The Edtech Space in India is undergoing a revolution. Myriad platforms catering to the needs of students preparing for competitive exams have sprang up lately. Quite a lot of them have even joined the coveted Unicorn Club ( $1 billion). The latest addition and the most talked about among them all seems to be the PW (PhysicsWallah). Its meteoric rise in this sector is just astounding. From humble beginnings to a rising behemoth, it has battled numerous odds and endless difficulties ranging from finances to those concerning Edtech rivalries; it has been triumphant in all of them. In this blog we shall
shed light upon its journey, its uniqueness in this field and its future prospects and also the motivational powerhouse that drives its growth.
About Physics Wallah – Headquartered in the city of Noida in the State of Uttar Pradesh this company was founded by Alakh Pandey, notably a college dropout. This bootstrapped company founded in the year 2016, is an Edtech platform that prepares students for JEE(Joint Entrance Examination) and NEET(National Eligibility cum Entrance Test). Youtube Channel providing free courses initially it now has a devoted PW app under its auspices. Through these various renderings it seeks to provide a maximum learning experience for its registered users and millions of other students on its YT Platform. It has an enormous presence on other social media platforms too. The platform offers live classes, video lectures, test series and other Dynamic Exercises. In addition to all of this PW has recently opened more than 20 offline coaching centres across 18 cities and boasts a current students number of about 10,000 and its rising at a tremendous pace. A unique space for online educators, it currently has 1900 employees, about 500 teachers, (90-100) tech experts and other 200 associate professors to solve students’ queries and doubts. Also, 200 professionals are devoted for the sole purpose of creating exam questions, and other testing services.
The Story of Alakh Pandey( Founder)- Alakh Pandey was born in the city of Prayagraj in the year 1991. A studious candidate from the start, financial difficulties at home led him to provide tuition classes for Class 4 students from Class 8th onwards. This was the beginning of his teaching journey. Interested in the subject of Science especially Physics he continued to teach and developed a teaching acumen and an actor’s dramatic skills. Well we must add that he surprisingly wanted to become an actor. Nonetheless, the lack of coaching and money prevented him from bagging a place in the prestigious IIT’s. Through loans taken in from banks and members of his family he ensured a place in HBTU KANPUR for a BTech degree. His abiding interest in the subject of Physics paved the way for his choice of the Mechanical Engineering branch. The College Space enriched his experience in a very large way, he in fact scored the maximum marks in a variety of subjects. Somehow he felt that there was a missing point in his life, a void so to say. The lackadaisical attitude of the professors combined with insufficient infrastructural facilities of the College Lab forced him to rethink and after some difficult conversations with his father and sister he managed to convince them too of his decision. This was the pivotal point of his life. After a sarcastic remark by his sister Aditi Pandey of his becoming a ‘Chai Wallah’ if he moved forward with his decision provided him an apt name for the venture he would undertake and this is how the idea of Physics Wallah came into existence.
The Startup Journey- The journey though seeming promising at the start was marred by immense financial distress. He had commenced his role as an educator in the midst of burgeoning bank loans and somewhat ruined family ties. He went back to Prayagraj to act upon his idea. With an investment of about ₹30,000 ,he bought a Camera Phone, a Tripod, Whiteboard and a few books. This was all in the year 2016. He didn’t have any idea that he could even earn through YouTube. Surprisingly seeing a lack of teachers catering to the needs of an ICSE student he focused his attention there. He began by making lectures on the subjects of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. A ₹5,000 monthly salary was what he would accrue, and he even garnered a total of about 10,000 subscribers in the year 2016. The next year the mark crossed the 50,000 mark and then there was no looking back. His tedious and long bike rides and his own struggles with maintaining his high calibre and determination depict the fair amount of grit he had.
