For edtech unicorn Physics Wallah, the real test comes now
Alakh Pandey has shown one can build a profitable business with affordable quality education. But can the popular teacher become a successful entrepreneur?
11 January, 2023•9 min
0
11 January, 2023•9 min
0
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Why read this story?
Editor's note: Physics Wallah has got a lot of attention lately. Most of it is on two counts: the edtech startup’s maverick founder, and its organic and profitable growth over the past two years. Alakh Pandey, who started Physics Wallah as a YouTube channel in 2014 from his home, stands out in the crowd of edtech entrepreneurs, with a distinctive focus on making quality test preparation accessible at relatively low prices. While serendipity played a significant role in the genesis of other edtech companies, in Physics Wallah’s case, it was one man’s doggedness. Pandey, 31, has been teaching since he was a teenager. And while his ambitions kept changing—he wanted to be an engineer, then an actor—he has never stopped being a teacher for nearly two decades now. Pandey even dropped out of engineering school to become an educator. His teaching style is part street-smart tricks, part offering life lessons through witty one-liners, a unique strategy that has made him a household name across India’s Hindi heartland. And it has served him, and the company, well. In the 2021-22 financial year, the …
More in Internet
Internet
Why Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto can’t deliver food in 10 minutes
With Swiggy joining the list of companies shutting down their ultra-fast food delivery services, we look at what’s plaguing the 10-minute food delivery sector. And whether there’s any hope at all for those trying.
You may also like
Internet
FirstCry’s Mideast conundrum
The Indian mother and baby products retailer has been slow to grow in the two largest markets of the Gulf. What gives?
Internet
Physics Wallah’s entry into the perilous education business should set alarm bells ringing
Co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari made Physics Wallah the company it is today by keeping their focus on the digital media, test-prep business. With fresh funds at its disposal after the IPO, it is making the mistake of believing it is an education company.
Internet
Why SoftBank has shunned India
For one of the world’s largest and shrewdest investors to entirely skip putting money in the country is a sign of how quickly the nature of the Indian startup ecosystem has changed.