Vivan Vatsa, Co-founder of The People Company, has sparked a debate on social media after his scathing critique of India’s growing “get-rich-quick” online course culture. In a viral LinkedIn post, Vatsa called out the mushrooming industry of self-proclaimed influencers who sell expensive courses to unsuspecting youngsters, promising shortcuts to wealth and success.
Calling out the new-age ‘course mafia’
“India’s real scam isn’t unemployment. It’s pseudo-influencers selling ₹50,000 ‘get-rich’ courses,” Vatsa wrote. He argued that teenagers, with little life or work experience, are teaching others how to build agencies or scale businesses without having sustained a single client. “Kids who haven’t seen 1/4th of the world are selling ₹50K courses on ‘scaling to 1 lakh per month’ as passive income. What a joke!” he added.
According to Vatsa, these courses exploit young people’s desperation, selling them fantasies while skipping fundamentals. “Courses are the biggest poison of the online world. Courses are the cheap drugs of the internet. They promise shortcuts and deliver delusions,” he said. He warned that such schemes confuse social media popularity with competence, misleading impressionable students into believing that burnout equals success.
A deeper societal problem
Vatsa also blamed societal pressure for fueling this ecosystem. “Indian families start the poison early: ‘What’s your salary?’ ‘How much will you earn?’ Money first, everything else later. Course sellers exploit this desperation,” he wrote, adding that young people are conditioned to chase quick money rather than real skills.
Quoting philosopher Nietzsche — “To destroy a people, you must first corrupt their youth” — Vatsa warned that the trend could have long-term consequences if not checked. “Stop poisoning young minds. Stop selling easy money fantasies. Young people: Wake up. Build real skills. Live real lives. The shortcuts lead nowhere,” he urged.
The post quickly drew attention from netizens, many of whom echoed his concerns. “It’s because of the so-called social media standards which shouldn’t be normal. Get-rich by 20 and retire by 30 — I find them misleading,” one user commented. Another wrote: “Shortcuts promise speed but deliver delusion. The fundamentals are non-negotiable.”
