooter isn’t working.
Bhavish Aggarwal : pic.twitter.com/Z4kHCmGtBz
— Abhishek ✨ (@ImAbhishek7_) October 6, 2024
Customer: Hello, OLA service I have a complaint.
Bhavish Aggarwal –pic.twitter.com/wMBGLpF2cK
— Narundar (@NarundarM) October 6, 2024
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s Ground-Level Engagement
While Aggarwal was embroiled in his social media controversy, Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato, was winning praise for his hands-on approach.
Goyal spent a few days last week delivering orders for Zomato, aiming to understand the challenges faced by his company’s delivery partners. His experience of being denied entry to a mall while on duty became a talking point, as he highlighted about the need for better treatment of gig workers.
Goyal tweeted, “We need to work with malls more closely to improve working conditions for all delivery partners.”
During my second order, I realised that we need to work with malls more closely to improve working conditions for all delivery partners. And malls also need to be more humane to delivery partners.
What do you think? pic.twitter.com/vgccgyH8oE
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) October 6, 2024
Netizens Reaction to Deepinder Goyal’s Posts
Goyal’s effort to better understand the day-to-day struggles of his delivery partners drew applause.
Screengrab of the comments Screengrab of the comments
Public Reactions: A Tale of Two Approaches
The contrasting responses of these two CEOs have not gone unnoticed by the public. Bhavish Aggarwal’s aggressive handling of criticism has earned him a reputation for being brash and arrogant, while Deepinder Goyal’s grounded, empathetic approach is being hailed as a “PR masterclass.”
In the age of social media, where CEOs are just as much in the spotlight as their companies, the way they engage with the public can make or break their reputation.
