[Thread]
A #WhatsApp message, six weeks of talks and a $300 million deal.
How @realkaranbajaj sold his less than 18-month old startup @whitehatjunior to @BYJUS👇
Read: businessinsider.in/business/start…
➡️Six weeks ago, #KaranBajaj, founder of coding edutech startup White Hat Jr, got a #WhatsApp message from #ByjuRaveendran, co-founder of edutech unicorn Byju’s, saying that he really admires how Bajaj has built the company.
➡️The duo chatted and over the next day, a $300 million deal was chalked out – Byju’s was going to acquire White Hat Jr.
➡️The acquisition of White Hat Jr has got everyone talking for its multiple facets – an 18-month old startup made one of India’s largest & fastest venture exits with an all cash deal of $300 million, Bajaj being one of the major shareholders of the company made a sweet fortune.
➡️And this meant, the investors also got a great exit.
➡️Arriving at the $300 million number
-The first week was about aligning the deal and the term, the second week was aligning with investors and the next four weeks were about the deal closure.
And while Bajaj said there was no science behind the $300 million number, he thought it was a great deal, even when the company was growing at a fast rate and closed July with a revenue of $150 million.
➡️Did you sell too soon?
“I realised that I have figured out a product which seems to work really well in India and the US. The next thought was how do I expand very aggressively globally and create teaching jobs.
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I figured out there's nothing I will be able to do faster and better than I could do with Byju’s,” said Bajaj.
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-The startup was doubling its India and US business month-on-month. In fact, before lockdown the revenue of the company was at $25 million a month and today that has shot up to $150 million, according to data shared by Bajaj.
➡️@BYJUS and @whitehatjunior to launch in 5 new countries
-For Bajaj, the common thread with Byju was a boundaryless view of the world and that also means that they are now set to launch in more countries.
-Byju’s and White Hat Jr are gearing up for launch in six new countries– UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Germany this month.
-With the National Education Policy making coding a mandatory subject in school, there’s a vast opportunity in India as well.
Both Byju’s and White Hat Jr see over 65% of their users coming in from beyond the top 15 cities, and their aim together is to go deeper into India.
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