Byju Raveendran
Byju Raveendran | |
---|---|
Born | 1981 | (age 40)
Nationality | Indian |
Education | Bachelor of Technology |
Alma mater | Government College of Engineering, Kannur |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Title | Founder & CEO of Byju's |
Spouse(s) | Divya Gokulnath |
Byju Raveendran (born 1981)[2] is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur and educator who co-founded Byju's.
Early life and education[]
He was born in 1981 in the Azhikode[3] village of Kerala, India to Raveendran and Shobhanavalli.[4] He studied at a Malayalam medium school where his mother was a mathematics teacher and father a physics teacher.[5][6] He would skip classes and then learn at home.[7][8]
Career[]
After completing his B.Tech from the Government College of Engineering, Kannur, he joined a multinational shipping company as a service engineer.[4] During a vacation in 2003, he helped his friends who were studying for the CAT exam.[6] He then took the CAT exam and scored in the 100th percentile.[6] When he took the exam again, he again scored in the 100th percentile.[9] Two years later, he continued helping people study for the CAT exam, and based on the good results, decided to quit his job.[6]
In 2007, Byju founded the test preparation business Byju's Classes,[6] and the company grew to stadium-size classes.[10] In 2011, he founded Byju's with his wife, Divya Gokulnath,[5] who he met while she was a student in his exam preparation class.[11][12]
In 2015, as smartphone screen sizes increased, Byju's launched an app developed by Byju Raveendran.[13][6][14][15] In October 2018, the app expanded to the United Kingdom, United States and other English-speaking countries.[16]
According to Forbes, as of 2020, Byju, his wife, and his brother Riju Raveendran, have a combined net worth of US$3.05 billion.[1] In January 2021, he was added to the National Startup Advisory Council as a non-official member along with Kunal Bahl.[17] In April 2021, Byju's purchased the Indian test-prep provider Aakash Educational Services Ltd. for nearly US$1 billion.[18][19]
Honors and awards[]
- 2019 Manorama News Newsmaker award[20]
- 2020 Ernst & Young Finalist, Entrepreneur of the Year, India[21] and Winner, Business Transformation Award[22]
- 2020 Fortune Magazine's '40 Under 40' list[2]
- 2021 Forbes India Leadership Award (FILA) Entrepreneur for the Year[23]
Notes[]
- ^ combined with Divya Gokulnath and Riju Raveendran
References[]
- ^ a b "India's Richest - #46 Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath & family". Forbes. 10 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Byju Raveendran | 2020 40 under 40 in Tech". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
- ^ "Byju's education app: A CAT topper who didn't fancy IIMs is making self-learning cool among Indian students — Quartz India". qz.com. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ a b "ബൈജൂസ് ആപ്പിന്റെ കഥ; ബൈജു രവീന്ദ്രന്റെയും". Mathrubhumi.
- ^ a b Gilchrist, Karen (July 30, 2019). "India crowns its newest billionaire, a 37-year-old former teacher". CNBC. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Krishna, Niharika (July 11, 2016). "Teacher, entrepreneur: The success story of Byju Raveendran". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ Rai, Saritha (July 29, 2019). "Byju Raveendran, a former school teacher, joins Indian billionaires' club". LiveMint. Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ India TV News Desk (July 30, 2019). "Reluctant student-turned teacher, meet Byju Raveendran - India's newest billionaire". India TV. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ TNM Staff (July 29, 2019). "Kerala-born former teacher Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". The News Minute. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ Banerjee, Sreya (July 31, 2019). "Teacher turned app maker Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". ABC News. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ Ghosh, Debojyoti (November 21, 2020). "Byju's better half". Fortune India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ ET Now Digital (October 10, 2020). "With a wealth of over Rs 11,300 crore, meet India's youngest billionaire". TimesNowNews. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ FP Staff (July 29, 2019). "Byju's founder, Raveendran polevaults into billionaire club with latest funding of $150 mn". FirstPost. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ Rai, Saritha (December 3, 2020). "Byju Raveendran, the A Student in Online Ed". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ Shah, Vrutika (February 12, 2020). "5 youngest billionaires of India and how they make their money". GQ India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "India's Game-Changers - Byju Raveendran". BBC World News. October 6, 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Byju Raveendran, Kunal Bahl named to startup advisory panel". The Siasat Daily. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- ^ Singh, Manish (April 5, 2021). "Byju's acquires Indian tutor Aakash for nearly $1 billion". Techcrunch. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ Bhalla, Tarush (April 5, 2021). "Aakash joins Byju's universe in a deal worth nearly $1 billion". Mint. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ Staff (December 7, 2020). "Byju Raveendran dedicates Manorama News Newsmaker Award to COVID warriors, teachers". Onmanorama. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Byju Raveendran". EY. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Dave, Sachin (March 25, 2021). "Harsh Mariwala wins EY Entrepreneur of the year 2020 award". Economic Times. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ Bathija, Monica (March 18, 2021). "FILA 2021 Entrepreneur for the Year: Byju Raveendran's global ambitions". Forbes India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- Indian company founders
- Living people
- Indian billionaires
- People from Kannur district
- Businesspeople from Kannur
- 1981 births