Ep #5 | EdTech What’s Broken, What’s Next? With Nikhil, Ronnie Screwvala , Gaurav Munjal & Jay Kotak

[@kunala11]

Middle class in India has the largest range after the Himalayan ranges. A guy with upbringing in 70s in Mumbai around Colaba, with Dad, a professional with Tata, UK firms and siblings studying abroad is saying to had a low middle-class upbringing. That hit me really hard...

[@sohanmishra9155]

Himalayan range 😂 good one. Precisely my point. If Rs.10lakh/moth person says i am middle class. Than wat about folks earning Rs.50000/40000 or 1lakh per month then?

[@satyammishra7873]

Good one

[@Suzume15803]

I hated how people on the podcast picked Jay Kotak’s side for what his father has created.

[@Babaji_ki]

I think you should listen again he said middle-class values, and I can distinguish between middle-class values and being middle-class. 24:00

[@rkk15]

Middle class or not, he seemed sensible and on point

[@vikasdwivedi4196]

Gaurav is brutal, knows ground realities and harsh truths of aspirants and education system of India.

[@vinayams9903]

Totally. Unlike big cities, kids in other parts of India do not have access to good education to perceive their interests or even access to right knowledge on what interest to perceive so as to have a decent/better life in future in general. Either one should have wealth to go to good schools or coaching centers to get access to better education to get into better universities or in today’s age access to best education through multiple resources on internet. Gaurav coming from Jaipur, being rejected by coaching center has understood the reality very well and so he is excelling in his business.

[@EditxSB]

If these people were from middle class families, especially Jay Kotak. Then I'm homeless 😭

[@akramlab6664]

exactly. they certainly don't know what middle class actually is.

[@nisargdesai913]

Guys no offence but pls read between those words. Jay said that he was taught middle class values while the other two were from middle class families. We can see by Jay’s attitude that he is not some rich family’s arrogant kid. He is grounded and knows his father’s struggle.

[@rajibsingha9404]

He said middle class values not middle class family

[@tusharjain3822]

Except Jay, everyone is from middle class not middle class right now. They are all doing really good now.

[@lakshyashishir9718]

India me sab middle class hai except Adani-Ambani, Aur wo bhi bachpan me middle class the..

[@viparyaasa]

Jay Kotak should visit an SBI branch and open an account, that’s the first step of feeling middle class

[@aniketdhiman]

Let Gaurav speak for god’s sakeeeee🔥 he was far more focused on edtech topic than anyone else

[@sumitsingh01021995]

Gaurav spoke facts wrt Edtech in India

[@upscgsprep]

Exactly it's like Gaurav is the only person from the real world and all the others are just living in a delusion. Lower middle class by Ronnie, middle class by Jay and finally learning for the sake of learning 😂😂

[@ankurmishra25]

agree

[@Yesnaveen100]

Agree. He is speaking the voice of major portion of India. Rest all speaking the pure media stuff

[@soms42]

He was speaking mainly around exams and not broadly how other were discussing

[@tejasasank]

Ronnie Screwvala seems to be a big time bully. Kudos to Gaurav Munjal for keeping up his patience and demeanor.

[@aashishkhandelwal3977]

I didn't get it, was he mocking that unacademy was/is overvalued, they had to layoff, etc. or what

[@kannavpasricha3763]

That fundraising point was kind of mocking.

[@NthHour]

I think the “let me tell you..” vibe comes off bad but it’s great to go through conflicting thoughts from a different era.

[@ShyamSingh-wh7qb]

Tonnie trew is just moron loots in name of upgrade thug just showing off what not no knoweldge of ground realities go back to usa with this jay man

[@salmanali3334]

The entire conversation came off as the out of touch elitist India vs real India. The other three speakers frankly had nothing of substance to offer.

[@sxga0lee]

Next episode : WTF is Middle Class?

[@ketanmahandule3193]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@psyche1468]

father is a doctor and had a maruti 800 in the nineties, studied in top school in Jaipur is middle class 😄

[@Still_Here_For_You]

Done 👍🏽

[@vishnubishnoivlog2652]

Everyone is middle class untill the

[@debabratakundu9602]

​@@psyche1468 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@unseen_lastmile7190]

This episode pushed me from middle class to lower class😂

[@mist4735]

Right? I don't understand how they are from middle class.

[@magicsaint]

@@mist4735it’s simply matter of lacking self-confidence when upper class have to specify their upbringing as middle-class. Perception of showing humility. Do not understand why not state upper-class and concentrate more on hard work and achievements regardless of class. Then if people judge then it’s on them.

[@harshvardhansharma7081]

To below proverty line. 🙂

[@shrih8891]

Spot on ! No matter how much anyone disagree, the pedigree or background plays most important role in getting breakthrough if anybody of these got. You don't know unless you been through, how it is like growing up in poverty and being underprivileged. All of your creativity enthusiasm gets curbed because of hunger & humiliation. I just wish god bless all of them.

[@mohankumarg4071]

Nobody was wrong, but others was discussing more idealistic , but gaurav was speaking ground reality. I think gaurav understands mindset of MAJORITY students and parents.

[@stockmock]

so true!

