New Delhi: Founded in Bangalore in 2016, Intellipaat has rapidly expanded from a small learner base to serving over 10 million students globally, with an ambitious goal of reaching 100 million learners. While only 10% of the company’s disruptive ideas for reshaping education have been implemented so far, 90% remain on the horizon. Intellipaat’s mission is to empower individuals to upskill, reskill, and advance in their careers through high-quality, efficient education that meets their professional goals. By developing innovative courses tailored for college students, freshers, job seekers, and those seeking career transitions, Intellipaat is committed to addressing critical challenges in education and unemployment, while continuing to build a platform that equips learners for long-term success.
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian Diwakar Chittora, CEO and Founder said, Intellipaat has rapidly expanded from a small learner base to serving over 10 million students globally, with an ambitious goal of reaching 100 million learners.
Q: Intellipaat has grown impressively with a learner base of 10 million. How do you envision scaling the platform further?
A: We started our office in Bangalore in 2016 to the present day, Intellipaat has grown from a few learners to 10 million learners. The next milestone for us is 100 million learners. We have a lot of ideas to implement to disrupt the whole education space however, only 10% of them have been completed till now, with 90% yet to be achieved. The main goal is to create a platform that allows every learner to upskill, reskill, and grow in their professional careers by providing high-quality education, helping them to achieve their objectives in the shortest period. Our innovative courses cater to the needs of college students, freshers, unemployed individuals, and those seeking growth, promotions, or career transitions. The company is creating courses that align with these needs, but I believe there is still much work to be done to solve the bigger unemployment problem of the country.
Q: There are so many edtech companies so how is Intellipaat different and how do you deal with the competition?
A: The edtech industry market is highly competitive, with numerous offline tuition centers and small players making up to around 80% of the unorganized market and the remaining accounts to players like us. However, Intellipaat stands out in this market by focusing and fulfilling on the real needs and objectives of its learners. Intellipaat ensures that the training program aligns with their objectives, providing customized feedback and strong hand-holding to the learners.
In contrast to other edtech companies, Intellipaat does not just focus on sales but our main goal is to ensure strong outcomes should be achieved upon course completion. We have a dedicated team which provides personalized feedback to students, ensuring they are on track to achieve their goals. This approach sets Intellipaat apart from other companies in the market.
Intellipaat invests heavily in its customer outcome and their success as compared to marketing its courses and this makes us very much different apart from other players of our scale.
Q: Being a bootstrapped company, how have you managed to maintain a profitability rate of 20% while expanding your global reach?
A: Intellipaat’s unique DNA sets it apart from other companies, as we focus on learners’ success and around 60% of our business runs on referrals. Despite not raising funds yet and competing with competitors who have raised heavily, Intellipaat has boosted its customer base and we are currently number one technology certification provider in the Indian market. With approximately 50,000 yearly enrollments, and a revenue scale of over 220 crores, Intellipaat is the number one company in the certification space. This success is attributed to the fact that once a learner is satisfied, they become brand ambassadors, promoting the company’s products and services, and making Intellipaat’s product the sales engine.
Q: You have mentioned that you want to reach 100 million learners, so do you think you will be able to maintain the same quality?
A: As we scale, 100% there will be challenges however, with the right processes, right team and focusing on customer feedback can remove those roadblocks. We receive 5,000+ weekly feedback from learners attending our training, which helps us improve our courses. A dedicated team and visibility at various levels till the top level, allow us to monitor learners’ feedback and make necessary improvements.
The built-in processes from one lakh to one crore have helped us maintain quality to date. As we move to 100 crore, we will continue to work in an agile manner, improving processes regularly. A lot of processes are automated and building more will ensure that the quality we deliver today will be even better when we reach 100 crore.
Q: With learners aged 22 to 60, how do you ensure your content remains relevant and engaging for such a diverse age group?
A: The problem we are solving at Intellipaat is more challenging than a K-12 or test preparation segment, due to the unique needs and expectations of every learner. In a hybrid classroom like ours, students can be freshers, college students, or experienced professionals with varying knowledge levels and IQ levels. This presents a unique challenge to solve. To address this, Intellipaat has created processes for different age groups and categories, such as 0-5 years for freshers and 5+ years for those over 5 years. The delivery of content is adjusted automatically, based on the different sets of people, ensuring that the pedagogy of teaching is modified accordingly. This approach helps to understand the experiences of different groups and ensures that the content is delivered effectively and efficiently. Overall, Intellipaat’s approach to education is an effective solution to the unique challenges faced by students and educators alike.