{Mukul Rustagi of Classplus}
EP16: Power of teachers in a coaching centre, raising US$ 9M to support offline Ed
I have a deep conversation with Mukul Rustagi of Classplus, and IIT Roorkee grad who had the intent to solve problems right through college, just like his co-founder Bhaswat. Mukul & Bhaswat are some of the most mature young founders that I have met, and definitely a journey that we should follow closely.
On the episode, Mukul and I explore the world of coaching institute and how a teacher at the coaching institute influences a child’s ability to learn and get better.
Listen on Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Spotify
We delve into building the Classplus business model and understand how Classplus has been able to carve a niche for itself to raise 9 million dollars as part of their Series A from marquee investors including Sequoia Capital and Blume Ventures.
Btw, Classplus is hiring, you can find Mukul on LinkedIn and email via mukul@classplus.co
My favorite quotes from the show are:
70%-80% of centers are in tier 2 cities and beyond
Technology cannot replicate the experience of learning from teachers & technology will be a supplement to teachers
Mukul has a book recommendation for anyone who loves sports and build a perseverance mentality — Marvan Attapattu
They have investments from RTP Global — a prolific investor in early stage startups, Times Internet, Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Spiral Ventures, and Strive VC.
Timeline:
2:45 — Early Days
4:42 — Finding each other and the passion for starting up
6:35 — Classplus
8:26 — Competitors; B2B vs B2C
11:29 — Tech adoption outside of Metros & large cities
13:15 — Expense on coaching spends
15:50 — Structuring classes
17:06 — Kota Factory*
20:58 — Mentoring a key part of tutoring
24:41 — Co-creating the product with teachers
33:15 — Sequoia Surge program
35:44 — Series A raise of $ 9 million
36:52 — Spending a large fund raise
39:01 — Hiring
44:03 — Kunal, Bhavish & Kunal