[@SunnyKumar-kz4nt]

He is stuck with K-12 segment students and competitions whereas Ronnie identifies the real problem of the student-job-market which is "Skills" . Also, very clearly the importance human soft skills, narrative is not within the purview of Gaurav hence the disagreements.

[@kaustubhraizada]

​@@SunnyKumar-kz4nt skill hokar bhi aisa kya product india bnata hai jo tangible term mae export hota ho

[@SunnyKumar-kz4nt]

@@kaustubhraizada intangible mein toh hota hain na? It-Service industry mein India kitna kuch kar raha hain bahar jakar, kyu? Kyuki woh skill hain? Lekin woh skill mostly IIT-IIIM Waley bachho tak simit rehti thi par ab jab India mein market khul Raha hain because of entrepreneurial wave toh jobs opportunities badh rahi hain lekin skill-set jo chahiye woh nahi match kar rahi (chahe Banda IIT-IIM wala kyun na ho)isilye Ronnie, Jay aur NIkhil ki baaton mein woh clarity dikhi mujhe

[@kaustubhraizada]

@@SunnyKumar-kz4nt iit iim are just get benifit because of there institute they do not get enterprising skills they do not own a single company which is humongous in size and earn comfortable profits. , Zerodha made sure that they do not hire iitian now they are in profit 😂😂

[@vvibhorseth378]

Gaurav was spot on with tournaments happening in India and how ed-tech really is all about that Anybody else felt Ronnie picking on Gaurav for no solid reason

[@sam20698]

Lol, I was going through the comment section if someone else also picked up on it

[@aayushgarg8002]

yup felt that, ronnie was kind of mocking gaurav again and again, cutting him in between the conversations, for being funded and all

[@Mr-tq2xf]

Yeah man Ronnie was kinda weird throughout the entire conversation

[@morgoth8815]

Unacademy has started some company which is direct competition to Upgrad and maybe thats why he was straight rude when talks about PW came up

[@visheshb7695]

May be because he is the Poorest in the lot.. He has alot to lose.. Ronnie already has made name for himself, nikhil for zerodha and Kotak from his father...

[@abhiramsingh29]

Summary of this talk: Gaurav : In my opinion ... Ronnie : I don't think so ... Jay : I agree.

[@caparthpatil1905]

😂😂😂 nailed it More with this comment then entire podcast

[@sumitbarman2477]

haha

[@chiragmhatre9077]

lol

[@VijayShenoy]

This comment sums it up well 😊

[@studyphobe9005]

Bruh 😂

[@rohanmukherjee647]

Jay Kotak looks like that kinda guy who plays squash at a nice upscale club on Sundays, has orange juice, toast and eggs and ends with a nice cup of coffee - checks and responds to his emails on his phone while being surrounded by an equally affluent, yet jovial group of friends and colleagues before driving home in his Audi.

[@harshdhankar6059]

😄 Avocado toast

[@anandbakshi4391]

Talk like painting a picture 😂😂

[@angryguy2189]

Better than u leftist communist bengalis

[@nkhlxd]

man who grew up in bombay in the 70s and a guy who went to harvard for his education will never understand the problems that students in India go through. I haven’t used unacademy but I personally feel Gaurav understands the sentiment of a young aspirational kid far better than mr old everything’s philosophical dude or the kid agreeing with. To me Ronnie and Jay (even Nikhil at times) seem bourgeois with only Gaurav being the exception. An indian student’s way to a good life starts by whether he or she goes into IIT or cracks NEET or UPSC (this does change later in life though). Also the only thing I learned after watching 2 hours of this is that I’ll never get those 2 hours back because nothing of value was spoken but maybe that’s just me.

[@sarthakpatnaik65]

Brutal lol this should be at the top

[@MrDnag88]

These podcasts are not meant to be talking just to reassert your opinions. What value were you expecting? Most of these unicorn guys were middle class back in the day. And, as an entrepreneur with some power now, they are the ones who'll want to change the current system. Nothing wrong with that. Someone who is always in middle class is first middle class. by thoughts. They are definitely way beyond that. So, they'' talk and think like a successful entrepreneur only.

[@MrNeelthehulk]

Bruh!

[@sayanpoddar5580]

your comment should be pinned by Nikhil Kamath. This is an accurate description of this episode.

[@eshaannilekar3851]

Point on.. You described the episode accurately

[@salilshukla6272]

I have so much respect for Gaurav after this, “So you went to Harvard to become an entrepreneur?”

[@stanL9]

Word

[@aditpatnaik2654]

Gaurav is the real chadarmod absolutely unapologetic about the unethical decisions he's taken

[@sudhanshus8546]

He is very agressive at burning investor's money,firing employees and making himself rich.

[@am_ac]

Hahaha so true.. wish all middle class Indians would have that luxury of graduating from New York & then following it with a Harvard business school.

[@muqsitahmed1826]

😂

[@GauravKapatia]

I felt that the podcast discussed the balance between realism and idealism. Gaurav approached the topic from a realistic perspective while understanding which aspects of idealism could be integrated into educational technology or education in general. Screwvala, Jay, and even Nikhil were all idealistic about the concept of education. The majority of the population in India, and even the world, studies to improve their lives, which in turn fosters a desire for the intrinsic value of learning.

