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Educating a Billion
Educating a Billion is an insider's take on how edtech companies in India are trying to solve the issues plaguing our education system and trying to deliver quality at scale. It covers the formative days of India's well-known edtech start-ups-BYJU'S, Unacademy, upGrad and Whitehat Jr, among others, and how these companies created products with a promise that made a difference. The growth of these start-ups is synonymous with the growth of venture capitalist led capital deployment in privately held Indian companies (private markets). The book covers Covid-19-induced changes in our educational system which led to the hypergrowth of the edtech ecosystem, a watershed event for digital start-ups globally.
With a unique ringside perspective, Arjun Mohan weighs in on the future of edtech and how technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) are going to play an important role in the next phase. Above everything else, this book is the story of India's new generation of entrepreneurs and founders-their hopes, their unwavering faith in the face of ambiguity and their rejection of fear. The book is about vision, audacity and optimism that's changing the education system after 200-plus years of slumber.
With a unique ringside perspective, Arjun Mohan weighs in on the future of edtech and how technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) are going to play an important role in the next phase. Above everything else, this book is the story of India's new generation of entrepreneurs and founders-their hopes, their unwavering faith in the face of ambiguity and their rejection of fear. The book is about vision, audacity and optimism that's changing the education system after 200-plus years of slumber.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 25, 2023
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September 27, 2023
What actually happened to Byju's?
Byju's, a unicorn company that many tech pandits and investing moguls envisaged to be the future of education has been facing a quandary in the last few months. What if the CEO of Byju's himself comes up with a book that will extirpate all your doubts regarding the company? But won't such an anatomization be biased if a partisan of the company tries to expound the predicament? That is what makes this book prepossessing. Arjun Mohan, the author of the book, was not the CEO of Byju's while writing this book. He became Byju's CEO only after writing and publishing this book. He used all his experience when he was part of the core team that formed Byju's app and all his journey along with Byju's till it became a unicorn company when he joined as Upgrad CEO to give us his unbiased perspective of the company.
There are many other vital topics that the author delineates in this book.
- What is the future of edtech startups in this post-COVID era?
- How is AI changing the way we look at education?
- How can YouTube, Games, and stimulation revolutionize education?
- What are the advantages of edtech companies over the conventional system of education, and how the hybrid system of education can make quality education accessible to billions of people around the world?
Arjun systematically tries to diagnose the company's problems using his management skills and gives solutions to them forthrightly and effectively.
What I learned from this book
1) What does it mean to be educated?
This is a topic that many great personalities like Gandhi, Krishnamurti, Orwell, Malala, and many others have discussed in depth in the past. The author gives his approach and idea of education in this book.
2) What is a high burn rate, and why is it relevant in the case of startups?
A high burn rate means that a company is depleting its cash supply at a fast pace. It is one of the most essential metrics in the case of startups. The author, who has been one of the core members of one of the biggest startups in the world, discusses it here.
3) What does the term WhatsApp entrepreneurs mean?
Technology has changed the way we look at everything in this world. Business is one of the fields that saw drastic changes due to technological innovations. The author tells us how to use apps like WhatsApp and social media to successfully run a business.
4) What is one of the most important lessons that a business person should be careful about while running a successful business?
Arjun mentions a valuable point that all business people, especially successful ones, should be careful about in their careers. This lesson, which the author mentions (given below), might be one of the fundamental lessons regarding management. But this is also sadly the same one that many successful business people ignore, which in turn will hinder the company's progress.
My favourite three lines from this book
What could have been better?
This book is what we call the right book to publish at the right time, and I liked the author's honest approach and everything that he wrote in this book. This is one of those rare books where I could not find a negative. I am sure we will see more books from the author in the future as he successfully wrote a flawless book in his first attempt at writing.
Rating
4.5/5
The author did a fantastic job in writing a well-balanced book discussing education in India. I think Byju Raveendran is not a person who should be beleaguered at work as he is sincerely working to fulfill his passion. Let us wish that the author, along with Byju, will be able to use these techniques and strategies mentioned in this book to bring Byju's back on track, as the success of such an edtech company is vital in educating our children who play a pivotal role in shaping our future.
You should never miss this book if you are a business person or if you think that education is an integral part of a human being's life.
Huge thanks to Penguin India for sending me a copy of this book.
