BYJU'S BETTER HALF

WEARING MULTIPLE HATS—TEACHER, ENTREPRENEUR, CONTENT DEVELOPER, MOTHER— DIVYA GOKULNATH HAS HELPED BUILD INDIA’S LARGEST EDTECH COMPANY

- DEBOJYOTI GHOSH

DIVYA GOKULNATH

34, CO-FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, BYJU’S (NEW)

DIVYA, WHO HAS A KEEN WILLINGNESS TO SHARE HER KNOWLEDGE, WAS CLOSELY INVOLVED IN LAUNCHING BYJU’S FREE LIVE CLASSES FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS DURING THE LOCKDOWN PERIOD.

DIVYA GOKULNATH’S seven-year-old son Nish is a happy camper these days. Like many professionals, his mother— the co-founder and director of Byju’s, India’s largest education technology (edtech) company—is at home a lot more. “And my son loves it,” she says with a smile. Why wouldn’t he? Before the restrictions on movement imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 34-year-old worked 12-hour days, leaving for the office at 8.30 a.m. and not getting home until 8-8.30 p.m. “Besides my maternity break, I have never stayed at home for this long!”

Because, by her own admission, Divya is a workaholic, continuing to juggle board responsibilities, team calls, and her online live classes even during the lockdown. If anything, her schedule has become more gruelling. She had been closely involved in launching Byju’s free live classes for students as schools across the country were shut down. In March, 6 million new students joined the online platform for free live classes, while another 7.5 million signed on in April. “Students were missing the regularity that schools provide. We wanted to bring that back,” points out Divya, who has been conducting daily live classes on biology for students between grades 8 and 10, and mathematics for grades 4-7.