- Favorable demographics
- At scale internet adoption
- Deteriorating incumbent quality
- Declining budget / capacity
- Cultural relevance
Let's talk about how all 5 are interconnected.
India is on the verge of a once-in-a-generation explosion in edtech.
I've invested in 2 co's that are growing like wildfire and want to do more. Let's talk if you're building in this space.
Here's what's going on and why you should pay attention now, if you weren't before:
- Favorable demographics
- At scale internet adoption
- Deteriorating incumbent quality
- Declining budget / capacity
- Cultural relevance
Let's talk about how all 5 are interconnected.
India has:
- 500M+ people under 25
- 125M+ English speakers
- 250M+ people that will be added to its population over the next 40 years (est. peak is 1.6B)
- 830M internet users in 2021 (+83% from 2019)
- 860M smartphone users in 2022 (+84% from 2017)
- 8.3GB monthly data consumption (+100x from 2014)
- Ranks 49/50 in higher ed
- Spends <5% GDP on higher ed
- Teaches "to the test" - the system is oriented around entrance exams
The India Brand Equity Foundation estimates that an additional 700 universities and 35,000 colleges (!!!) will need to be built to keep up with demographic trends.
Why? Purchasing power.
The Chazen Institute predicts India's middle class will have 583M people by 2025 (~2x the US population).
A ton of customers + The ability to reach them through the internet + A bad incumbent product + Consumer purchasing power?
A dream market.
The unexpected and prolonged closure has impacted 320M+ learners.
Now the decision makers (parents, advisors) are exploring alternative methods so students don't fall behind.
(Indian parent nightmare..)
From April 2000 to December 2019, India’s education sector received $3B of FDI (foreign direct investment).
In 2020, BYJU's alone has raised $1.1B.
6 months ago, BYJU's bought White Hat Jr. for $300M in an all cash transaction.
White Hat Jr. was a canonical blitzscaling example - they got to $150M run rate on ~$11M raised in less than 20 months.
@wiseapplive, @Skill_Lync, @vedantu_learn, @myToppr,
@unacademy, @ClassplusLite
If you're building in the space or actively investing in it, reach out - would love to trade notes!
It's about to go down.
More from Romeen Sheth
Early career years are painful.
You feel like an idiot 98% of the time - lost, confused and insecure.
I wish I had a playbook on principles for my first job.
So I put one together.
Here are 9 threads packed with lessons about building a career I wish I knew sooner:
1. First and most important - have a clear mind.
Without clarity of thought, nothing else matters.
Here are the most common types of distortions I’ve observed over the years.
Self awareness has helped me catch myself before falling into a trap.
2. Enter the side door
Most people enter the “front door” in their careers.
The problem is - when you do what most people do, you get the results most people get.
If you want a n-of-1 career, don’t take the 1-of-n path.
3. Adversity is inevitable
Any journey that’s worthwhile is filled with adversity.
If it was so easy...everybody would do it.
Here’s the way I’ve worked through dealing with the road blocks that are part of every entrepreneur’s journey.
4. Learn from the world's best
I love talking to world class people - CEOs, Founders, Execs, Athletes.
There's a lot of commonality in world class success.
Unpacking how these people got to where they are is always inspiring.
You feel like an idiot 98% of the time - lost, confused and insecure.
I wish I had a playbook on principles for my first job.
So I put one together.
Here are 9 threads packed with lessons about building a career I wish I knew sooner:
1. First and most important - have a clear mind.
Without clarity of thought, nothing else matters.
Here are the most common types of distortions I’ve observed over the years.
Self awareness has helped me catch myself before falling into a trap.
The world's most valuable skill:
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) September 22, 2021
Clarity of thought.
The problem? There's no school for this.
It takes time, patience and a lot of early career fumbling.
Here are 10 cognitive distortions I faced early in my career and an insight for you to break through each one \U0001f447\U0001f447\U0001f447
2. Enter the side door
Most people enter the “front door” in their careers.
The problem is - when you do what most people do, you get the results most people get.
If you want a n-of-1 career, don’t take the 1-of-n path.
The ultimate hack to 10x your career:
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) November 2, 2021
Enter the Side Door.
Let's break it down \U0001f447\U0001f447\U0001f447
3. Adversity is inevitable
Any journey that’s worthwhile is filled with adversity.
If it was so easy...everybody would do it.
Here’s the way I’ve worked through dealing with the road blocks that are part of every entrepreneur’s journey.
15 timeless principles on how to deal with adversity \U0001f447
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) November 16, 2021
4. Learn from the world's best
I love talking to world class people - CEOs, Founders, Execs, Athletes.
There's a lot of commonality in world class success.
Unpacking how these people got to where they are is always inspiring.
I interviewed 100 legendary investors, founders and executives.