The creative enterprise that his teaching incorporates must be shed light upon too. Certainly it is this aspect that cradles his uniqueness. We have mentioned above somewhere, that he had a love for acting and dramatics. His fondness for Nukkad Natak had continued in his College years too and very astutely he brought this element into his teaching antics too.This is the most striking and interesting points of his lectures,in fact it is this that provided him an immense sway over the students. Crafting stories which help to explain complex problems, characters used as a prop for the understanding of various concepts, all of them are the trademark elements that leverage his services to a very high position. This positional advantage then snowballs into other Edtech related fields as well. It brings other inspired and creative individuals into the team and provides them a person to look up to.
Uniqueness of PW- The first thing that one notices as soon as one is acquainted with the fee structure of the PW app is its low cost services. Personal coaching takes anywhere between ₹40,000-50,000 annually, on average here in India. Their routine focus upon lowering the expenses via the use of effective technological services has proven to be of utmost benefit. Mr. Pandey’s own experience of going without any formal coaching and thus his failure to crack the IIT exam, generated in him a strong desire to educate students for a very low price and disregard the role of money as a barrier in this process. Another fabulous point that adds to this uniqueness is their attitude with hybrid experimentation. Alakh Pandey regards this aspect as the future of the Edtech industry in India. As has already been made known that he had a considerable online media presence which leveraged him into a position to fend off some of the massive industry giants and even open a series of offline PW centres. This form of provision thus entails a strong success marker. A focus now has also been shown in the personalised learning experience for students. PW’s online platform for instance has this additional feature. No promotional ads, no learning ‘breakers’ , a truly no nonsense educational service is what PW has finally brought in for the students. He has in various interviews made it known that the prices will be disruptive and they are working on expanding their presence in a very large way. He has said repeatedly that their goal is to bring about 250 million students under their fold by the year 2025. A truly ambitious goal indeed! Courses would now be offered in up to 9 different regional Indian languages. This would provide them an immense boost today to say the very least. In fact it is also a step in the right direction which is curbing the wide regional disparities and social differences. Internal surveys and various other factors combine to provide it the clean cut image it has rightfully cultivated.
Funding and Revenue Models- The Covid Pandemic proved to be a serious offset for the Coaching institutions. Amidst mass layoffs and plummeting profits, how this company bagged the Unicorn badge is certainly commendable. A $100 million dollar funding in the First Round itself from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures lifted it to immense popularity and has set it for further success. Its revenue for the FY 2020-21 was about ₹24.52 crore with a Profit of ₹6.93 crore. Then this figure skyrocketed for FY22 it was about $65 million or ₹350 crore. It has various cost reducing elements too. It spends nearly no money on Advertisements. All of it being driven by the personal charisma of its founder with his lustrous TV interviews and strong online presence. Its low cost fee structure has helped it to expand to a much broader base of students that thus help it to drive its growth. Mr. Pandey’s emphasis upon educating the students and students alone and not so much on profits has seen PW’s image being tinged with emotionality too. Devoted teachers who are willing to compromise in their salary structures and pay scales are certainly worthy of praise.
Fierce Competition Scenario- This success has duly earned them fierce rivalries in an industry which is widely known for the same. Byju’s and Unacademy and various other renowned platforms have time and again tried to buy in teachers albeit with a minor success. Alakh Pandey’s confrontational attitude and his refusal to back down from the fight saw him rejecting an offer of about ₹40 crores from Unacademy. Various other moves by the Industry giants meant to stymie him backfired on those very institutions that tried it, with raw emotions of students clearly on the side of PW. Only 4 teachers have left for other bigger edtech platforms. This dedication is commendable. His refusal to sell off his platform for ₹75 crore with a 10% stake in it too was a praiseworthy move. The technological advantage with a very organised team of tech experts too does a wonderful job. An inspiration driven model certainly factors of teacher- student ratio, video lectures and personalised learning experience surely play their part too. Software infrastructure with well built internal assessment models combine to provide it the place it deserves now and in the future even reserve the position it seeks to achieve.