I wanted to learn analytics online, but I couldn’t find any instructor. So I decided to set up teaching marketplace
_0.jpg "Taking classroom online")
Taking classroom online
Hyderabad: While most of us try to shy away difficulties, some would turn them into opportunities for growth. One of such people is V.V. Raju, who is all set to become a serial entrepreneur.
“A couple of years ago, I was trying to understand and analyse my customer data. But I failed to make any sense of it because of my lack of knowledge in analytics. I thought of learning it online, but I couldn’t find any instructor-based online classes. So I thought this is an opportunity to start something new not just for India; but addressing the entire world,” said Mr Raju, who founded LearnSocial.com a portal for online curated online classes.
Prior to this, Mr Raju had established Way2-SMS in 2006 and now it is India's largest free messaging website. While Way2SMS was India-focused, Mr Raju has global ambitions for LearnSocial. “We want to build a global service oriented product in teaching. We want to build the Amazon of learning,” he added.
Though there are online teaching sites, he said there are no instructor-based teaching portals. “I feel that learning is a personal experience becau-se each one of us have different levels receptive abilities. Similarly each one of us should be taught differently and this can happen only in an instructor-based teaching.”
LearnSocial follows a typical marketplace model, where instructors with good industry experience can create their own online classroom similar to Flipkart and Amazon that offers online virtual shops for merchants.
Currently, the portal has 16 courses and 60 batches and plans to expand further. “Any industry expert who wants to start online class can contact us. In order to ensure that only best instructors are available on our site, our in-house expert team verifies their credentials before creating an online classroom for them,” he said.
Apart from the ease of starting a class, the instructor can earn money in fees, though a part of it is shared with LearnSocial. Mr Raju had a long journey before setting eyes on global opportunities.
“After completing MCA, I toyed with several ideas, including FMCG distribution, etc. But the lady luck smiled at me through SMS and I started Way2SMS, which gave me my big break in the business. Now Way2SMS is being managed by a professional team. So I am focusing on the bigger opportunity in the education sector,” explained Mr Raju, who comes from a farmer's family in a small village in Nalgonda.
He did his schooling in Vija-yawada and MCA from Naga-rjuna University. Despite his hectic schedule, he loves to watch cricket and badminton, and chills out by watching movies.
According to him, the future lies online. “Earlier online ventures failed because they failed to recreate offline experience. But Flipkart or Amazon have successfully replicated offline experience. And this is precisely what we are planning to do: Recreate the classroom, albeit online.”
( Source : dc )
Next Story