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) September 24, 2021
Collectively, they have created over $1 trillion of value for the world.
Here are 20 practical career lessons they shared with me \U0001f447\U0001f447\U0001f447
I love Twitter.
It’s truly the Town Square of the Internet.
But finding the diamond in the rough voices can be tough.
Here are 20 of my favorite people to follow:
1. Alex Lieberman - @businessbarista
Alex writes extensively about the Founder journey.
The cool part is he’s lived everything he talks about - starting from $0 and selling for $75M with hardly any outside capital raised.
My favorite piece:
2. Ryan Breslow - @ryantakesoff
Ryan is a Top 1% founder.
This guy is a machine - he’s built 2 unicorns before the age of 27.
Ryan spells out lessons on fundraising, operating and scaling.
My favorite piece:
3. Jesse Pujji - @jspujji
Jesse is who I think of when I think “bootstrapping.”
He bootstrapped his company to an 8-figure exit and now shares stories about other awesome bootstrappers.
He’s also got great insight into all things growth marketing:
4. Post Market - @Post_Market
Post puts out some of the most thoughtful investment insights on this platform.
It’s refreshing because Post cuts through the hype and goes deep into the business model.
Idk who he/she/it is, but the insights are 💣.
It’s truly the Town Square of the Internet.
But finding the diamond in the rough voices can be tough.
Here are 20 of my favorite people to follow:
1. Alex Lieberman - @businessbarista
Alex writes extensively about the Founder journey.
The cool part is he’s lived everything he talks about - starting from $0 and selling for $75M with hardly any outside capital raised.
My favorite piece:
A life well-lived is a life-well planned.
— Alex Lieberman \u2615\ufe0f (@businessbarista) July 14, 2021
5 steps to build your own "Life Map" \U0001f9f5
2. Ryan Breslow - @ryantakesoff
Ryan is a Top 1% founder.
This guy is a machine - he’s built 2 unicorns before the age of 27.
Ryan spells out lessons on fundraising, operating and scaling.
My favorite piece:
The biggest lesson I\u2019ve learned in building a $4B company:
— Ryan Breslow \U0001f57a (@ryantakesoff) September 23, 2021
It\u2019s all about the people.
I\u2019m thrilled to announce today that Bolt is the first tech unicorn to officially shift to a 4 day work week.
Here\u2019s why we did it and how we came to the decision \U0001f447\U0001f447\U0001f447
3. Jesse Pujji - @jspujji
Jesse is who I think of when I think “bootstrapping.”
He bootstrapped his company to an 8-figure exit and now shares stories about other awesome bootstrappers.
He’s also got great insight into all things growth marketing:
Welcome new followers!!
— Jesse Pujji (@jspujji) September 16, 2021
Thanks for joining my entrepreneurial community.
To learn more about my journey, listen 2 my convo with @patrick_oshag.
I tell my story about bootstrapping, marketing, DTC and building a culture with conscious leadership. https://t.co/BSg6hCEE0L pic.twitter.com/gH4tAjfFBx
4. Post Market - @Post_Market
Post puts out some of the most thoughtful investment insights on this platform.
It’s refreshing because Post cuts through the hype and goes deep into the business model.
Idk who he/she/it is, but the insights are 💣.
Sweetgreen, ~$400M run-rate in sales (RLM% of 16% in 2019) and 140 units (+20-25 per year).
— Post M. (@Post_Market) October 25, 2021
Lets say 400 units by 2030 @ $3.5M AUV ($2.5M today) and 21.5% RLM. $300M RL EBITDA less $200M in G&A less $25M in maint. capex. is $75M in 'owners' EBIT
Last round at $1.6B. Yikes.
The cold hard truth:
Why do companies like Quibi raise billions, while companies like Peloton get nothing?
Because fundraising is a GAME
And the insiders keep the rules to themselves.
Here are 100 tips the insiders don’t want you to see but will help you win the game:
1. You can’t play the game without nailing the basics.
There are 5 core ingredients to a startup pitch.
Most have 2.
Good ones have 4.
The best have all 5.
2. Now that you have a grasp of the basics, it’s time to level up.
Good news - most founders make the same mistakes as each other.
Bad news - these mistakes are really easy to make.
Here's what not to do:
3. Ok so you told me what not to do.
So what should I do?
Read below.
4. We’re in a really unique fundraising environment right now.
It’s important to contextualize all these tips in the “here and now” of what’s going on in the landscape.
Why do companies like Quibi raise billions, while companies like Peloton get nothing?
Because fundraising is a GAME
And the insiders keep the rules to themselves.
Here are 100 tips the insiders don’t want you to see but will help you win the game:
1. You can’t play the game without nailing the basics.
There are 5 core ingredients to a startup pitch.