Content warning - Nil
—————————————————————————
You can also follow me on
Instagram ID - Dasfill | YouTube Channel ID - Dasfill | YouTube Health Channel ID - Dasfill - Health | YouTube Malayalam Channel ID - Dasfill - Malayalam | Threads ID - Dasfill | Twitter ID - Dasfill1 | Snapchat ID - Dasfill | Facebook ID - Dasfill | TikTok ID - Dasfill1
Byju's, a unicorn company that many tech pandits and investing moguls envisaged to be the future of education has been facing a quandary in the last few months. What if the CEO of Byju's himself comes up with a book that will extirpate all your doubts regarding the company? But won't such an anatomization be biased if a partisan of the company tries to expound the predicament? That is what makes this book prepossessing. Arjun Mohan, the author of the book, was not the CEO of Byju's while writing this book. He became Byju's CEO only after writing and publishing this book. He used all his experience when he was part of the core team that formed Byju's app and all his journey along with Byju's till it became a unicorn company when he joined as Upgrad CEO to give us his unbiased perspective of the company.
There are many other vital topics that the author delineates in this book.
- What is the future of edtech startups in this post-COVID era?
- How is AI changing the way we look at education?
- How can YouTube, Games, and stimulation revolutionize education?
- What are the advantages of edtech companies over the conventional system of education, and how the hybrid system of education can make quality education accessible to billions of people around the world?
Arjun systematically tries to diagnose the company's problems using his management skills and gives solutions to them forthrightly and effectively.
What I learned from this book
1) What does it mean to be educated?
This is a topic that many great personalities like Gandhi, Krishnamurti, Orwell, Malala, and many others have discussed in depth in the past. The author gives his approach and idea of education in this book.
"Being educated means a lot more than becoming literate, and educated citizens are what our nation needs to take our quality of living to the next level, to help move more of our population out of poverty. To be educated in this complex world, it is necessary to get access to high-quality and technical higher education. Only an educated population will help our nation reap the demographic dividend, i.e., the phase in a nation's life when the number of people who can work is higher than those who cannot."
2) What is a high burn rate, and why is it relevant in the case of startups?
A high burn rate means that a company is depleting its cash supply at a fast pace. It is one of the most essential metrics in the case of startups. The author, who has been one of the core members of one of the biggest startups in the world, discusses it here.
"The growth stage of startups is also typically associated with high burn, i.e., the difference in their spendings and earnings in a fixed time period (could be a month, quarter or annual). This value typically is high and hence called burn because in a lot of cases they lose money faster than literally putting the cash on fire."
3) What does the term WhatsApp entrepreneurs mean?
Technology has changed the way we look at everything in this world. Business is one of the fields that saw drastic changes due to technological innovations. The author tells us how to use apps like WhatsApp and social media to successfully run a business.
"I have recently met another entrepreneur-famous for blurring the lines between being an entrepreneur and an investor- -not able to hold a ten-minute meeting without checking his WhatsApp screen and responding to messages.
These people can sure type fast! I have met a lot of WhatsApp managers in my career the new breed of young managers who prefer to give the gospels of management on their team WhatsApp group rather than sitting and mentoring the team members individually on their process, data and pitch. I guess when some of them grow up and start their own companies, they end up becoming WhatsApp entrepreneurs"
4) What is one of the most important lessons that a business person should be careful about while running a successful business?
Arjun mentions a valuable point that all business people, especially successful ones, should be careful about in their careers. This lesson, which the author mentions (given below), might be one of the fundamental lessons regarding management. But this is also sadly the same one that many successful business people ignore, which in turn will hinder the company's progress.
"In other words, be cash positive, grow steadily and extend your runway. This in my view, is actually a good thing. I had realized, thanks to the many mentors I had, that while capital is essential for growth, excess capital can be very dangerous. An entrepreneur loses focus and gets carried away when there is too much capital. A good business is always Guilt when the people running it treat money with respect, doing their utmost to get the best value out of it which then directly translates into giving the best service to your customer.
Too much of capital makes you feel that you should not be spending time on small things like negotiating to get the best deal for your company and customers or using your vision and purpose rather than money to attract the best talent. You end up attracting a lot wrong people and overpaying them when you try to solve every problem by throwing money at it."
My favourite three lines from this book
"If libraries could solve the problem of education, universities would have never existed. But they do and they exist because learners are not self-motivated to learn and they need someone to build and execute a structured curriculum which delivers outcomes for them This is why universities exist."