[@manoja9972]

Then what about realism are the next Gen underprivileged and middle class kids are able to compete with elite class metro city kids. How many in entrepreneur community that are actually from small town who has been successful.

[@Manish456thakur]

By the mid-1990s, Kotak Group had partnered with Goldman Sachs and was entering the big league. Ronnie Screwvala's dad was an executive at the British firm J L Morrison and Smith & Nephew. Gaurav Munjal's dad owned a Maruti 800 back in the day. Car ownership in India in the 1990s was less than 1%. If these guys were lower middle class, I was living way below the poverty line.

[@amarjeetchaani274]

Haan pr Gaurav Munjal ko thoda middle class maan skte hai ✅

[@adwaitkarvande9714]

Gaurav is the most relatable on this panel. I don't understand why the others kept cutting him. He wanted to express a problem which truly exists for us kids. Kudos to the team, Great podcast.

[@yashwin1996]

I love that Gaurav sir is my senior from high school. Even his younger brother is brilliant

[@startupcapital4266]

He is technical which may appeal to majority while being fairly naive about macro and business principles in general. That's why they were cutting him out. In other words, every first time entrepreneur for first few years speak like him. Every person who joins Gaurav as cofounder, like you and me will also speak like him. That' s why the appeal. Nikhil, Ronnie have crossed that phase and find it beginners talk.

[@adwaitkarvande9714]

@@startupcapital4266 I agree, but this was for the bigger audience right, they wanted to convey and communicate something they've learned and observed. Being relatable is a great way to get attention of those listening.

[@shivammishra3047]

​@@adwaitkarvande9714this discussion was not for student this was for a person who want to go into Ed tech business

[@uuuuu9313]

Ronnie was such a mood killer man. He looked like someone who wants to constantly be gratified and at the same time wants to appear humble by rejecting compliments. If I would have been in place of gaurav I would have been pissed I am sure he also might have gotten frustrated after a point of time. Nikhil You are an excellent host and have a calm aura but a podcast is as good as guest are sometimes conversation we t towards global warming, banking and other areas as guests were from different fields. Ronnie was so early to criticize gaurav for taking funds from vc but he should understand gaurav and others were not as rich as him before starting Ed tech companies it is a field which requires money as they and byjus were pioneers they had to burn a lot of cash to bring about awareness and normalising online education PW came at a right time and had popularity online education had become a medium of preparation so that is why he was able to catapult such growth with low expenditures.

[@parimalkapadni9801]

PW also being very affordable, this is also the point to note

[@Gauravkriniitkgp]

Ronnie almost acted like a bully!!

[@anushasayee8061]

Also upgrad is a very shit company.

[@mariarashid5907]

@@Gauravkriniitkgp So is upgrad abroad

[@reevu.]

After seeing a few of these episodes, I feel that the rectangular table is detrimental to the overall quality of the conversation. The person sitting to the left of Nikhil (eg: Gaurav / Umang) is often sidelined as a result of being in his blind spot, and a round table would be a good solve.

[@studyphobe9005]

Exactly I thought the same!

[@shrutisingh6135]

totally agree

[@diwakarkumargupta1550]

Agreed. I was about to say this but I then saw an episode where Varun Mayya was speaking of AI. I guess there's some intrinsic enthusiasm to speak up. Or may, the sample size is too few to make any judgement on this. Let's hope or see the breakthrough in few more episodes.

[@MickStone666]

@@diwakarkumargupta1550 I 2nd that

[@amithanil970]

Great point

[@ayushankar7]

Jay Kotak's contribution in this podcast was more than that of Indian batsmen in knockout matches

[@jatinreddy]

I am here after IndVsNZ semifinal

[@akshaymarch7]

- We should accept the fact that the problems in the Education System of India are very different than in other countries
 - EdTech is huge, very huge both horizontally and vertically. 
 - The problems are different for kids in schools, it’s different for college students, it’s different for working professionals, and very different for kids in villages who don’t even get an education 
 - To solve for EdTech we will have to understand students, their mindset, and the problems they face in their education journey

 This podcast was going in random directions because 4 very different people, with very different views are talking about very different sectors.
 - Gaurav was making a lot of sense to me as he was focused on talking about the problems of an average middle-class student in India. Eg. Students who prepare for competitive exams, later want a good job 
 - Ronnie was talking from a very general perspective of the education system and from the POV of a very broad segment of students
(most of his thoughts did not make sense to me) - Nikhil was talking from an even broader perspective of `Education for life`, more like, `learn what you love to` (which doesn’t work in reality, when students are confused and are in pressure to build their career)
 - Jay was more inclined toward P2P learning because of his educational background (IMO, P2P learning can only work in the top 1% colleges, and won't work on large scale) Overall it was fun to listen to their perspectives, but I honestly feel that most EdTech founders don’t even understand their market (students) properly. 

 Without a ground-level understanding of the EdTech market (students) and the problems that students go through, we will not be able to build great EdTech products. PS. This is just my personal opinion and thoughts, feel free to disagree!

