BYJU'S FLURRY OF MISTAKES

Byju's had humble beginnings. Byju Raveendran, a hopeful and talented tutor to his peers, began Byju's with his wife, Divya Gokulnath, in 2011.

- Bidisha Mitra

Before that, he was a service engineer who learnt of his teaching penchant by helping his friends crack the CAT exam in 2003. 2007 is when he decided to expand his services. The company started with a much smaller class size but saw significant growth. The focus was on online video-based learning programs catering to K-12 and preparations for competitive exams.

In 2015, Byju's launched an app, Byju's: The Learning App, as smartphone screen sizes grew. They also launched a Parent Connect app and a kid-oriented app. But more importantly, they expanded to the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and other international markets. They estimated at least 150 million users, 900,000 paid users, and an average of 71 minutes of screen time in 2018. They became the first Ed-Tech unicorn in the same year, earning $1 billion in revenue.

We have observed all this success in the past but they seem to be on the news all the time and not for good reasons. So where did Byju's go wrong?

COVID-19 AND THE STRUGGLE ΤΟ CATCH UP

Ed-Tech undeniably rose during the COVID-19 pandemic and Byju's was a leading example for the Ed-Tech industry. They acquired several Ed-Tech startups, including those in the international market. Byju's expanded but at what cost? Their expansive plans created major cashflow problems and a $1.2 billion loan caused disputes with their creditors. More seriously, there were allegations of a toxic work culture. Employees were unable to leave until 10 pm, sick leaves were not a concept, and verbal abuse was a daily observation. There was immense pressure to acquire more customers by any means to regain revenue.