Created by Proudly Indian09
Last edited September 3, 2021
Byju Raveendran
Born1981 (age 44–45)
NationalityIndian
OccupationEntrepreneur
Net worthUS$ 3.05 billion[lower-alpha 1] (2020)[1]
TitleFounder of Byju's
Spouse(s)Divya Gokulnath

Byju Raveendran (born 1981)[2] is an Indian entrepreneur and educator who co-founded Byju's.

Early life and education[edit | edit source]

He was born in 1981 in the Azhikode[3] village of Kerala, India to Raveendran and Shobhanavalli.[4] He studied at a Malayalam medium school where his mother was a mathematics teacher and father a physics teacher.[5][6] He would skip classes and then learn at home.[7][8]

Career[edit | edit source]

After completing his B.Tech from the Government College of Engineering, Kannur, he joined a multinational shipping company as a service engineer.[4] During a vacation in 2003, helped friends who were studying for the CAT exam.[6] He then took the CAT exam and says he scored in the 100th percentile.[6] When he took the exam again, he again scored in the 100th percentile.[9] Two years later, he continued helping people study for the CAT exam, and based on the good results, decided to quit his job.[6]

In 2007, Byju founded the test preparation business Byju's Classes,[6] and the company grew to stadium-size classes.[10] In 2011, he founded Byju's with his wife, Divya Gokulnath,[5] who he met while she was a student in his exam preparation class.[11][12]

In 2015, as smartphone screen sizes increased, Byju's launched an app developed by Byju Raveendran.[13][6][14][15] In October 2018, the app expanded to the UK, US and other English-speaking countries.[16]

According to Forbes, as of 2020, Byju, his wife, and his brother Riju Raveendran, have a combined net worth of $3.05B.[1]

In January 2021, he was added to the National Startup Advisory Council as a non-official member along with Kunal Bahl.[17]

Honors and awards[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ combined with Divya Gokulnath and Riju Raveendran

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "India's Richest - #46 Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath & family". Forbes. 10 July 2020.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Byju Raveendran | 2020 40 under 40 in Tech". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  3. ↑ "Byju's education app: A CAT topper who didn't fancy IIMs is making self-learning cool among Indian students — Quartz India". qz.com. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "ബൈജൂസ് ആപ്പിന്റെ കഥ; ബൈജു രവീന്ദ്രന്റെയും". Mathrubhumi.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gilchrist, Karen (July 30, 2019). "India crowns its newest billionaire, a 37-year-old former teacher". CNBC. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Krishna, Niharika (July 11, 2016). "Teacher, entrepreneur: The success story of Byju Raveendran". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Rai, Saritha (July 29, 2019). "Byju Raveendran, a former school teacher, joins Indian billionaires' club". LiveMint. Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  8. ↑ India TV News Desk (July 30, 2019). "Reluctant student-turned teacher, meet Byju Raveendran - India's newest billionaire". India TV. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  9. ↑ TNM Staff (July 29, 2019). "Kerala-born former teacher Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". The News Minute. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  10. ↑ Banerjee, Sreya (July 31, 2019). "Teacher turned app maker Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". ABC News. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Ghosh, Debojyoti (November 21, 2020). "Byju's better half". Fortune India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  12. ↑ ET Now Digital (October 10, 2020). "With a wealth of over Rs 11,300 crore, meet India's youngest billionaire". TimesNowNews. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  13. ↑ FP Staff (July 29, 2019). "Byju's founder, Raveendran polevaults into billionaire club with latest funding of $150 mn". FirstPost. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  14. ↑ Rai, Saritha (December 3, 2020). "Byju Raveendran, the A Student in Online Ed". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  15. ↑ Shah, Vrutika (February 12, 2020). "5 youngest billionaires of India and how they make their money". GQ India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "India's Game-Changers - Byju Raveendran". BBC World News. October 6, 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Byju Raveendran, Kunal Bahl named to startup advisory panel". The Siasat Daily. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  18. ↑ Staff (December 7, 2020). "Byju Raveendran dedicates Manorama News Newsmaker Award to COVID warriors, teachers". Onmanorama. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  19. ↑ "Byju Raveendran". EY. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  20. ↑ Dave, Sachin (March 25, 2021). "Harsh Mariwala wins EY Entrepreneur of the year 2020 award". Economic Times. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  21. ↑ Bathija, Monica (March 18, 2021). "FILA 2021 Entrepreneur for the Year: Byju Raveendran's global ambitions". Forbes India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.