[@lathikabubbly]

I strongly agree Very well articulated. 👏👍

[@NishitaErvantikarIsCoding]

I like the comment and it's articulation for sure. I agree each level of education sector comes with different challenges to solve. It might have come across that the other three are speaking for an ideal world. But that is the mindset as individuals we have to look forward to. Gaurav was very shallow in his communication. He hardly answered any question properly. I appreciate him bringing the points because I don't think other two would have. But he is not a solver of the problem, he is one of the flag bearers of the problem. He just has a online version of the coaching center business that was from last 3 decades I believe. The problem is that is not inclusion of maximum, immersion into the relevance, and the intention to be all rounded. If world's gonna be the same competitive exam model which declares 97% of youth unfit for job markets. We are obviously being foolish with our own resources as a country. And this will change only when youth especially 21-29 starts thinking like other 3 and not like Gaurav.

[@NishitaErvantikarIsCoding]

I mean gaurav's like jee and upscale etc.

[@twitterupdate8072]

@akshaymarch7 sir ,can you please remaining part of namaste javascript

[@monikaagarwal9381]

Gaurav Sir is gem.

[@bsethupathi1]

I got to give to Gaurav. He's extremely sharp and spoke my mind. It's the one who goes through *shitty* experiences knows the value of *finer* things in life.

[@vmovie0]

Gaurav is real at his words, the pov he looks after. Others being a billionaire, they so easily suppress and surpass him and his words. Also he is right in a lot of things. Jay saw things from his pov that doesn't mean Gaurav is wrong.

[@ss-wg7jw]

Gaurav was completely ignored and interrupted (especially by Ronnie) when actually he was the most relatable here !

[@amitmahar1969]

I came here with so many expectations, specially after watching #Ep3 (which was amazing ) I was like this is so much fun to watch but this one was like those high society meetings where a bunch of rich people ridicule the little guy and talk things that don’t remotely associate with the common public , Gaurav was that little guy who made sense to me every time he spoke unlike the rest . Nikhil ! Man this fell too short from my expectations, wish you luck for the next one .

[@Mrmaert]

agreed, this was not for us. I think i won't be much excited for next episode looking at this one. this was waste of time for us

[@Aj-vc2nz]

Well no. This is just your narrow mindset, confirming your own bias where you want to just see a kind of narrative to be the hero. Middle class version is not always the right version. Just because you s*ck the dick of these coaching industry gurus doesn't mean others are high value people and their arguments have no validity. Move away from the fact that "Middle class sympathising is always right". Few things gaurav said were very interesting but the rest things were plain stupid. He just generalized the arguments saying" most of the middle class do this or do that". First get your biased lenses out and then have the audacity to watch it objectively.

[@Yesnaveen100]

Ha ha,,, very very trut

[@sudhama6224]

Yea and Ronnie was the waste guest. Constantly belittling everything gaurav says

[@nikitaaggarwal9355]

I agree this was a waste of time. I didn't learn anything nor did I get any insight. But I like how humble Gaurav has become now and it's just amazing to see how honest and grounded he has become now

[@v99v999]

Gaurav comes out as genuine. Other two starting off talking about being middle class was really funny 😂

[@ajay-pz1qd]

bruh the audacity to have a billionaire father and still call yourself middle class is crazy

[@asadshetty]

He didn't call himself middle class, he called middle class values, listen clearly

[@mkagenius]

@@asadshetty middle class value would have been not paying 1 cr+ for a bachelors in US and rather let the 89 percentiler struggle like the rest of us

[@varunmittal3617]

​​@@mkagenius Ya probably asked by parents to loan for fee. He would have worked at McDonald's and live on daily wages while studying.

[@bhaveekjain4246]

​@@mkageniussee Gujaratis. They have a lot of money but their values are of you can say a middle class

[@mkagenius]

@@bhaveekjain4246 Lets avoid bringing caste and community in this, or politics for that matter.

[@heal_n_deal]

Gaurav was talking about ground reality ! That's true ! Motivation does lead you to learning

[@TravelDiscoverWrite]

Really nice conversation. Just couldn’t get how Jay Kotak is middle class, he went to international universities and runs his father business.

[@RachithRao]

he said he was taught middle class values. not that he is from a middle class family

[@akshaynair3080]

@@RachithRao chod bhai yeh naam ka liya podcast sunta hai Bollywood nepotism yehi sab suna hai idar bhi inko

[@TravelDiscoverWrite]

@@RachithRao Jay seems to have excelled at studies and I have huge admiration the kind of work he is doing. Par then these middle class values is something that 99% of people in India have. Even Ambanis of different generations had same middle class values to an extent. Then why bring these Middle Class character statement, I like how Nikhil also highlighted that everyone in India is aiming to give those middle class values. So long story short, middle class values should not be used as introduction everywhere by everyone especially by someone like Jay Kotak.

[@kpwand]

Going to an international university does not make you upper class. Inheriting wealth makes you upper class.

[@deepakchoubey4207]

We need to understand that Gaurav is a hardcore builder and is a self made, learnt from many books. He has the first principle approach and feels legit. Rest are 😂😂😂

[@govind9756]

would love to watch Kunal shah, Deepinder Goyal and Bhavish Aggarwal on the show

[@kharabath3858]

This will be a crazy bunch.

