'Find my number, WhatsApp me': Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal after receiving 8,000 emails 'full of emotions'

The development came following Deepinder Goyal’s invitation to former employees to rejoin the company last week, days after he stepped down as Managing Director and CEO of Eternal.

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal on Wednesday took to X, sharing an overwhelming response to his recent outreach to former employees, revealing that he has received more than 8,000 emails from people eager to reconnect with Eternal. This came days after he stepped down as Managing Director and CEO of Eternal Ltd (formerly Zomato) to explore new business ventures.

In a post on X, Goyal said that nearly half of the messages came from people who had been part of the organisation at some point, while the rest were from those who had never worked there but expressed interest in joining. He wrote, “A quick update on [e-mail]. Over the last week, we received over 8,000 emails. About 4,000 people who have been part of the Eternal journey at some point.”

“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, or fifteen years ago. 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,” Goyal added, thanking all the people who emailed. The founder of the food delivery app further said that it is “not humanly possible” to go through 8,000 emails and “pick and choose the right ones to respond to, quickly.”

He further assured that he is going through every single email that he has received, clarifying that it’ll take time. For people who have already worked with him in the past, Goyal requested them to WhatsApp him. “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 reconnecting.” The development came following Goyal’s invitation to former employees to rejoin the company. Earlier on February 3, he reached out to all the former employees, urging them to join the company back, saying the company has evolved and “the door is not closed.”

In his previous post on X, Goyal wrote, “If you used to work at Zomato, whether you chose to move on, or I was the one who asked you to leave, this is for you.” He further acknowledged that for many of the employees, “Zomato didn't have the environment, or the leadership you needed at the time,” assuring that the company has now grown and is "less chaotic."

He invited those who already understand “what good looks like here(at Eternal), and who care enough to fight for it.”