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SPOTLIGHT ON STARTUP
BOHUBRIHI
In 2015, Yanur Islam Piash and Galib Hassan Khan,
the future founders of Bohubrihi, enrolled into the
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
They were studying Chemical Engineering and were
more acquaintances than friends. Piash and Galib
didn’t hang out outside class, in fact they didn’t talk
about much more than their courses at university.
But Piash and Galib both believed that in order to be
better, one had to learn things oneself. This love for
self-education became the crux upon which a beautiful
friendship was formed. Paish was interested in learning
software skills, while Galib was
interested in programming
and coding. They both started
honing their skills using various
online platforms like Coursera,
EdX and Lynda. A couple years
later, they both began apprenticeship under a research
project for their department. While discussing which
learning platforms to best utilize, they happened upon
the realization that there were no significant websites
that allowed access to such courses in Bangladesh.
There were websites that allowed tuition for school
and college levels, but none that allowed for corporate
skill learning. There were some DVDs that allowed for
such courses, but nothing of mentionable quality. To
the founders of Bohubrihi, learning is not just tuition,
but an experience. So, in discussing learning platforms,
Piash and Galib discovered opportunity and set to
work creating Bohubrihi.
In the middle of 2016 they started working on the
website. But it was a lengthy and difficult process that
took over a year and a half. They finally launched the
beta version of their website in 2018. Skills and money
were both short at hand. They gathered 6-7 students
from their department (all first and second year
students at the time) and started working. The initial
investment was only BDT 15,000, which Galib and
Piash bore themselves using money they earned by
offering tuition to younger students. The development
period (2016-2017) was the most difficult, there were
plenty of financial constraints and there were times
when they wanted to quit, but
they eventually pulled through.
They attribute this success to the
people around them, some of
whom were in similar positions
with their own startups. Their
shared frustrations were somehow the thing that
pushed them forward. The company is currently
funded by two angel investors, both alumni of BUET.
The company currently is not looking for any larger
investments.
When the website was launched in 2018, there was only
one course on the site. Galib and Piash went to senior
students hoping for a good reception, but the website
failed to gain traction. They didn’t give up and went
back to work as soon as possible, and in November
of 2018, they finally launched the website with 2
more courses and a 50% discount on their courses.
This campaign was a success and it reaffirmed their
Galib Hassan Khan
Yanur Islam Piash
Founder, Bohubrihi

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conviction for the business. Since 2019, the website has
grown exponentially.
Bohubrihi is an eLearning platform that offers online
courses and training to professionals as well as students
at a university level. The courses on the platform are
designed in collaboration with experts in the particular
fields. The website primarily focuses on technology and
business. The videos are hosted by Vimeo. Bohubrihi
believes that self-learning should be an experience and
thus takes a different approach to teaching. Students
who take the courses have the opportunity to work on
projects and/or assignments unlike tests or quizzes that
other competitive platforms offer. Their work on these
assignments are reviewed by mentors, which in turn
allows for students to specifically understand where
they are lacking. This builds a sense of community for
the students, and allows for a much greater learning
experience.
All the revenue of the business comes from the one-
time fee that students have to pay while enrolling in a
course. This fee affords them full access to the course
Key Info
2,000 taking using the site
to learn corporate skills
One-time fee platform
for self-learning
13 courses on the website
and all related study materials. The company previously
sold DVDs on request, but no longer does so. Payments
for the courses are collected through BKash and Rocket.
When asked how Bohubrihi intends to remain
profitable in an age of increasing internet accessibility,
the founders stated that they believed they had
a product that offered value and an educational
experience rather than just a tutorial or course and
that their product would speak for itself. Bohubrihi
believes that the services they offer have not been made
free yet, and that there is still opportunity for high-end
customers to purchase premium services which they
hope to launch in the future, once the company has a
large enough customer base, and the funds to justify
the endeavor.
Bohubrihi is currently run by a small team of 8
people, all of whom are current students or alumni of
BUET, Dhaka University or the Islamic University of
Technology (IUT). They are not just colleagues, but
also friends who have known each other for years,
which makes for a familial environment at the office.
Bohubrihi has come a long way since its inception. The
website currently has 2,000 users and offers 13 courses.
They are currently concentrating on adding new
courses to the platform. And trying to add as much
value to each course as possible. E-learning is more
than just creating video tutorials, it requires extensive
research and development and Bohubrihi conducts
industry experts to design the syllabus for each course.
Their short term goal is to increase the number of
courses offered on their platform to 30 by 2022.
Photo Credit: Avipsu Das Gupta

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