[@Gupta.satyam]

This will be craziest podcast

[@venugopal-nc3nz]

All three will not come together

[@darshanpatil992]

Yes much needed

[@snakeeyegaming4361]

it would be awesome

[@itmee2699]

Jays entire role is to be a representative of Harvard business school

[@raamcaash]

Gaurav is solving the india B and India C problem …. Ronnie ( loved his quiz programs) is solving India A problems …. Metroites …. Jay is talking south Bombay ( south Bombay can never be south Mumbai ) and upper east side and upper west side NYC

[@vibhaukey8788]

😂

[@48038]

Well judged

[@harshitpal2577]

😂😂

[@ashwinisvernekar]

Gaurav you stood out and relevant in this entire podcast. Especially the last bit was epic!

[@SachinSharma07]

Somehow discussion remained abstract with not much concrete stuff discussed. Only Gaurav had some realistic point of views, but it was frustrating to see him being constantly interrupted by Ronnie, and overall being sidelined. Jay seems to be a good guy, but doesn’t add value to this topic. Result was, some abstract discussion with no solid insights for building Edtech in india.

[@abhishekjavali1524]

Same, I came here to also know what are their thoughts on current ed-tech ecosystem. But they were just pitching why their company is doing what they do. When you invite guests who have a personal stake in the topic, its not a discussion anymore, its a pitch.

[@rai-kee-rai]

💯 agreed

[@pranjaljagtap8398]

True , all opinions must be given an equal time and to be left to the audience take from

[@ankitrajbachchan]

Yeah. No insight on the status of Ed tech. But I loved Ronnie making fun of startups that raise money and label themselves unicorn.

[@John-zr5pc]

ed tech industry is a scam but the technology is mind blowing and very usefull if used properly

[@MukeshSharma-tr8xr]

This podcast could have easily turned into a self-congratulatory conversation, with a group of witty and rich individuals merely exchanging pleasantries over coffee. However, I genuinely believe that Nikhil stood out by posing thought-provoking questions, devoid of superficial remarks, and displaying genuine curiosity. So that persons like me can take home lot of learning for this. 🎉

[@manylaksh]

I think Nikhil started reading philosophy too much. I mean look at his philosophical depth on that question "we try to attach a middle class tag, so that people's perception would become like that, do you guys think so?" And then again on his insight about Ronnie on being bad at taking compliments. Just got my attention. Incredible!

[@navyaachantani5859]

Irony : while Ronnie and Jay blab about soft skills they ignore how someone is serving them food and don’t thank them while at it. Super skills indeed.

[@25achint]

Ronnie sir took every opportunity to cut Gaurav. He might have different perspective, but that is no reason that you don’t give him an opportunity

[@sumedh235]

God complex hai usko

[@caparthpatil1905]

Ronnie jeleous

[@sumitbarman2477]

he took every opportunity to cut Gaurav's statement just to add Venture Capitalist and making Unacademy a unicorn

[@sambahadur7218]

Jay got into Harvard because he is "Kotak". Ask him what are middle class values and in what ways he adheres to it..does he pay home loan EMIs, Car loan EMIs, travel by bus / train.. there is a trend among these entrepreneurs who come from quite well to do families (parents are doctors, small businessman, CAs, etc.) to claim to be middle class to give a more lucrative narrative of their journey. Jabardasti ke middle-class

[@KshitijKV]

Gaurav is the most in touch with the realities of Indian education sector and India in general.

[@aicodecampus]

Middle class redefined in this session - Owning cars from before the 90s, pursuing education abroad and in prestigious colleges, and experiencing multiple failures without the constant worry of financially supporting one's family!! Making me feel extreme lower class for no reason :D

[@jaiphookan]

Let Gaurav speak, sheesh. Dude's way more real and interesting than the rest.

[@gauthamkrishna12]

I really appreciate how there are no ads on this channel! Thank you, Nikhil!

[@simhadribharadwaja6994]

Need a full individual podcast with Gaurav.

[@RandomlyYours2093]

Trueeee

[@navneetnair]

Kotak started with a capital of close to 30 lakhs (close to Rs 5-10 crores today) that he raised from family and friends. Which middle class family in 1985 would have been able to raise that kind of capital?

[@naveenking3794]

We want WTF Fintech With Kunal Shah, Nithin, Rahul chrai, Ashneer grover

[@caparthpatil1905]

Where is my man finance with churan 🕷️

[@Mrmaert]

@@caparthpatil1905 finance with chuthya not charan

[@caparthpatil1905]

@@Mrmaert it's churan not sharan

[@nhdgaming7979]

Love how the chai wale bhaiya just casually walks in the frame, leaves the cups and carries on. Real Chad.

[@MOIZXGHY87]

With open shirt 😅

[@harishkulkarni7244]

​@@MOIZXGHY87 lmao

[@VivekTiwari03]

I 100% agree with what Munjal was saying arond 1:28:55 - people look for badges that can open more doors. Ronnie and Jay didn't really have to face that issue, there doors were already open. On the ground, half the struggle is about actually getting to open those doors.

[@mariarashid5907]

Enrolled with UpGrad Abroad for a Cybersecurity Master's program, promised admission to Yeshiva University. Despite meeting all criteria, faced rejections and false assurances. Lost significant money, time, and trust. Seeking justice for a misleading and stressful experience. Upgrad abroad is terrible.