“That's wow! Is he a teacher or a businessman? Why can't one be both anyway."
"The stories of Karan Bajaj writing personal emails to media honchos to help people find a new job is something you will keep hearing from his old staff. He always made it a point to maintain a great relationship with his employees and network, a key skill which helped him go places."
What could have been better?
This book is what we call the right book to publish at the right time, and I liked the author's honest approach and everything that he wrote in this book. This is one of those rare books where I could not find a negative. I am sure we will see more books from the author in the future as he successfully wrote a flawless book in his first attempt at writing.
Rating
4.5/5
The author did a fantastic job in writing a well-balanced book discussing education in India. I think Byju Raveendran is not a person who should be beleaguered at work as he is sincerely working to fulfill his passion. Let us wish that the author, along with Byju, will be able to use these techniques and strategies mentioned in this book to bring Byju's back on track, as the success of such an edtech company is vital in educating our children who play a pivotal role in shaping our future.
You should never miss this book if you are a business person or if you think that education is an integral part of a human being's life.
Huge thanks to Penguin India for sending me a copy of this book.
Content warning - Nil
—————————————————————————
You can also follow me on
Instagram ID - Dasfill | YouTube Channel ID - Dasfill | YouTube Health Channel ID - Dasfill - Health | YouTube Malayalam Channel ID - Dasfill - Malayalam | Threads ID - Dasfill | Twitter ID - Dasfill1 | Snapchat ID - Dasfill | Facebook ID - Dasfill | TikTok ID - Dasfill1
September 24, 2023
This book is a deep insight into the most daunting and noble task of educating the largest young population in the world. Using some very interesting and well written stories, Arjun manages to paint a very vivid picture of the journey of edtech. And there is no one better to do this than someone like Arjun - someone who has seen and developed some of the big edtechs so up close. A must-read for anyone that wants to understand the space, specifically how it evolved, and develop a view on how it will shape up in the future!
October 15, 2023
Read the book educating a billion.
Got me really interested in the Indian edutech space and a good first person account of what went behind in building this. While there was the initial euphoria- the book takes a balanced approach to growth and potential of the industry.
Wishing Arjun good luck on his new super challenging stint. He seems well suited to take this job!
Got me really interested in the Indian edutech space and a good first person account of what went behind in building this. While there was the initial euphoria- the book takes a balanced approach to growth and potential of the industry.
Wishing Arjun good luck on his new super challenging stint. He seems well suited to take this job!
December 19, 2023
“Experienced marketers don’t launch their brand with a celebrity. The celebrity who is already very famous gives the brand a lot of eyeballs but also ends up making the brand forever associated and subservient to himself or herself. The association will forever make the brand a second fiddle to the celebrity thus not giving it an opportunity to make an impact with its customer or occupy a unique space in the minds of its customers.”
With digitisation and technology knocking on doors in every sector of human life, it becomes necessary to ponder how it affects our education system, how we teach, how students consume, and how it revolutionises the way humans are being shaped. Educating a Billion delves into the same. The book presents a take on how edtech organisations are trying to solve the issue in our Indian education system.
From an insider's perspective, the author examines the early days of renowned start-ups like BYJU'S, Unacademy, upGrad, and Whitehat Jr, providing readers with a glimpse of their formative years and their transformative impact on Indian education. From their inception till the time these startups became household names in every other house in India, the author gives a complete picture of how these organisations made a difference.
The book has successfully captured the relationship between the growth of these firms and the infusion of venture capital, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of the Indian private market. Also, the book examines the edtech boom triggered by the calamity such as Covid-19 and looks at how it continues to evolve to face the challenges that plague digital startups globally.
The book is brilliantly written covering multitudes of aspects around education, edtech, entrepreneurship, venture capitalism, and starting up. It’s an inspiring chronicle that throws light on the vision, audacity and optimism that’s changing the education system after two centuries of idleness.
With digitisation and technology knocking on doors in every sector of human life, it becomes necessary to ponder how it affects our education system, how we teach, how students consume, and how it revolutionises the way humans are being shaped. Educating a Billion delves into the same. The book presents a take on how edtech organisations are trying to solve the issue in our Indian education system.
From an insider's perspective, the author examines the early days of renowned start-ups like BYJU'S, Unacademy, upGrad, and Whitehat Jr, providing readers with a glimpse of their formative years and their transformative impact on Indian education. From their inception till the time these startups became household names in every other house in India, the author gives a complete picture of how these organisations made a difference.
