Akshal Agarwal: Driving The Change Towards Experiential Learning Through Bespoke Programs
Akshal Agarwal
Founder
Here are some highlight from our interaction with Akshal Agarwal.
Tell us about your professional background and experiences. What factors influenced you to establish Nature Nurture?
I studied law at Mumbai's National Law University. I wanted to contribute to the social impact sector, especially education, even when I was still in law school. A traditional corporate position was out of the question for me because of my passion for promoting highquality education and creating opportunities akin to those we have. I was clear that I wanted to build a platform where kids could learn in diverse ways. The plan was to invest in tools that can assist kids learn life skills and give them access to a better education than prior generations. Therefore, at Nature Nurture, we created educational programmes for kids that can change how they develop and make them very employable when they enter the workforce.
Could you talk about the learnings & experience that you had acquired from ISB and how do you apply them in your current role?
Many small businesses are managed by people without management education. As such, I see a difference in implementation of methods. We developed a structured decision-making process for our company that relies on logic. For instance, we use various metrics when raising funds, and we explicitly distinguish segments when marketing. Additionally, I observed my peers while at ISB, attempting to understand how their early education influenced their personalities and how it can be scaled up to help a larger number of children.
How would you define Nature Nurture as an organization and its position in the market?
At Nature Nurture, we are designing customized learning programs for schools across IB, Cambridge, ICSE and CBSE boards simultaneously, which none of our competitors are doing. Further, since we are working with all 4 major boards, we are in a position to take different aspects of each into another. Additionally, since we offer bespoke solutions, schools are in a position to sit with us and co-create the programs. Most importantly, as a socially conscious firm, our primary focus is on the impact we are creating rather than on profits.
What are some unforgettable challenges you have experienced in your professional journey so far? How did you overcome & learn from them?
Changing the mindset of the people and parents has been the biggest challenge. Our curriculums are still influenced by the British that wanted us to not become thinkers. Our main challenge is educating the schools to shed this and opt for learning outcomes in Computer Science,
Many small businesses are managed by people without management education. As such, I see a difference in implementation of methods. We developed a structured decision-making process for our company that relies on logic. For instance, we use various metrics when raising funds, and we explicitly distinguish segments when marketing. Additionally, I observed my peers while at ISB, attempting to understand how their early education influenced their personalities and how it can be scaled up to help a larger number of children.
At Nature Nurture, we are designing customized learning programs for schools across IB, Cambridge, ICSE and CBSE boards simultaneously, which none of our competitors are doing
How would you define Nature Nurture as an organization and its position in the market?
At Nature Nurture, we are designing customized learning programs for schools across IB, Cambridge, ICSE and CBSE boards simultaneously, which none of our competitors are doing. Further, since we are working with all 4 major boards, we are in a position to take different aspects of each into another. Additionally, since we offer bespoke solutions, schools are in a position to sit with us and co-create the programs. Most importantly, as a socially conscious firm, our primary focus is on the impact we are creating rather than on profits.
What are some unforgettable challenges you have experienced in your professional journey so far? How did you overcome & learn from them?
Changing the mindset of the people and parents has been the biggest challenge. Our curriculums are still influenced by the British that wanted us to not become thinkers. Our main challenge is educating the schools to shed this and opt for learning outcomes in Computer Science,
Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship, etc. which will enable children to compete in this century. Once they learn about this, they are inclined towards partnering with us. Schools that have opted for our programs are finding the experiential learning extremely helpful. What we learn from each of these experiences is the bigger the hurdle, the more satisfying the win is, and the reward that comes by educating these institutions is what keeps us going.
What has been the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
While I believe that we are too young to be spelling out a success mantra, our values and structure is what our organization represents. Social Impact is what brings everyone in our organization together. While we were initially worried if we would find enough like-minded people to expand our organization, we are now a team of 100, and rapidly growing. So creating a team devoted to a goal bigger than themselves is what keeps motivating us to achieve positive outcomes.
Going forward, what are your goals that you wish to invest in and how do you plan to take them further?
The primary goal is building a platform in association with universities where teachers can self-certify and adapt new teaching pedagogies. This would bring change at mass levels. Further, we want to develop resources for parents to all our R&D which they can invest in for their children. A personal goal is to establish a school for the underprivileged children at par with top 100 schools in the country. The idea behind that is completely philanthropic with the aim to provide the same avenues to these kids so that they can excel in life.
Akshal Agarwal, Founder, Nature Nurture
Akshal is an accomplished & dynamic individual who completed his legal education from MNLU, following which he pursued an MBA from ISB, India’s leading business school. Having founded Nature Nurture, he was also a part of the Stanford University Seed Transformation Program. Guided by a desire to create a Social Impact, Akshal has devoted his efforts in transforming the educational space.
What has been the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
While I believe that we are too young to be spelling out a success mantra, our values and structure is what our organization represents. Social Impact is what brings everyone in our organization together. While we were initially worried if we would find enough like-minded people to expand our organization, we are now a team of 100, and rapidly growing. So creating a team devoted to a goal bigger than themselves is what keeps motivating us to achieve positive outcomes.
Going forward, what are your goals that you wish to invest in and how do you plan to take them further?
The primary goal is building a platform in association with universities where teachers can self-certify and adapt new teaching pedagogies. This would bring change at mass levels. Further, we want to develop resources for parents to all our R&D which they can invest in for their children. A personal goal is to establish a school for the underprivileged children at par with top 100 schools in the country. The idea behind that is completely philanthropic with the aim to provide the same avenues to these kids so that they can excel in life.
Akshal Agarwal, Founder, Nature Nurture
Akshal is an accomplished & dynamic individual who completed his legal education from MNLU, following which he pursued an MBA from ISB, India’s leading business school. Having founded Nature Nurture, he was also a part of the Stanford University Seed Transformation Program. Guided by a desire to create a Social Impact, Akshal has devoted his efforts in transforming the educational space.