Byju Raveendran has always been a self-learner.<\/p>\n
As a child, he says, he taught himself English. His school in Kerala\u2019s Azhikode village used Malayalam, the local language, as the medium of instruction.<\/p>\n
Years later, those self-learning techniques came handy when Byju appeared for the Common Aptitude Test (CAT) in 2003, the demanding entrance exam for the elite Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). He aced the test with a 100 percentile\u2014twice\u2014but didn\u2019t bother to join any IIM. Instead, the mechanical engineer turned around and took up teaching.<\/p>\n
Byju, 35, is now using those tried-and-test self-learning skills to expand what is already India\u2019s largest education technology startup: Think and Learn, which owns the Byju\u2019s Learning App.<\/p>\n
The app has audio-video and animation tools to teach math, science, and logic to around 200,000 school and college students. The app is gaining around 30,000 new users every month, according to Byju.<\/p>\n
This March, his company raised $75 million<\/a> (Rs505 crore) from Sequoia Capital and the Belgian investment firm, Sofina. This was one of the largest fund-raising in the education startup segment in India.<\/p>\n On July 24, the company said it is in final talks to raise another $50 million\u00a0\u00a0from investors.<\/p>\n \u201cThe freshly-raised funds will be deployed to fuel international expansion and inorganic growth through global acquisitions,\u201d a release from Think and Learn said.<\/p>\n Byju\u2019s parents wanted him to become a doctor. But he joined the Government College of Engineering, Kannur, in northern Kerala.<\/p>\n In 2003, during a vacation, he visited some friends in Bengaluru who insisted that he take a shot at the CAT. \u201cMy friends knew I had my own set of hacks and tricks when it came to math, and they asked why don\u2019t I give it a try,\u201d he recalled. CAT is an unavoidable nightmare for those seeking admission to the top B-schools of India.<\/p>\n Byju appeared for the test and ended with a 100 percentile. Two years later, he appeared for CAT again \u201cjust to check if it wasn\u2019t a fluke.\u201d The result was the same.<\/p>\n His teaching career began sometime in 2006. Byju\u2019s first informal session in Bengaluru, with friends and others, had 40 participants. In six weeks, he was dealing with crowds of almost 1,000 students. His weekend workshops became so popular that soon students from Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune were dropping in. He began charging a small fee and turned it into a full-time job.<\/p>\n \u201cOne day I was in Pune, the next day in Mumbai, and the third in Delhi,\u201d Byju said. He even held his workshops in stadia with around 10,000 students attending his session at a time.<\/p>\n Till 2011, he continued the \u201crunning around.\u201d<\/p>\n That year, he founded Think and Learn, the company that owns the Byju\u2019s app. Some of the best students from his workshops\u2014many of them IIM graduates by now\u2014joined him. His initial focus was only preparations for management entrance tests and the civil services exams.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a teacher by choice and an entrepreneur by chance,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just took off.\u201d<\/p>\n Byju\u2019s focus is simple: change the way students learn.<\/p>\n That\u2019s key in Asia\u2019s third-largest economy where educational outcomes are often based on rote-learning<\/a> and geared simply towards scoring in exams. Practical knowledge or application is seldom the priority. Not surprisingly, many students can\u2019t perform<\/a> (pdf) basic math problems or read full sentences\u00a0\u00a0even at the third or fourth-grade level.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter speaking to some of the brightest students, I realised that most of them, unfortunately, study only because of the fear of exams. They are taught to solve a problem but aren\u2019t enabled to find a problem,\u201d explained Byju, now father to a two-year-old.<\/p>\n He realised that if his strategy of self-learning was adopted in early years at school, it could potentially create a huge impact.<\/p>\n \u201cYou learn the best when you learn on your own,\u201d Byju said. The videos on the app don\u2019t need any guidance from teachers, students can watch and learn by themselves. The app also incorporates quizzes and games involving other students.<\/p>\n The massive Indian education sector, with over 315 million\u00a0school students, has quickly become his target audience. The school vertical, which covers grades 4 through 12, is now bringing in 90% of Think and Learn\u2019s revenue. In June 2016 alone, Byju\u2019s app generated Rs30 crore.<\/p>\n The average annual subscription cost per student is Rs10,000.<\/p>\n Education technology firms in India don\u2019t exactly have a stellar track record.<\/p>\n Unlike the relatively new internet businesses such as e-commerce and taxi-hailing services, education technology firm have been around in India for over two decades. But most failed to sustain their business models.<\/p>\n For instance, the BSE-listed Educomp, which provides schools with digital products and online solutions, is unprofitable and under massive debt\u00a0\u2014Rs3,056.99 crore as of Sept. 2015. In January 2016, its lenders were considering acquiring a majority stake in the firm, the Mint newspaper reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, analysts believe demand for technology in education is still high. In India, this market is expected to be over $70 billion by 2017, with the kindergarten-to-grade 12 range estimated to comprise around 40% of this.<\/p>\n \u201cIndia\u2019s education system is pretty weak, so there is a lot of demand for technology companies to do something extraordinary. But the problem is that none have so far succeeded in monetising from edu-tech businesses in India,\u201d said Yugal Joshi, practice director at Texas-based management consultancy Everest Group. \u201cThere is immense scope for any entrepreneur who can develop a sustainable business that has the potential to make money.\u201d<\/p>\n Joshi believes the newer generation of edu-tech companies like Byju\u2019s have certain advantages over the older ones like Educomp. Much of that has to do with increased smartphone penetration in India and cheaper internet.<\/p>\n Byju, however, wants to look beyond India now. Currently, his app is also available in the Middle East. Over the next few months, it will enter the US, UK, and other Commonwealth countries.<\/p>\n But, back home, some challenges still persist.<\/p>\n For one, Byju admits that since credit card penetration is pretty low, Think and Learn relies heavily on the fintech industry\u00a0\u00a0for payments. He wants to start monthly subscriptions, but that\u2019ll only be possible with the availability of other digital payment channels with huge reach.<\/p>\n Besides, it needs to scale up, while constantly focusing on innovation.<\/p>\n \u201cTechnology will keep changing, and we need to adapt,\u201d Byju said.<\/p>\n source: http:\/\/www.qz.com \/ Quartz \/ Home \/ by Madhura Karnik & Itika Sharma Punit \/ July 27th, 2016<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Byju Raveendran has always been a self-learner. As a child, he says, he taught himself English. His school in Kerala\u2019s Azhikode village used Malayalam, the local language, as the medium of instruction. Years later, those self-learning techniques came handy when Byju appeared for the Common Aptitude Test (CAT) in 2003, the demanding entrance exam for … Continue reading LEARN TO LEARN – India\u2019s largest education technology startup was built by an engineer who aced CAT for fun\u2014twice<\/span> CAT for kicks<\/h2>\n
Catching them young<\/h2>\n
Sustainable business models<\/h2>\n
The road ahead<\/h2>\n