For years I wrote about Byju’s when almost no one else in India would — and readers wrote back to tell me it had happened to their family too. In that time Byju’s went from the country’s most valuable startup, worth around $22 billion, to insolvency proceedings. This is the whole story, in the order I’d read it: how the machine worked, who it hurt, why it fell, and what every Indian parent and founder should take from it.
Start here — how the machine worked
- How Byju’s cheats parents — the sales playbook that pushed families into loans for courses their children never needed. (My most-read post ever.)
- The exorbitant cost of a Byju’s subscription — what you were really paying for.
- Why do parents waste money on edtech apps like Byju’s? — the fear that fuels the spending.
Who it hurt
- Why does Byju’s abuse its employees? — toxic targets, forced resignations, unpaid dues.
- How Byju’s is wasting India’s human capital — the cost of burning through thousands of young Indians.
- Why LinkedIn kicked me out for my Byju’s posts — what happened when I said this out loud.
What it did to education
- How Byju’s is spreading the rot in our education system — marketing dressed up as learning.
- Byju’s is not the same as online learning — the difference that got blurred on purpose.
- Byju’s vs Khan Academy — what real, free education looks like by comparison.
- Why aren’t Indian students able to think for themselves? — the deeper failure Byju’s exploited.
Why it fell
- Why did Byju’s lose its path? — growth at all costs, and the bill that followed.
- The problem with Byju’s — the flaw that was there from the start.
- Why I rant about Byju’s — why I kept writing when it wasn’t popular to.
The bigger lesson
- How Byju’s (and other edtech apps) harm our kids — the pattern beyond one company.
- Putting education before profits — what a healthy alternative looks like.
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