BYJU’S is now a household name; everyone knows BYJU’S. It is also the world’s most‑valued Edtech company. After the latest round of funding in June 2021, BYJU’S is valued at $16.5 Billion.
A few quaint but interesting facts about BYJU’S makes it an interesting read:
BYJU’S-The Unusual Name
BYJU’S gets its name from its founder Byju Raveendran’s first name. The thought behind the brand name; students just called the classes BYJU’S classes and the name stuck.
The First Round of Funding-The Crowded Hotel Lobby
On a wintry morning in the lobby of Manipal’s Valley View Hotel, Ranjan Pai, The Chairman of the Manipal Education and Medical Group witnessed an unusually busy lobby. The hotel manager conveys to him that the crowd of students are here for some management entrance coaching by a guy called Byju. He goes on to say about 800 students attend these classes and this has been happening for a couple of years now. Being an astute businessman, Ranjan Pai had spotted a potential gold mine. By the end of the day, he made an offer to invest in the venture, only if Raveendran could figure out a way to move his business completely online. Aarin Capital, Pai’s investment firm, invested Rs. 50 crores.
“One thing special about BYJU’S is that the company has always raised money on its own terms, purely on the back of its stellar numbers so far. This hasn’t been the case with most of the other big internet companies in India, be it Flipkart or Ola,” says an investment banker.
Divya Gokulnath The BYJU’S Co-Founder and Byju Raveendran’s Wife
After completing her engineering in Biotechnology from RV College of Engineering in Bengaluru, Divya was planning to apply to universities abroad for her Master’s. She wanted to hone her Maths skills before appearing for her GRE and heard of Byju Raveendran’s classes from a friend.
After writing the exams, she calls Mr. Byju to convey that she has written the exam and awaiting the results. Byju suggested her to take a couple of classes and she realizes that teaching is what she wants to do.
On being asked what drew her to Byju. She had this to say, “I really don’t know what happened. I could say our wavelengths matched. Also, he is so passionate about everything he does. In fact, others say that only the two of us can laugh at Math jokes.”.
The rest is history. Divya Gokulnath’s net worth is $4.05 billion.
In a series of articles, we will share more interesting facts about BYJU’S. Watch this space for more
B for BYJU’S It’s All About The Brand.