The book has successfully captured the relationship between the growth of these firms and the infusion of venture capital, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of the Indian private market. Also, the book examines the edtech boom triggered by the calamity such as Covid-19 and looks at how it continues to evolve to face the challenges that plague digital startups globally.
The book is brilliantly written covering multitudes of aspects around education, edtech, entrepreneurship, venture capitalism, and starting up. It’s an inspiring chronicle that throws light on the vision, audacity and optimism that’s changing the education system after two centuries of idleness.
November 9, 2023
During a community stint at Tata Administrative Service (TAS), the narrator comes across an NGO that mainly focused on bringing children back to school through grades I to V. The NGO coordinators who doubled up as teachers tried hard to impart Mathematical education to the kids but to no avail. They appeared to be distracted yet a Bollywood movie held their attention. In a flicker of an idea, Arjun tests the prototype of Byju's product that taught Mathematics using music and simulating animation.
'Educating a Billion' gives an insider account of how prominent Ed tech companies entered the Indian economy and disrupted education. From making learning flexible by selling educational tabs to getting noticed by the Manipal Group and tech giants like Samsung, Byju showed tremendous courage and exhibited enormous resilience in the face of adversity.Some of the most pertinent questions posed by the book included - Does the ability of basic reading and writing contribute to nation-building?While mentioning the strategic partnership between Khan Academy and Byju's of developing a revolutionary chatbot that combined the features of ChatGPT and traditional teaching methods, he emphasizes on how AI is not equipped for emotional intelligence and instilling discipline in students.
Filled with interesting anecdotes, and insights from renowned entrepreneurs and backed by relevant facts and figures, 'Educating a Billion' is an attempt to portray the hustle culture from grassroots levels.
'Educating a Billion' gives an insider account of how prominent Ed tech companies entered the Indian economy and disrupted education. From making learning flexible by selling educational tabs to getting noticed by the Manipal Group and tech giants like Samsung, Byju showed tremendous courage and exhibited enormous resilience in the face of adversity.Some of the most pertinent questions posed by the book included - Does the ability of basic reading and writing contribute to nation-building?While mentioning the strategic partnership between Khan Academy and Byju's of developing a revolutionary chatbot that combined the features of ChatGPT and traditional teaching methods, he emphasizes on how AI is not equipped for emotional intelligence and instilling discipline in students.
Filled with interesting anecdotes, and insights from renowned entrepreneurs and backed by relevant facts and figures, 'Educating a Billion' is an attempt to portray the hustle culture from grassroots levels.
January 18, 2024
With a teacher-student ratio of 1:42, and the quality of several teachers, each expected to teach forty-two students at the same time, another concern is the infrastructure in Indian schools. In the country, the first attempt at using technology at scale in schools was by Educomp, Digimate by HP, and Next Education. Nowadays we know Meritnation, BYJU'S, Unacademy and Vedantu.
This book discusses the vision, audacity and optimism of the tech companies and entrepreneurs that are changing the education system after 200-plus years of slumber. The COVID-19 lockdown gave online learning a boost and the post-covid scenario was that people rushed back to offline learning, BYJU'S was keen to buy an academic company, right on time. The perfect business decision, not due to lack of confidence in online learning, but because of the need of the hour.
The book is highly professional and productive. It talks on the basis of real facts and that too after great research. The author has covered all essential details and points regarding the world of online education. The language used is easy and engaging, it's written in an interesting manner. It's an insider's take on the business. The author Arjun Mohan is an authority in the Edtech ecosystem who has played an integral role in helping the rise of several Edtech Start-ups. He has used his experience and opportunities to introduce us to the world of Edtech Start-ups and their business strategies. This insightful book is definitely worth reading.
This book discusses the vision, audacity and optimism of the tech companies and entrepreneurs that are changing the education system after 200-plus years of slumber. The COVID-19 lockdown gave online learning a boost and the post-covid scenario was that people rushed back to offline learning, BYJU'S was keen to buy an academic company, right on time. The perfect business decision, not due to lack of confidence in online learning, but because of the need of the hour.
The book is highly professional and productive. It talks on the basis of real facts and that too after great research. The author has covered all essential details and points regarding the world of online education. The language used is easy and engaging, it's written in an interesting manner. It's an insider's take on the business. The author Arjun Mohan is an authority in the Edtech ecosystem who has played an integral role in helping the rise of several Edtech Start-ups. He has used his experience and opportunities to introduce us to the world of Edtech Start-ups and their business strategies. This insightful book is definitely worth reading.
