Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal overwhelmed by 8,000 emails 'full of emotions' — ‘Find my number, WhatsApp me’

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has found himself at the centre of an overwhelming digital deluge after he issued a public invitation for former employees to return to the company under a programme called back@eternal.com.

A week after his initial post, Goyal shared on X that he had received about 8,000 emails in just a few days. Half of them were from former employees, and the rest were from people who haven't worked at Zomato's parent Eternal, but want to, he shared.

“Over the last week, we received over 8,000 emails. About 4,000 from people who have been part of the Eternal journey at some point. Rest from people who haven't worked here but want to. Thank you so much for this. I didn't expect this at all,” he said.

The outreach from the former Eternal CEO, directed at former company employees, seems to have struck a deep chord with employees.

“Most of these emails are stories, and are full of emotions and honesty. There's a lot of context and history in them. And a lot of our current team has no context on people who left five, ten, fifteen years ago,” he said.

However, since these stories are from years ago, Goyal said that the only person who understands the matter is the Eternal founder himself. He said that this will take time.

“Eternal is in its late teens right now. The only person who can truly read these emails and know who to respond to is me. And it is not humanly possible for me to read through 8,000 emails, and pick and choose the right ones to respond to, quickly,” Goyal said.

Connect on WhatsApp

The Eternal founder, who recently stepped down as CEO of the company shared that he was going through every single one of the emails but noted that “it will take time.”

However, he asked people who worked with him directly to WhatsApp him in order to reconnect quickly.

“But if you worked with me directly, and you wrote in, and you are waiting for a reply, here is what will work quickly: find my number and WhatsApp me. Looking forward to reconnect,” he said.

Deepinder Goyal urges ex-employees to reconnect

Last week, Goyal issued a heartfelt open invitation to former employees of Eternal, urging them to return to the company regardless of how or why they left.

He acknowledged that Eternal may not have offered the right environment or leadership to some people in the past, but reassured that many employees had enjoyed their time at the company.

“If you haven’t reached out because you think the door is closed, or because you think I’m holding onto the past, I’m not. I want you back,” he said.

He encouraged former employees to reconsider and reach out to the executive if they wished to join back, as they knew how the company worked.

“There is so much to build at Eternal…We need people who already know what good looks like here, and who care enough to fight for it. There is no better person for that than someone who has been here, left, grown, and wants to come back,” Goyal said.