[@MegaGreat45]

Can see a cold war between Ronnie and Gaurav 🤣

[@irumasif3506]

gaurav is so realistic in his approach, his "duolingo" instance is so true !!

[@CoinFusion]

Gaurav is practical and truthful. And not trying to sound ideal like Jay

[@Aaiyereviewkartehain]

I found Gaurav to be more realistic to Indian scenario rather than other so called middle class folks 😅

[@aakashgarg4023]

Would really love to listen more of Gaurav insights, they were the best. A lot of podcast was spend on justifying why Jay is here and how he is the epitome of humbleness.

[@mirzaahmad7341]

Will keep saying this. Coming from Pakistan, yes dynamics are different, but the market is the same, I have learned so much from Nikhil's podcast which I haven't from anywhere else. Coming from those who have done it in similar markets, it's an inspiration. Love from Pakistan, please keep those coming. You become a billionaire, you use your influence to pass on as much knowledge as possible. Nikhil, well done on this. I wish you success in whatever you do in life.

[@sowmyaramesh4763]

Gaurav should own his hunger... That's how he got here... A unicorn is no joke.😅

[@jasveer10]

Yup 200%

[@Suzume15803]

Bro how would he own his hunger when the panel includes ass licking peasants who were there to just please Jay Kotak for the value his father created 🙄

[@rkk15]

He is in the education industry which shapes young minds of tomorrow. Your hunger shouldn’t be the cause to dupe clients(that are unsuspecting parents/students) into an unfair deal

[@PushkarKarn]

Why is Jay Kotak even in the panel which is discussing Edtech !?

[@anindyachakrabarty3710]

Listening to Gaurav speak makes me realize that he still is attached to his roots. He is speaking on behalf of the masses and being real to the core, but kinda made like the odd one out whose perspectives are being kicked around and subtly rejected. There's nothing middle class about Ronnie (respect him as an entrepreneur) and Jay. Definitely life was 100x easier for him in a lot of aspects in life just being Uday Kotak's son. Ronnie is also a self made guy so kudos and of course Nikhil as well.

[@karthikeyanadkarni9187]

There should be someone like Tanmay to cut the tension during these conversations and get a laugh..

[@AdityaSingh-ck8tk]

Gaurav was the only one being realistic about any topic.

[@x7877]

Gaurav is the only one who is in touch with reality

[@Bahbalitatte]

Preparing for my ca finals and listening to these podcasts i am becoming more and more impatient to try my hand at entrepreneurship hats off to nikhil

[@rishabhjain9331]

Great podcast once again. Felt that Ronnie was too dismissive of Gaurav's insights when they were contrary to his point of view.

[@abhishekjavali1524]

Exactly, found Ronnie to be too disrespectful. All 3 apart from Gaurav had their own myopic view of how the world is today. "People study only because they are curious and not to get any outcome" "I was born and raised in Mumbai but I am middle class" all these points made by them demonstrate that they are living in a bubble.

[@aryannihalchandani9042]

Correct 👍

[@Aj-vc2nz]

​@@abhishekjavali1524 Well no. He was right on point. And he was a middle class. The definition of middle class is not your f*cked up life that you lived. Today a 1.5 lakh salary in Bombay is still called middle class since it is adjusted against cost of living. It's not that somebody who lives in a tier 1 city cannot be a middle class. On the contrary the term middle class is mostly used towards people living in tier 1 city. In tier 2 , 3 cities the cost of living is different. Atleast have basic senses to understand that. Ronnie was not dismissive anywhere, certain things he did not agree because Gaurav kept on playing the middle class card. Just because the middle class is doing something it automatically doesn't warrant practicality. Learn to take diversive opinions in the right spirit rather than degrading or labelling panelists. Gaurav made some really interesting observations too focus on that, than indulging in blind worshipness of one guy.

[@harshalsk6138]

I watch these episodes only to listen to NIKHIL KAMATH....his depth just blows my mind ❤

[@arunsundar3602]

If Jay Kotak is middle-class then he should educate us as to who exactly is rich in India.

[@am_ac]

In conclusion I only pray to God to make every middle class family in India resourceful enough to send their kids to New York & Harvard for education. When will these "Scrooge Mc Ducks" stop posing to be humble, cmon man, being rich ain't a crime, own it. Also, loved it when Gaurav told Mr. Kotak, "So you went to Harvard to be an entrepreneur.." 😂..

[@om_patel_22]

Gaurav is right and I think 99 percent students agree with him.

[@rkk15]

Ya, because of all the conditioning that is done to us as students from a young age. Once you grow older you realise there is much more to life than clearing exams, and you sometimes wonder whether you could have taken another path where you would have been more satisfied in life, instead of just doing what society expects of you.

[@nachiketkulkarni6348]

if he didnt go through the conventional way of passing out of iit’s to make it big, why does he promote all of the people(his customers) to go that route of the tournament where 97percent doesnt make it?

[@varunmittal3617]

​@@rkk15 there no life without money. And money comes value you offer. Exams gives a prima facie stamp for that value. Every thing is important at a point of time

[@bhushanpunjabi3360]

​@@nachiketkulkarni6348 i think he is not promoting it, because even before unacademy people were going through these competitive exams to get into IIT etc. Like any entrepreneur he identified a market and is solving for the same by providing a better experience for the prep.

[@atharvapache76]

noo he is not

[@adbhutcivil]

Hopefully we get solo interview with Gaurav from Unacademy, I wish to listen him more

[@aanonymous744]

Middle Class Middle Class EveryBody says the same But the reality is they are Born and Studied in Mumbai even in their School Days Most Students Come to Mumbai/Banglore for MBA or some other degree or Job but they spent most of their life in small town while in school till 10th And The Definition of Middle Class is very Different to everyone So you should always say in terms of per capita income Like this ⬇️ Instead of saying: i Belong to a Middle class Family when i was in 20's You should say : I Belong to Family having Per Capita Income of 15 Lakh or ..... when i was in 20's Which gives a clear Picture Bcoz having 10/15lakh per capita puts you in top 10% richest in india And We sitting here in small town thinking that he also Belongs to middle class if he can do we can also do But the reality is most youngter's(18 to 23 age/not earning) parents Per capita income is/was 2/3lakh when their children were in their 20's going to college and these people sitting here their parents were having 10/15 lakh in per capita income when their kids( i.e. these founders) when were going to college in their 20's so Obviously They have gone to school and colleges 5x to 10x better than what most of indians have gone to But by saying Middle Class they erase the clear picture and then nobody realises these things and then everyone starts thinking that we should also start a company but they forget the Information Asymmetry in which these people are brought up and which other people are brought up.

[@rishu0532]

Good analysis, even i was thinking the same.

[@zyx7955]

True completely true and agreed

[@millennialmind9507]

Definition of middle class is 6 to 30 lakh as per some sources and you are right, only 10 percent Qualify for it

[@abhishekjavali1524]

"And We sitting here in small town thinking that he also Belongs to middle class if he can do we can also do" You hit the nail right on the head. They know majority of India is the actual middle class, so to sell them that dream of being successfull, they have to potray themselves as coming from a middle class. I will have more respect for a founder if they donot use this hack to sell their product.

[@namanmehta8692]

We all are ordinary so we can connect more with Gaurav and aspire to be like him one day without cracking these exams, jobs etc and build something like he has.

[@SatwickBiradar]

What if Alakh Pandey and Byju Ravichandran was also sharing the Table. Would Love to See how the debate would have been 😁

[@Wealthcreation10x]

Gaurav being Gaurav 😂( often comes across as egotistic and rebellious in nature but highly ambitious and way in sync with reality than many other founders ) Disappointed to see him being cornered through constant interruptions . Am I the only person to find it funny when Ronnie was mocking Gaurav for raising funds from venture capitalists while his own firm Upgrad has to raised 650M in 7 rounds to make it a unicorn ??

[@tanushka8678]

i think nikhil is the best podcast host in india right now, asks the exact questions which a regular listner would be curious about and add an appropriate amount of personal touch in the conversation which makes him unique "as a HOST"

[@pranav3523]

thank you so much Nikhil for giving us a chance to involve in such a rich conversation. I would really appreciate if you could invite some founders of failed startups and talk about what went wrong and what are some intrinsic flaws in the business environment of India. That would really help us understand what we are doing wrong as a country in business. (I'm saying this in the context of 3rd industrial revolution where we as a country failed to create a brand of our own in the global market)

[@reeteshs02]

Looks like the Gaurav knows more about his space than Ronnie. Ronnie though can run the business better as he has sustained his company for a very long time, all the while trying out the pivots that he did. Ronnie is very dismissive of the fund raising game, which is where it looks like the same old business man (Lala) approach which India had earlier. In US though, most of the succesful startups raised funds early on to formulate right businesses and expand. In India. the problem is the market size is too small to be playing the same game. So the ideal solution will be to capture foreign markets, and create systems in place for world beating content and creating world beating content.

[@storyofeverything552]

Yes , finally someone said.

[@dipayanhazra4406]

Only Gaurav pointed out the real thing, real problem real ideas

[@NiShAnTKuMaR.]

You're eating out the biggest slice of India's podcast game ❤

[@studyphobe9005]

For sure 😂

[@adnan8shaikh]

Gurav’s knows the market soo well. He was spittin facts on whatever he said, ya’ll should have let him speak more.

[@pratiksanadhya3435]

Gaurav talked about "education" for folks from 16-20/23 year age group that is basically when we think that the output of education is to get into a certain college or land in a certain job, Nikhil and Jay when you are in a job but how you better yourself in that particular job or to get a better job. Ronnie as always a holistic picture of the life in conjunction with education. I think the best way to look the podcast is not to going with one but taking each one's view at different point of life.

[@shubhamagarwal2321]

Exactly, well said. But Gourav is specifically addressing his point in conjunction with the life phase he is talking about. But others are trying to negate his view and pushing a generalized view for every phase of education.

[@siddhantsingh3411]

How is the topic centred around EdTech then? EdTech is more about Ed than upskilling. Only Gaurav fit the bill really well.

