Two entrepreneurs started a preschool called Chrysalis I-Math to teach mathematics to children in a fun, application-based way since they disliked how it was taught. Many young, well-educated entrepreneurs are taking advantage of inadequacies in the education system to start innovative education businesses with low capital. Venture capital firms are interested in investing in the education sector, providing funding opportunities for first-generation entrepreneurs' ideas.

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Sun, Jul 25 03:03 AM
When Jaisimha Jaithirth and Sudhakar Joshi, two young professionals in
their mid-thirties, decided to start a business venture of their own, the
education system, which leaves a little too much to be desired, presented
them with an abundant mine of problems to convert to opportunities.
Recalling their own phobia for mathematics as children and the redundant,
archaic methods of teaching the subject in many schools, the two were
quick to realise that finding a way to desensitise children towards this
widely hated subject could be the key to their fortune. Without having to
spend one to get there, of course! Around four years ago, they launched
Chrysalis I-Math, a pre-school training centre that aimed to do just that
through playway training for pre-schoolers in application-based
mathematics.
"The way mathematics is taught in our education system is inadequate
and the foundation is not application based. When students reach higher
classes, they fail to understand how to really use what they have learnt
and begin to find the subject very daunting," says Jaithirth. "We started
Chrysalis because we always hated maths and did badly at it, despite the
fact that we were good at all other subjects. We knew there had to be a
change in the way the subject is taught and that every child can benefit
from what we do. We collaborated with Universal Edulink to develop the
program," adds the first generation entrepreneur.
Like the duo from Chrysalis, numerous young, well-educated
entrepreneurs with little or no background in business are using the
inadequacy of the education system to their advantage by coming up with
innovative solutions to fill the gaps. This, along with factors such as high
growth potential and low capital requirements, is spurring a new
generation of entrepreneurs and ideas in the education and training
services segment.
Says Harshall J Shah, chief executive officer, Reliance Venture Asset
Management Ltd, "In this sector, Rs 10-20 lakh can do wonders for an
idea that taps what the market is looking for. First generation
entrepreneurs are not only able to identify the potential in the education
industry but are also able to devise innovative strategies to harness this
potential."
Case in point is Saumil Majmudar, chief executive officer and co-founder
http://in.news.yahoo.com/241/20100725/1257/tnl-for-these-entrepreneurs-education-pa_1.html 7/26/2010

2. For these entrepreneurs, education pays - Yahoo! India News Page 2 of 3
of EduSports. After a brief stint with Wipro after completing his MBA,
Majmudar started his venture in 2008 with a capital of around Rs 10 lakh
as a way to tackle the low level of physical activity among students.
"Our system does not pay much attention to sports and physical education
and it is neglected as compared to core subjects. However, physical
education is a necessity; an essential component of character building.
The core subjects are not likely to teach you lessons in team building and
discipline that counts big time when you start working. We devised a way
through which we design and implement a physical education curriculum
for schools through our personnel at a cost of about Rs 150 per child,"
Majmudar says.
Started with a capital of Rs 10 lakh, EduSports roped in a seed fund of Rs
4 crore last year from venture capitalists and is looking to break even in
the next two quarters. The interest shown in the sector by VC firms is also
encouraging for entrepreneurs with no strong financial backing. According
to a report generated by Venture Intelligence, 80% of PE/VC firms in India
were interested in investing in education in the next six to eight months.
"The enthusiasm on the part of big VC/PE players to enter the industry
means that they are actively looking for related investment opportunities.
In recent times, we have seen a marked increase in the kind of interest in
this sector across categories — proof that in the months to come, the
education system will indeed see fresh injection of funds and some solid
ideas that will be incubated through VC funding. This acts as a huge
impetus for first-gen entrepreneurs," says Shah of Reliance Ventures.
Several first generation entrepreneurs are also attracted by the fact that
the funding for this sector is no longer limited to local players. VC/PE firms
and fund sources from abroad are also scouting interesting opportunities.
Amit Bansal, who served with companies such as Asian Paints and
Talisma for 11 years, co-founded Purple Leap, a services company that
works with colleges at making fresh engineering graduates industry ready.
" Having been on the other side, I realise the nightmare that recruiters
have to go through when recruiting a fresh engineering graduate. Our
colleges do not do much to ensure that these students are ready to start
work equipped with the necessary skills. Purple Leap works in
collaboration with these colleges and we help groom them with
coursework delivered through state-of-the art teaching practices and
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3. For these entrepreneurs, education pays - Yahoo! India News Page 3 of 3
audio/visual techniques among other things," says Bansal.
The company, which was started about three years ago with an
investment of Rs 1 crore, has attracted the attention of Educomp, a listed
education services company, also incidentally founded by a first
generation entrepreneur and Pearson Education, a global educational
publisher. Together, these two companies have invested close to $6
million in Purple Leap.
In addition to availability of funds, the small gestation period and the ability
to start generating revenue from Day 1 also draws such entrepreneurs to
the sector, feels Bansal.
"Education is one of the most feasible industries for a start-up. First, there
is a sense of familiarity with education that most people have. And you
can break even in a very short period of time. For companies like say
Career Launcher, you are heading towards breaking even right from Day
1," he says.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/241/20100725/1257/tnl-for-these-entrepreneurs-education-pa_1.html 7/26/2010