September 24, 2023
This book is an excellent analysis and insight into how the Ed tech industry in India went from its coaching days to build an online education behemoth. Arjun, who is deeply entrenched and has worked across several Ed tech Startups, goes through the Ed tech journey from early days of 2006, first as a student, then as a teacher, then as someone who created one of the first video content channels online on YouTube and online, and finally help leadership roles in edtech startup driving it to a billion dollar industry while scripting the entire story of edtech with Byjus’s in India, then international and then later with Upgrad.
What I loved about the book is that it is peppered with personal stories of Ed tech founders, stakeholders and VCs providing a very interesting insight into the behind the scenes of what it took to build one of India’s most valuable unicorns and it’s impact pre and post pandemic. Coupled with his knack for storytelling, the book has some very interesting chapters making this book a page turner- be it Bollywood actor, Meta partner ship and how success and failure entwined itself in this roller coaster journey of edtech in last 10 years.
Must read for business book lovers!
What I loved about the book is that it is peppered with personal stories of Ed tech founders, stakeholders and VCs providing a very interesting insight into the behind the scenes of what it took to build one of India’s most valuable unicorns and it’s impact pre and post pandemic. Coupled with his knack for storytelling, the book has some very interesting chapters making this book a page turner- be it Bollywood actor, Meta partner ship and how success and failure entwined itself in this roller coaster journey of edtech in last 10 years.
Must read for business book lovers!
October 4, 2023
A brilliantly written corporate story. Few business journeys are narrated this way which is both immensely informative and extremely interesting. Arjun demonstrates a real knack of story telling while educating the reader about the ed-tech industry as well as the start-up and investment world.
This is a story not only of the roller-coaster journey of the ed-tech industry but also a story of powerful and inspiring leadership and entrepreneurship.
A very inspiring read; fast -paced and nail-biting at times; extremely informative and educational. Educational for me as a corporate professional and as a parent as the book also lays out the way the education space is transforming and the options available for educating our children.
Hard to believe this is the first book from Arjun. Must read for people interested in business books.
This is a story not only of the roller-coaster journey of the ed-tech industry but also a story of powerful and inspiring leadership and entrepreneurship.
A very inspiring read; fast -paced and nail-biting at times; extremely informative and educational. Educational for me as a corporate professional and as a parent as the book also lays out the way the education space is transforming and the options available for educating our children.
Hard to believe this is the first book from Arjun. Must read for people interested in business books.
January 2, 2024
As an ex-Byju's employee, I breezed through this book with ease. As much as the author admired Byju's, I loved that he was critical of certain decisions that were made. Personally, for me, Byju's was a great place to grow professionally, and I'll always be thankful for that, so this was a great read for me to understand why certain 'bad decisions' were made.
Some chapters felt a little too personal and, without much context, I felt disconnected. The book sort of assumes that we'd know certain people. The length was perfect for this kind of a book. The book oscillated between being a biography and a book about ed-tech. I didn't mind it, though my friend did. He was expecting an entire book about ed-tech. Overall, it was lovely for me to read over the weekend!
Some chapters felt a little too personal and, without much context, I felt disconnected. The book sort of assumes that we'd know certain people. The length was perfect for this kind of a book. The book oscillated between being a biography and a book about ed-tech. I didn't mind it, though my friend did. He was expecting an entire book about ed-tech. Overall, it was lovely for me to read over the weekend!
October 19, 2023
The best business books feel like compelling page turners at their best rather than academic studies, and for those interested in edtech, complicated business and societal challenges, or startups, this book does just that. The author, who has been a leader in ed tech in India for over a decade, has a personal and accessible style of writing that is both easy to read and engaging. I especially enjoyed some of the personal anecdotes about the beginnings of Byju's, the profiles of some of the key players in the ed tech space, and finally the challenges when the world changed with COVID. An exciting debut book, highly recommend!
September 27, 2023
Educating a Billion is quick paced and interesting story of edtech in India. The author being an insider is able to interestingly present complex scenarios with ease through personal anecdotes thus making the narrative interesting. I will recommend this book to people interested in education, startups, investing and marketing. The section on BYJUS casting SRK is an absolute reference section for a modern day marketer.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews