Startup ‘EduGorilla’ Says Continuous Innovation Is The Soul Of Any Business

Several publications have reported that worldwide investments in the edtech space had reached $9 billion in 2017. The number reached $16.3 billion in 2018, and in the upcoming last ten years, investments in the edtech space would probably grow by 17 percent. Also, India’s online education market is expected to reach $1.96 billion by 2022.

How is the space-faring amid the pandemic? Rohit Manglik, CEO, EduGorillla, tells us more.

How do you think online education has emerged over the days?

Online education is emerging rapidly due to the increasing penetration of the Internet and the proliferation of technology with students readily adapting to this changing trend. There is a wealth of online learning resources that can be easily accessed by the learners depending upon their area of interest. 

Approximately 4000+ state-level examinations are getting conducted in India presently with 7.5 crore test-takers. However, the courseware and practice material available for these entrances is often unsuitable and sub-standard and the test-takers still hunt for reliable channels for the competitive examination preparation. With most of the tests going online, the vernacular users are also switching over to digital content to supplement their learning. With most players focusing only on national-level exams, the ad-hoc and vernacular space of state-level exams remains unexplored. As such, there is a great scope in the market of the state-level competitive examinations.

Research also reveals that more than 75℅ of educators are of the view that online content will replace textbooks by the year 2026 with a remarkable growth of $342b in the education technology sector by the year 2025 which is highly considerable than that of $142b in 2018. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has already underscored the importance of online learning. Technology-based learning would definitely overcome the gaps in offline teaching soon and considering this fact, there is scope for tremendous growth in the ed-tech sector.

What are the key offerings of EduGorillla, that’s distinguished from the rest?

• Affordability-The basic package product starts at just Rs 99/month
• Reliability-We work to increase the overlap between questions in mock tests and the actual test
• Availability- From Play Store to Amazon to Local book stores, students can avail of our Test Series anywhere. We always make sure that our test series is easily available everywhere
• Versatility- We have 4x more content than others in the market and it is available in 9 Vernacular Indian languages
• AI-based Predictive Analysis-Our turnaround time to find, create and distribute content is the least (36-48 hours) 

Could you throw some light on the latest forms of technology you are adhering to?

• We have deployed a Predictive Analysis Engine to predict the return on investment in various examinations as well as a Collective Intelligence model to create practice content within 2-3 days. Our turnaround time to find, create and distribute content is just 3-4 days 
• We built an AI and ML optimised infrastructure that brings about a rapid learning pace for students and auto-tunes itself based on a student’s previous performance to help him gain a better grasp on his strong areas as well as improve the weaker ones 
• Intelligent utilisation of bots and in-house tech has also been done that keeps the team notified of every major and minute update of the education industry. These bots function in an automated manner and are active in real-time throughout the day. 

How important do you think is it important for people to rely on technology? Are there any major follies per se? 

Digitisation is not just a choice now; it has become the need of the hour.  In situations like the ongoing pandemic, where the world has almost come to a halt, technology has been an enabler to sustain the momentum. Students are relying on online learning to maintain continuity in academics. Going forward, we foresee technology to disrupt not only education but almost every sector. Technology enables equity in access to education by overcoming geographical barriers. It provides convenient, on- the- go and affordable access to education.

However, complete dependency on anything proves detrimental. If human life will come to a halt sans technology, then it’s a concern. Technology should be a cane that helps mankind to walk, not its spine. For example, technology cannot replace the brick and mortar model of teaching. Face to Face human interaction cannot be replaced by virtual interactions through Zoom, Skype or Whatsapp calls. 

What amount of funding has EduGorilla seen so far?

Lucknow-based Ed-Tech start-up has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Turbostart, a national programme that identifies and nurtures 25 innovative start-ups every six months. The programme is the brainchild of Bengaluru-based InnovationQore, an entity committed to fostering a robust industry-start-up-investor network and backing start-ups in diverse functions from product and market validation, funding, industry connections, business support and much more. EduGorilla plans to utilise the funding for business development and strategic expansion in cities such as Mumbai, Allahabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi and Hyderabad in India. It is currently present in five markets namely New Delhi, Jaipur, Indore, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

What are your immediate and long-term milestones like? 

EduGorilla currently caters to 1100+ competitive exams in 9 vernacular languages. In the next five years, we aim to cater to over 4000 exams in 14 Indian languages. We have partnered with several publications like Oswaal Books, Upkar Prakashan among others, and aim to scale up tie-ups with the major publishers. We envision 20% of the top EdTech influencers selling EduGorilla’s products by 2024. 

Five years down the lane, we will be offering Audio Visual solutions to the students so that they can listen, watch, and solve tests as per their convenience. With this feature, learning will be made mobile and interactive. We are also working on giving the students an option to design their own test series, where they can mix and match different sections and practice with our endless resources. In the coming years, EduGorilla will also encapsulate video courses in its umbrella and leverage connected living via integration with Alexa, Siri, and Google Home.

Lastly, any word of advice for the wannapreneurs? 

I believe innovation especially continuous innovation is the soul of any business. If you cannot offer a tint of white in hues of red, you won’t go far as an entrepreneur. Budding entrepreneurs should realize that entrepreneurship is not a 9 to 5 job where you get lunch breaks and week offs. 

There are days when an entrepreneur is required to work for like 18 hours. There are times when he recruits people like a boss and there are times when he, himself, works as an overburdened employee. 

So, before stepping in into the startup world, make sure you have enough motivation to get up from bed every morning and go to work. It is you, your motivation, and your dedication that will drive your employees and enterprise.