In today’s tech-driven era where you can find everything on the internet – from pin to plane, education is no different. In fact, technology has been playing a prominent role at the forefront of the education sector in India. And when it comes to e-learning, one name that probably strikes everyone’s mind is Byju’s.
Byju’s has established itself among those top brands in India that need no introduction. The platform was founded by Byju Raveendran in 2011 and it is now valued at US$22 billion. Want to know the journey of Raveendram and his team?
Let’s find out how an engineer’s passion for teaching led him to start the world’s most valued ed-tech company.
How Did It Begin?
Hailing from a small village in Kerala, Byju Raveendran had bigger dreams in his eyes. He always wanted to achieve something big in his life and all his hard work and struggles finally paid off when he launched India’s most popular e-learning platform which we all know as Byju’s. Before launching his own startup, Raveendran was an engineer in a UK-based shipping company.
During his stint in that company, Byju began assisting his friends in their preparations for the CAT exam, which is required for admission to the best business schools in India. In order to test himself, Raveendran also gave the exam and he outperformed everyone in it by securing 100 percentile. Despite scoring such good numbers, the boy didn’t join any of the IIMs and instead started teaching mathematics to students.
Initially, he used to take free maths classes but eventually started charging fees when he was confident about his prowess. At one point, his teaching sessions became so popular that over 20,000 students were attending a single workshop. It was in 2009 when he started to record videos of his workshops. And that’s how Byju’s was born. Raveendran launched “The Learning App” in 2011, and the app was downloaded by more than 5.5 million people in the first year itself.
Success Of Byju’s
Byju’s primary goal was to provide online coaching to kids in grades four to twelve. The platform attempted to make learning both effective and engaging. Gradually, the App started growing in terms of popularity and so did the number of students. The platform had over 3.50 lac annual memberships, with users spending an average of 40 minutes per day on the app, and over 6 million downloads.
BYJU’s learning App has quickly become the most popular education mobile application among students of all ages. Rich animations, engaging videos, interactive simulations, unique content, and lessons from India’s greatest teachers are used in this app.
From Ordinary To Extraordinary
There is no doubt in saying that Byju’s has played a significant role in revolutionizing the educational sector in India. And Raveendran efforts didn’t go unnoticed. In June 2020, his company secured a $10.5 billion investment, making it the world’s most valuable ed-tech startup. It was also FIFA World Cup 2022 official sponsor. Over 115 million people have downloaded the app till date.
In addition to this, the company has introduced a hybrid approach that emphasizes offline learning. They have so far established 80 centres across the country and the team is intended to open 500 more in 200 cities of India. Moreover, Byju’s content is trusted by students all around the country. It’s success story serves as an inspiration to budding entrepreneurs at every nook and corner of the world.