This edtech soonicorn is creating next-gen tech skills and future innovators

At the tender age of seven, Ravi Bhushan, who hailed from the small town called Jehanabad in Bihar realised that he wanted to learn much more than what was being taught at school.

“I requested my grandfather to allow me to be homeschooled and even formulated a homeschooling plan with him,” he shares.

Needless to say, the plan was successful and Ravi went on to complete his BTech in computer science and engineering from IIT Varanasi. More importantly, his experiences with self learning at an early age would go on to inform his edtech startup BrightCHAMPS down the line.

“Coming from a small town with little prior exposure to computers and technology unlike my peers, was initially daunting. But my previous experience in self-learning helped significantly,” he says reflecting on his decision to start BrightCHAMPS.

Noticing the growing (and large) gap existing between academic education at schools and the necessary skill sets required for the upcoming generation to enable them to excel as future technology leaders, Ravi was passionate about building a revolutionary edtech startup that was like no other.

Drawing on his experiences with self-learning, Ravi went on to establish BrightCHAMPS as a platform that allows children to learn at their own pace. Ravi’s approach to creating an edtech product by drawing from his own challenges helped.

In little over two years, BrightCHAMPS has established itself as one of the fastest growing edtech companies in the markets that it serves in.

Since then it has gone on to raise $63 million from multiple marquee investors across geographies such as Premji Invest - private equity investor, GSV Ventures - edtech focused Venture Capital firm based out of the US, 021 Capital, backed by Flipkart co-founder and investor, Binny Bansal and Singapore-based BEENEXT.

It takes a village to raise a startup

Ravi doesn’t want to take all the credit for the success of the startup. For this he credits the startup’s team of experienced teachers, technology veterans, inventors, and people who have created robots and technologies and built multi-million-dollar businesses out of them.

In a move that surprised the industry, the startup announced that it has awarded stock options worth $1 million to 400 high-performing teacher partners across 25 countries. A majority of them are from India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Egypt, Lebanon, and the UAE. The company plans to award an increasing number of teacher stock options (TSOPs) every year, for the next five years.

“Our faculty—one of the most culturally diverse in the world—is one of our strongest pillars and we’re thrilled to be able to give back to them through this TSOPs initiative," said Ravi, talking about the initiative.

Starting up in the highly competitive edtech space

While the COVID-19 crisis was a major catalyst in enhancing the learning process not just for students and educators, but also for investors and edtech startups, Ravi believes that the true sustainability of the sector is in building for the eternal whitespaces in the sector.

“The gap that we want to fulfil is everlasting. Edtech is an evergreen sector, and when I started the company I knew that I was solving for a whitespace in edtech that would last beyond the pandemic,” he said talking about how he focussed on continuity.

A gamified, AI-enabled and adaptive learning methodology

BrightCHAMPS currently offers four courses - Coding, Robotics, Financial Literacy and English Communications to 6-16 year-olds. The company’s course methodology is based on the principles of invisible learning and AI-enabled adaptive learning and includes features such as customised learning journeys, quizzing, and parental dashboards.

The startup has impacted one million+ students since its inception in July 2020, with 30+ million minutes spent by its students on the platform each month, across verticals. BrightCHAMPS courses have a completion rate of over 70 percent, renewals over 80 percent, NPS over 70 and a CSAT score of 4.8/5, proving that its gamified, AI-enabled and adaptive learning methodology truly works.

10 countries in 10 months

BrightCHAMPS is currently operational in 30+ countries including India. In the near term, it plans to focus on strengthening its position in the Middle East and SEA by launching its financial literacy and communications programs in a big way. It is also looking at the USA as an important market for its coding, financial literacy, and robotics verticals.

“We had a great product-market-fit and we were getting a lot of great feedback from the end users and parents. So we decided to embrace the opportunity with both hands,” said Ravi, talking about the reasoning behind pursuing the audacious goal of expanding to 10 countries in 10 months.

“Because of our tech DNA, we relied less on manual processes. Most of our processes are digital and central – and easier to scale across geographies.

To scale at such speed, the startup templatised its approach across various core and fringe execution aspects – from curriculum to marketing and sales.

“We tried to automate whatever was possible, wherever. Technology is my core area of competence. Leveraging tech comes naturally to me and it is a powerful differentiator for the company as well,” said Ravi.

Its country-wise approach was to launch a basic model, build and improve its product with feedback before going all out. Moreso, every launch in a new country was a chance to test out and improve its execution template.

How Dell helps startups like BrightCHAMPS scale

The myriad of hardware and software solutions offered by companies/organisations like Dell have helped the startup function effortlessly and deliver a smooth experience to its customers worldwide. Dell Technologies offers startups like BrightCHAMPS, who leverage technology to grow, scale and remain competitive, an array of flexible end-to-end hardware and software support to help it power its growth ambitions.

Its solutions include IT advisory and consultation, training sessions, and a mentorship program, all with flexible payment solutions. The Dell for Startups program helps startups build an innovative IT infrastructure and adopt a robust hybrid cloud solution that is secure, scalable, and resilient. It offers startups powerful hardware solutions such as monitors, keyboards, headsets, and AI and ML-enabled PowerEdge Servers to create a modern workplace for inspired user experiences.

Companies like BrightCHAMPS can maximise their productivity by focusing on their business strategy and outcomes as Dell Technologies caters to their need-based technology solutions.