Most have 2.
Good ones have 4.
The best have all 5.
There\u2019s a lot of bad advice out there on how to pitch your startup.
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) April 10, 2021
Last year, I invested $1M+ and heard 200 companies pitch.
Every great pitch I've heard nails 5 ingredients.
In this thread, we'll go through each to help maximize your chances when fundraising
Let's dig in\U0001f447 pic.twitter.com/FBaUUWHz8L
2. Now that you have a grasp of the basics, it’s time to level up.
Good news - most founders make the same mistakes as each other.
Bad news - these mistakes are really easy to make.
Here's what not to do:
0/ After evaluating 200+ startups this year, I've been in some awesome and not so awesome pitches.
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) December 28, 2020
Here are the top 10 mistakes I see Founders make that routinely derail fundraising \U0001f447\U0001f447\U0001f447
3. Ok so you told me what not to do.
So what should I do?
Read below.
0/ Last night I tweeted about the top 10 things Founders do that derail fundraising. It struck a chord. 2,500+ liked the tweet.
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) December 30, 2020
I got a ton of DMs asking the opposite question: \u201cWhat are the top things Founders do well when fundraising?\u201d
Here's my top 10 \U0001f447\U0001f447\U0001f447
4. We’re in a really unique fundraising environment right now.
It’s important to contextualize all these tips in the “here and now” of what’s going on in the landscape.
Raising money for startups is wild right now. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it.
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) May 5, 2021
Lots of Founders are wondering how to approach it and who they should partner with.
Here are 10 observations / practical tips I've shared with 100+ Founders in the last few months \U0001f447\U0001f447\U0001f447
More from All
Ivor Cummins has been wrong (or lying) almost entirely throughout this pandemic and got paid handsomly for it.
He has been wrong (or lying) so often that it will be nearly impossible for me to track every grift, lie, deceit, manipulation he has pulled. I will use...
... other sources who have been trying to shine on light on this grifter (as I have tried to do, time and again:
Example #1: "Still not seeing Sweden signal versus Denmark really"... There it was (Images attached).
19 to 80 is an over 300% difference.
Tweet: https://t.co/36FnYnsRT9
Example #2 - "Yes, I'm comparing the Noridcs / No, you cannot compare the Nordics."
I wonder why...
Tweets: https://t.co/XLfoX4rpck / https://t.co/vjE1ctLU5x
Example #3 - "I'm only looking at what makes the data fit in my favour" a.k.a moving the goalposts.
Tweets: https://t.co/vcDpTu3qyj / https://t.co/CA3N6hC2Lq
He has been wrong (or lying) so often that it will be nearly impossible for me to track every grift, lie, deceit, manipulation he has pulled. I will use...
... other sources who have been trying to shine on light on this grifter (as I have tried to do, time and again:
Ivor Cummins BE (Chem) is a former R&D Manager at HP (sourcre: https://t.co/Wbf5scf7gn), turned Content Creator/Podcast Host/YouTube personality. (Call it what you will.)
— Steve (@braidedmanga) November 17, 2020
Example #1: "Still not seeing Sweden signal versus Denmark really"... There it was (Images attached).
19 to 80 is an over 300% difference.
Tweet: https://t.co/36FnYnsRT9
Example #2 - "Yes, I'm comparing the Noridcs / No, you cannot compare the Nordics."
I wonder why...
Tweets: https://t.co/XLfoX4rpck / https://t.co/vjE1ctLU5x
Example #3 - "I'm only looking at what makes the data fit in my favour" a.k.a moving the goalposts.
Tweets: https://t.co/vcDpTu3qyj / https://t.co/CA3N6hC2Lq
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Stan Lee, who died Monday at 95, was born in Manhattan and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. His pulp-fiction heroes have come to define much of popular culture in the early 21st century.
Tying Marvel’s stable of pulp-fiction heroes to a real place — New York — served a counterbalance to the sometimes gravity-challenged action and the improbability of the stories. That was just what Stan Lee wanted. https://t.co/rDosqzpP8i
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Stan Lee, who died Monday at 95, was born in Manhattan and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. His pulp-fiction heroes have come to define much of popular culture in the early 21st century.
Tying Marvel’s stable of pulp-fiction heroes to a real place — New York — served a counterbalance to the sometimes gravity-challenged action and the improbability of the stories. That was just what Stan Lee wanted. https://t.co/rDosqzpP8i
The New York universe hooked readers. And the artists drew what they were familiar with, which made the Marvel universe authentic-looking, down to the water towers atop many of the buildings. https://t.co/rDosqzpP8i
The Avengers Mansion was a Beaux-Arts palace. Fans know it as 890 Fifth Avenue. The Frick Collection, which now occupies the place, uses the address of the front door: 1 East 70th Street.