Kult App Senior Executive Alleges Unpaid Salaries and Hush Money Offer
Employees who dedicate years to building a company often become its staunchest defenders, speaking out only under extreme duress. This decision is never taken lightly, especially when one has poured time, effort, and personal belief into an organization's growth. However, what recourse remains when circumstances spiral beyond control? This very dilemma appears to have driven Adyasha Roy Tomar, a senior communications executive at a prominent beauty and skincare application, to share her distressing experience publicly.
A Public Accusation of Financial Neglect
In a detailed LinkedIn post, Adyasha Roy Tomar expressed her embittered association with Kult App, stemming from a fundamental disagreement. "Me, being of the opinion that employees should be paid for their hard work. Them, subscribing to the school of thought that 'salary' is a very loose term contingent on how much money investors release, their P&L and honestly, on their mood," she stated. She clarified the core issue: employees at Kult have not received their salaries since December, with a critical caveat. "SOME employees have not been paid since then because the so-called favourites of the CEO seem to have been paid. The people who were required to quickly churn out investor decks and creatives - paid," Adyasha revealed, highlighting alleged preferential treatment.
She acknowledged the personal risk, noting, "Writing this post might cost me almost 11 lacs - because even if they COULD pay me now, they wouldn’t. But if you know me, money has never held precedence over principle." Reflecting on her decision to join the startup, she described it as a "deal with the devil," expressing regret for leaving the advertising industry and eagerness to return.
Allegations of Hush Money and Investor Backlash
In a subsequent post, Adyasha made a startling additional claim: she was offered money to retract her initial statement. She framed this as a profound irony, given the company's refusal to pay salaries. "You get offered brand endorsement money. I get offered hush money. We are not the same," she wrote. "A representative called me to tell me Rahul would do something for me 'personally' if I would take my post down. So my bro has hush money in his account, but no money to pay salaries?"
She contrasted this with advice from other founders who use personal wealth to meet payroll, quoting a company representative who said, "even if I pay your salaries, how will I run the company?" The executive also reported being told she had "done enough damage" merely by refusing to let the issue persist.
Background and Industry Reaction
Adyasha Roy Tomar serves as the Head of Creative & Brand Communications at Kult App and boasts over eight years of industry experience. Her posts garnered significant attention on LinkedIn, with many users praising her courage and others recommending legal action.
Kult, founded by Karishma Singh and Ruchika Pallavi, is marketed as an AI-driven beauty platform providing personalized skincare recommendations. The startup secured $20 million in Series A funding in April 2025, led by the M3M Family Office. However, in a statement to HT.com, M3M positioned itself as a "victim" of financial mismanagement at Kult, pointing fingers at CEO Karishma Singh and her husband, Rahul Yadav (founder of Housing.com), regarding the delayed salaries. "We are as concerned as any other stakeholder by the reports of unpaid salaries. We want to be clear: M3M is itself a victim of the situation that has unfolded," the statement read.
This controversy underscores ongoing challenges in the startup ecosystem, where rapid growth can sometimes clash with fundamental employee rights and ethical governance.
