Kerala’s First Unicorn Startup BYJU’s to Hold Meeting with the Government

KOCHI:
BYJU’s, a pioneering 360 degree learning app that combines the salient features of traditional classroom teaching with cutting edge technology, is all set to spread its wings internationally to cater to the requirements of students abroad, its founder said here today.
The online tutoring company would launch an international app by September this year, Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of BYJU’s said while addressing a session at #Future, Kerala’s first ever two-day Global Digital Summit which began here.
“The company will first focus on English and then in other languages,” he pointed out.
Raveendran noted that even the developed markets have their requirements when it comes to education. “And changing the system by getting into the schools consumes a lot of time. Hence, the easiest thing is to change the way the students learn. We know exactly what we are trying to sell which makes our task easier,” he said. “Our aspiration is not to become the best in the country but the best in the world,” he stated emphatically.
M Sivasankar, IT Secretary, Govt. of Kerala, later said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would hold a meeting with Raveendran early April to make use of the latter’s expertise in the state’s Education sector. BYJU’s smart phone app ventured out into the market for the first time with the subject Maths, followed by Science. In no time, the app for English was also created and the company. “We will soon come out with apps for other subjects also,” Raveendran said.
About the strategy which made him one of the major names in the field of education, he said, “Knowing your end user is the primary thing and for us, it is students. Hence, our strategy is to focus on the students while creating the product and then going full–fledged not only in digital but also on TV. Most of our advertisements are mostly on TV because ours is a mass market product. Moreover, the need for such kind of products in a small town like ours is much more than their metro counterparts.”
Besides, the message the company wanted to convey was very clear, he said. “It was to create the love for learning. We will give you all the channels available. But the message was clear and crystal – to develop the love for learning. Nevertheless, the primary thing is that the app has to live up to the expectations of the students. Otherwise, you might acquire a lot of users. But they would not continue with you. Renewal rate is an indication that it is clearly working,” he added.
BYJU’S has emerged as a top-line company in the online education businesses and its stocks have gone skyrocketing, especially after acquisition of TutorVista and Edurite from Pearson, the world’s leading educational and publishing company.