Tough times build robust businesses, says Divya Gokulnath and Byju Raveendran

BYJU’S Co-founders Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath shared their inspiring journey and vision of building the world’s largest EdTech company during their recent talk at an event held in Delhi. The co-founders talked about the tremendous hard work that has gone into creating BYJU’S and the importance of persistence and hard work.

Byju shared his humble beginnings, studying in a Malayalam-medium school in his village, where the shortage of good teachers motivated him to take up teaching himself. He began formal teaching in 2003 and for the first four years of BYJU’S, he used to travel to nine cities in India every week to conduct his classes, without taking a single day’s break. Byju believes that hard work is the key to success and that there is no substitute for it. “There is no shortcut to success,” he said. “Our success didn’t happen overnight. There was a solid decade of hard work behind it. In fact, this has been built brick by brick over the last 18 years”

Divya emphasized that entrepreneurship is not a single long race, but multiple short sprints taken again and again, and that founders who go the distance never take no for an answer. Divya also said that every business has to navigate good and bad times, and the ones that last through the toughest of times are the ones that are meant to last. “How will you know a business is meant to last unless it lasts the toughest of times?” she asked.

The co-founders are committed to providing quality education to all students, regardless of their backgrounds, and believe that technology can play a pivotal role in making education accessible to everyone. BYJU’S has been dedicated to providing personalized, engaging, and effective learning experiences to students worldwide. Education For All, the not-for-profit arm of BYJU’S, provides free digital learning content to 5.5 million underprivileged children across India.

Since its inception, BYJU’S has rapidly expanded its reach, providing quality education to more than 150 million students across 120 countries. Valued at $22 billion, BYJU’S is the world’s leading EdTech company whose origin story can be traced to a remote village in India.

Divya expressed her confidence in India’s growth story and stated that while wars may not last forever, nor will interest rates rise forever, India’s growth story is here to stay. Byju’s success shows that tough times can actually benefit businesses and make them stronger and that with the right mindset and determination, anything is possible.