Byju Raveendran is a name that is synonymous with Innovation, Success and India’s Educational revolution. He changed how students learned and how parents interpreted online education. Though he founded the irreplaceable and the most valuable edtech venture i.e, BYJU’S- the learning app, his journey is not just about towering success and brilliance but also about dramatic loss of public trust.
Byju Raveendran was born in Kerala in 1980, into a household rooted in education. His parents were educators, his father taught physics and his mother taught mathematics. From an early age he had a natural curiosity for learning and interacting with people.
He qualified with a degree of Btech in Mechanical Engineering from the Government college of Engineering, Kannur.
And after completing his studies, he started working as a service engineer at a UK based shipping company. It was a decently paid job that allowed him to travel the world.
However, in 2003,when he visited India his life changed for the better. During the visit, he helped a few of his friends to prepare for the CAT (Common Admission Test), India’s top entrance exam for MBA. Byju joined in and decided to take the exam, and scored 100 percentile twice. He rejected the offers from the IIM ( the Indian Institute of Management) and chose to teach instead.
Word of his teaching expertise spread quickly. And what started as a small informal session of tutoring turned into a classroom packed with hundreds of students. What made him popular was his teaching style which focused conceptual clarity and real life examples.
By 2007, he conducted classes at auditoriums and in 2011, Byju Raveendran and his wife, Divya Gokulnath launched Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of BYJU’S , with a mission to make learning effective and engaging for all.
Birthday Of Byju Raveendran
BYJU’s – The Learning App was launched in 2015. Designed for school students of standard 4 to 12 and for those preparing for competitive exams like UPSC, JEE, NEET and CAT. Byju tried to make learning engaging and fun by using animated videos, storytelling techniques and interactive modules.
Within a few years, Byju became the go to and trustworthy platform for millions of parents across India because of its effectiveness and convenience. The company grew rapidly in edtech and attracted Global giant investors like Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, and General Atlantic. From 2016-2021, Byjus witnessed groundbreaking growth. It acquired over 100 millions users and expanded to 21 countries. It also reported annual earnings of 400 million and raised funding in billions.
It was all possible, under the guidance of Byju Raveendran, one of the youngest billionaires in India. He was a finalist for EY Entrepreneur of the year and was also featured in Fortune’s 40 Under 40.
Soon, the company aimed to become a global leader in education technology, which was fulfilled when companies like Osmo(kids learning app based in the USA), Akash Education Service (India’s premier test prep institute) WhiteHat Jr. (Kids coding platform) and Epic (Digital reading platform for kids in US) allowed Byju’s to enter into a new market, expand its product range, and enhance its technological base.
Downturns Faced By The Company
However, the company has to face a downturn, because though the company expanded rapidly, its foundation wasn’t solidified. Byju’s reported loss of over 4000 crore in Financial Year 2022 and by end of 2022 problems started to show up like delayed financial filings (Investors were concerned about lack of transparency), Mass layoffs ( Thousands of employees were fired to save money) and Customer Complaints (Parents reported inadequate support and poor refund service).
End of the pandemic came with the return of offline schooling, which further impacted growth. Online education site lost its market dominance. And Byju’s was left with its high acquisition cost, struggling to hold on to users.
In 2023, the situation of BYJU’S became worse, their valuation dropped from 22 billion to 2 million. Its key board members and auditor and Deloitte regined. Legal case was initiated by multiple investors, such as Peak XV partners and Prosus due to mismanagement and lack of transparency. It didn’t stop there, India’s Enforcement Directorate undertook an investigation to accused foreign exchange violation and illegal fund transfers.
Read Also: Youngest Indian Entrepreneurs
After all this, Byju admitted it’s Business Mistake and accepted he overstimulated growth and underestimated risk. Macroeconomic factors like the Russia- Ukraine war for drying up 700 million in promised funding was also blamed by him.
Journey of Byju Raveendran is filled with valuable lessons, it teaches us that innovation matters but what is equally important is its implementation and governance.
What tempts us is growing fast but growth needs strong fundamentals.
On one hand he transformed millions of students’ lives by making quality education accessible through tech. And on the other, he faced criticism for his financial non-transparency with investors, and hasty expansion.
What perfectly embodies Byju’s Raveendran life is the aspirations of new India i.e, Fearless, Driven and Ambitious. His legacy, though now consumed in controversy, is one of innovation and chaos.
Currently, BYJU’S is undergoing reformation, seeking to bring in new leadership, balance company activities, reconnect and gain trust of investors. Byju Raveendran believes that though the path ahead is steep, the story isn’t over yet.
His story in India’s startup ecosystem will not only be remembered for its speedy scale growth but also for its lessons in transparency, sustainability and limitation.
