Facebook reminded me I wrote this 4 years ago in 2016! Reproducing it in this ๐งต๐
I was part of Byju's Classes back in 2012. It was a CAT prep co, hence 'Classes'.
The focus had just begun on IAS and JEE categories. There was no app strategy in sight at this point.
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I was part of Byju's Classes back in 2012. It was a CAT prep co, hence 'Classes'.
The focus had just begun on IAS and JEE categories. There was no app strategy in sight at this point.
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I was employee no. 20-something. I joined when it was just a one-office operation, the one opposite Forum Mall in Koramangala, next to the Bosch office.
(I believe you can still see an old hoarding there even today)
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(I believe you can still see an old hoarding there even today)
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I had attended Byju's demo session while in college. Needless to say (and 1000s who've attended his sessions will attest) it blows your mind! The passion and enthusiasm of the towering personality that is Byju Raveendran is infectious.
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My batchmate/friend got me an internship at Byju's in January of 2012.
It was the perfect first job for me (I joined full-time after a month). The learning curve was exponential.
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It was the perfect first job for me (I joined full-time after a month). The learning curve was exponential.
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Part of the daily routine involved convincing people over calls to attend the said demo sessions and to convert these attendees into paying students (most bought the course after seeing Byju Raveendran's sessions.
Such was his charisma!
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Such was his charisma!
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I'd say the 1000s of phone conversations (during my time at Byju's) have taught me much more about human interaction, humility, customer service and a bunch of other skills than anything else in life.
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That's why, to date, I recommend every recent grad who's looking to get started with Marketing to go through some sort of a sales/customer-facing role in the early part of their careers.
Worth more than an MBA. Guaranteed.
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Worth more than an MBA. Guaranteed.
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Things moved fast. Soon I was travelling to Hyderabad on weekends to facilitate classes at the three HYD centres.
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Side note: Loved the bus route while coming back. The bus would stop over for dinner and I remember for 6-7 consecutive trips the movie Singham would play and we'd know the exact point in the movie at which the bus would make its stop. ๐
This meant weekends were working days and Monday was the designated day off.
We'd take the last HYD-BLR bus on Sunday night, reach Bangalore around 5:30 AM. But no, this didn't mean that you could reach and crash on the bed. Monday morning was Cricket time.
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We'd take the last HYD-BLR bus on Sunday night, reach Bangalore around 5:30 AM. But no, this didn't mean that you could reach and crash on the bed. Monday morning was Cricket time.
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And Byju's enthusiasm for this was only paralleled by his love for teaching. If he wanted you to come to play, you had to. No excuses. The man seldom took no for an answer.
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Soon enough we moved to a much bigger office with fancy stuff. We had grown from a 20-member team to almost 70-odd. Crazy growth! This is still 2012, btw.
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The company had just started exploring tablets as a medium of content delivery that could sustain in the long term.
Then came the opportunity to set up a Chennai office.
Another colleague and I were assigned the responsibility. We had to move to Chennai.
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Then came the opportunity to set up a Chennai office.
Another colleague and I were assigned the responsibility. We had to move to Chennai.
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And we did so, albeit reluctantly. We set up a few centres there and grew the business. I was just getting used to Chennai when I suffered a great personal loss. The incident broke me. I needed time-off for some reflection. I put in my paper a month later.
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Surely, many more have worked with Byju, for much longer and will have many other stories to tell. I am not trying to paint a rosy picture - there were many things quite not right back then about the company. But, this is just my part of the story and who Byju is from my PoV.
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Winning is almost a habit for Byju, a daily rigour. Losing is not an option, not in the "friendly" cricket matches (where I mostly happened to be on the opposite team, and hence the losing side ๐) nor in business. The drive that this man possesses is unmatched.
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But for me (and not many would know this aspect, maybe only people who've worked with him), the most striking aspect of his persona is the ability to sell.
Anything. To. Anyone.
His convincing abilities are extra-terrestrial.
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Anything. To. Anyone.
His convincing abilities are extra-terrestrial.
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That's the reason he's been able to rally dedicated, passionate people around him to help achieve his vision.
When this man speaks, you listen. The passion and enthusiasm almost borders on insane.
(Side note: read up on Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field)
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When this man speaks, you listen. The passion and enthusiasm almost borders on insane.
(Side note: read up on Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field)
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And that's the reason it is no surprise to me that he's gotten the backing of the topmost VC firms incl. Mark Zuckerberg himself.
(side note: remember this is from 2016)
If there is one man from the Indian Startup ecosystem I can bet on it's Byju Raveendran.
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(side note: remember this is from 2016)
If there is one man from the Indian Startup ecosystem I can bet on it's Byju Raveendran.
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Do I think BYJU's is the best products out there? No.
Is Byju the craziest, most-driven entrepreneur who'll get it done, no matter what? A BIG YES.
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Is Byju the craziest, most-driven entrepreneur who'll get it done, no matter what? A BIG YES.
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For good measure, a disclaimer that this is **completely my own personal opinion** with no bearing on any of my past or present professional engagements. ๐๐ป๐
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