From Entrepreneur of the Year to ED Lookout: Who is Byju Raveendran?

Kerala to Dubai: With humble beginnings in Azhikode village of Kerala, Byju Raveendran went on from being a sought-after CAT coaching maestro, coaching  a stadium full of students at one point. What started as a one-man show in 2007 became a full-fledged edtech company called Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd in 2011.

Raveendran was fast to capture investments and public sentiment. He signed Shah Rukh Khan as the company’s brand ambassador in 2017, and inked a pact for Men’s Cricket Team in 2019.

BYJU’S also reached the US and Europe, crossing 150 million downloads, and people using the apps for 71 minutes on average in a day.

Prominent backers for the company include Prosus, General Atlantic, PeakXV and Chan Zuckerberg.

The Midas moment for Raveendran was the pandemic surge in online education, which made valuations surge to $22 billion in 2022.

But the same year the world started opening up, and the brick-and-mortar model of education came back. But BYJU’S plans had no halt - he raised a Term Loan B from foreign investors to fuel his global expansion.

This was the beginning of the end.

With mounting losses of WhiteHat Jr., top level exits and investors accusing Raveendran and his family of fund mismanagement, 2023 was a tough year for BYJU’s.

But that did not stop his optimistic candour for the company, as the company defended against disgrunted parents, tormented employees and furious investors. 

Raveendran, a sports player, was born to physics and math teachers. He would stay at home from school and self-learn. This resilient approach led him to mortgage his houses for salary and believe in the company’s vision even after all hell broke loose.

As investors vote in favour of ousting Raveendran and his family from the company, it is to be seen if BYJU’s survives the test of regulation, and emerges out - with or without its founder.