[@2050theking]

Khan sir is solving what none of them is, because of his understanding of the real problems, a big vision, a kind heart, and a method that works!!❤

[@stealthoverflow]

Personally I am a big evangelist for this Podcast because I believe Nikhil can consistently bring the guests of this stature, being at the position that he is in. But we definitely need a podcast partner for Nikhil who can cut the BS and at the same time knows what he's talking about. Taking example of another successful podcast in the same space, My First Million, the hosts there, Sam and Shaan, never hesitate to cut the BS, for example when some son of a billionaire calls himself to have been raised in a middle class household. I get it, the community that he walks and talks in must value and adore his forced humbleness and not associating himself with multibillionaire father in every other sentence. But I don't think it would work outside the billionaires silo and on a public domain. Anyways, the episode was filled with valuable insights and ideas. Keep more episodes coming Nikhil!

[@sangramsingh4185]

I just love the energy of Nikhil Kamath.

[@watswrongwidu]

Loved how Ronnie digged into the Unicorn race Gaurav mentioned!

[@amishthaker7270]

Brilliant episode. Looking forward to the next one...Jay Kotak didn't really talk a lot except for his intro. Also curious why Jay Kotak was in an ed tech episode......definitely have him in the fintech episode.

[@harshsrivastava7261]

Absolutely good to listen gaurav munjal sir, because he talk related to middle class.....

[@omkarsawant7933]

Gaurav is right on the education front....at the gate people have a similar approach of to get 20 LPA , I'll go to IIMA but that doesn't take you far. To get to 20 LPA via the IIM route, you should be naturally good at solving quants & verbal or You create a route via the online world like KZbin, creating products read coding, Instagram influencer etc...to reach that 20 LPA mark.

[@debanjandasgupta1607]

I think the entire conversation - Gaurav was a hustler !

[@rahulnair6797]

Fascinating to observe the communication dynamics and undercurrents at play in the conversation. Gaurav's read of the indian youth, the current state of education, and his understanding of needs/solutioning seem to be far superior to the rest of the group. Ronnie and Jay seem to be coming from the context of already employed segment but could not cite any examples to further their perspectives while Gaurav was sprinkling examples of what he heard from people all along. I wish Nikhil moderated this a bit more and allowed Gaurav's perspectives and questions to go a bit further. Nikhil suggesting he didn't care for hard skills much now and that being a reflection of the indian youth, was a bit of a shock

[@rahulnair6797]

Kudos to Gaurav for the grace in handling the imposition of one perspective (largerly Ronnie) on the entire group. Wish nikhil didn't let that happen and had moderated better.

[@shivammishra3047]

This podcast was for a businessman perspective mostly not for student perspective

[@KudrovSharma]

Petition for 1) food delivery and instant grocery supply + dunzo (gig worker intensive industry) 2) EV future and green energy and someone from isro or drdo for nuclear future of India 3) B2C founders . Boat sugar shoe company . T shirt company garment . Etc 4) feel free to put more in replies. 😅😅😅

[@pushkarpapreja4387]

except gaurav munjal none of them truely know about the education system of india ....

[@JaviFlix-ow1qc]

I would really say that gaurav is very practical with his answers and is answering based on experience of what he faced. While others are just getting annoyed because they have a different opinion and sort of a bookish approach towards everything. I think nikhil should so an ed tech panel including alakh pandey, byju and gaurav.

[@sachinsreekumar7466]

Ronnie Screwvala - Very less educational inputs Anand mahindra- No inputs Gaurav- Fighting to have some great points about education Nikhil - Getting distracted by the first 2 from asking the right qn

[@iotasymbol8498]

It was a miss episode but loved nikhil he shines like always with his curiosity and question which a viewer want to ask

[@kunalpawar2517]

These guys just uplifted whole of Middle class and lower middle class in few seconds

[@adarshshetty4686]

Loved Gaurav on this one , but he was constantly interrupted. Bring him on another episode.

[@prabhattiwari007]

Wow! Middle class in India has such range.. Everyone is middle class until they figure out in life

[@stockmock]

There is always a room for different school of thought in every sector, and that's why entrepreneurs approaches are totally different. Bringing diverse opinions people on table for us is nothing less than the Masterpiece. Thank you Nikhil Sir.

[@vaibhavangi789]

Gaurav is calm and addresses problems, Ronnie over-complicates solutions, and Jay be like "I agree with you Ronnie" as if some chamcha trying to get attention🤣. and the best part "You went to Harvard to become entrepreneur"🤣🤣🤣.

[@chetankhandelwal3745]

Gaurav एक ऐसा बच्चा है जिसका बचपन में jee/neet के नाम पर बहुत शोषण हुआ है अब ये सबसे बदला लेने के लिए unacadamy खोला है।😂😂😂

[@millennialmind9507]

😂😅

[@morgoth8815]

I would say usne shoshan se bachaya h, mera IIT Kanpur mai kabhi admission nhi hota, but Unacademy ke teachers kuch zyada hi acche the, literally har teacher author the or most teachers ne AIR 1 ko padhaya h, unse padhna mere impossible hota kyuki 11th padhai start ki thi, or mai jab tests dene gaya tha FIITJEE or Resonance ke, waha saare bache 7 - 8th se JEE ka padh rhe the. OR unhe hi yeh acche teachers se padhne milta tha, but Unacademy ne Allen ke saare ex-HODs ko laa diya sabhi ke liye.