Nayan Sharma: Committed To Providing World-Class Education & Producing Influential Leaders In A Wide Range Of Fields
Kamal Nayan Sharma
CEO
eduMETA is a well established company that opened 20+ locations in its first year with the intention of democratizing access to high-quality, low-cost, innovative education. Nayan thinks that students do best when they have a firm grasp on both the how and the why of their education. By proactively establishing high standards for social contribution, responsibility, and accountability to a larger good, eduMETA is differentiating itself within the education industry by demonstrating a new way of doing business that benefits our students, families, and schools.
Nayan, who has varied educational expertise, offers a superior educational platform at an affordable price for kids. Instead of sitting for standardized exams, eduMETA participates in an intelligence-building program developed just for children. eduMETA is a product line with the aim of improving children's lives by increasing their intelligence. The iMATH and iKID programs are the two main offerings for kids aged 4-14. Knowledge is vital, but eduMETA also thinks children's ability to be creative is crucial. The educational approach used here not only equips the student with facts but also encourages him or her to think beyond the box.
Below is an excerpt of Nayan’s exclusive interaction with CEO Insights magazine.
What factors influenced you to establish eduMETA Edutech India? And what drives you today?
In 2018, we launched eduMETA EduTech India, and in response to rising demand, we introduced a franchise model. Although we were a new firm, my 17 years of expertise in the education field proved beneficial as we opened 10 to 15 franchisees in various locations before the pandemic hit. As a result of the positive feedback, we received after the COVID and the success of our online education initiative, we have expanded our reach throughout the whole country of India and even beyond to other nations such as the US, Japan, and Germany. Thanks to the enthusiastic support of Indian parents and the influx of international students, we've expanded to 300+ locations
around the country and have a presence in 23 states.
While preparing to launch our company, we discovered that many other brands already exist in the educational sector; however, the issue is that they charge the franchisee, and the franchisees are actually not surviving due to the loss of expenditures and fees. In Tier-II cities, for example, the fees might range from Rs. 30,000-40,000, which is a significant burden for most families. To address this issue, we launched eduMETA Edutech India on a modest budget, and we don't take a cut of the profits. And that is the forte at heart: Zero Sharing Franchise model on which our institutions are founded. That's why we're eager to roll out our education platform to as many families as possible: to make quality education more convenient and affordable.
Highlight the responsibilities you have to handle as a CEO. How are you leading eduMETA EduTech India to address the present gaps in the Indian education segment?
In my role as the Chief Executive Officer of a young company, I am fully prepared to shoulder the weight of our collective responsibilities. The eduMETA family has grown to 62 members this year, from just 15-20 the year before. We have all the standard divisions, and although I am sometimes tasked with assisting in other divisions, I am mostly responsible for managing innovative ideas.
Regarding the gaps that eduMETA addresses, there are two major shortcomings that we are addressing. As a result, despite the fact that our students come from a wide variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, we provide each of them with the same comprehensive set of academic support services. A student focused strategy, to be precise. Second, in any online learning environment, students who miss classes are expected to make up the work on their own time or just not complete it at all. However, we do not take this tack, and we will instead take an additional session to reteach any student who has missed a class on the eduMETA platform.
Tell us more about your flagship product THE i-SCHOOL.
We have reached an important and thrilling juncture as a team, and we couldn't be more excited to see what the future holds for eduMETA THE i-SCHOOL. Two years ago, we were only a concept, but now we have a presence in seven cities throughout central India, with a network of facilities ready to assist hundreds of students. Our vision is to ensure that all kids have access to the most effective kind of education. Therefore, it has been crucial to treat these early years as a learning phase, testing, evaluating, and iterating on a technological platform that would allow schools worldwide to provide individualized education for each student.
We're about to enter a new chapter of our journey in which we'll have a physical presence in many states at once and begin reaching out to potential partners all across the nation. Through these collaborations, we will continue to
While preparing to launch our company, we discovered that many other brands already exist in the educational sector; however, the issue is that they charge the franchisee, and the franchisees are actually not surviving due to the loss of expenditures and fees. In Tier-II cities, for example, the fees might range from Rs. 30,000-40,000, which is a significant burden for most families. To address this issue, we launched eduMETA Edutech India on a modest budget, and we don't take a cut of the profits. And that is the forte at heart: Zero Sharing Franchise model on which our institutions are founded. That's why we're eager to roll out our education platform to as many families as possible: to make quality education more convenient and affordable.
In my role as the Chief Executive Officer of a young company, I am fully prepared to shoulder the weight of our collective responsibilities
Highlight the responsibilities you have to handle as a CEO. How are you leading eduMETA EduTech India to address the present gaps in the Indian education segment?
In my role as the Chief Executive Officer of a young company, I am fully prepared to shoulder the weight of our collective responsibilities. The eduMETA family has grown to 62 members this year, from just 15-20 the year before. We have all the standard divisions, and although I am sometimes tasked with assisting in other divisions, I am mostly responsible for managing innovative ideas.
Regarding the gaps that eduMETA addresses, there are two major shortcomings that we are addressing. As a result, despite the fact that our students come from a wide variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, we provide each of them with the same comprehensive set of academic support services. A student focused strategy, to be precise. Second, in any online learning environment, students who miss classes are expected to make up the work on their own time or just not complete it at all. However, we do not take this tack, and we will instead take an additional session to reteach any student who has missed a class on the eduMETA platform.
Tell us more about your flagship product THE i-SCHOOL.
We have reached an important and thrilling juncture as a team, and we couldn't be more excited to see what the future holds for eduMETA THE i-SCHOOL. Two years ago, we were only a concept, but now we have a presence in seven cities throughout central India, with a network of facilities ready to assist hundreds of students. Our vision is to ensure that all kids have access to the most effective kind of education. Therefore, it has been crucial to treat these early years as a learning phase, testing, evaluating, and iterating on a technological platform that would allow schools worldwide to provide individualized education for each student.
We're about to enter a new chapter of our journey in which we'll have a physical presence in many states at once and begin reaching out to potential partners all across the nation. Through these collaborations, we will continue to
improve our methodology and the quality of the data, knowledge, and best practices that power it. Over the next several years, we'll expand the number of schools working with eduMETA THE i-SCHOOL to provide more kids access to the kind of individualized learning that will set them up for success in the world.
Reflect on some of the major challenges you have experienced in your journey so far. How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
We struggled mightily, in the beginning, to establish a widespread profile throughout India due to a lack of publicity. However, during COVID, we provided preschool education to around 3,000 kids in the first year and to 8,000 students in the second year. The exposure provided by our parents was crucial in overcoming this difficulty. The lack of access to funds was the second difficulty we encountered. The challenge of finding investors was equally significant.
How do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal and professional life? What is your success mantra?
My wife is now assisting me in managing the school network, therefore I am working around the clock with her. The two spheres of our lives, work, and play, are so very different, yet we do manage to carve out some time for ourselves. However, at the moment I am completely devoted to managing the preschool network we have, and I find that doing so gives me renewed vitality. This is more like playtime for me than work.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
The median age in India is just 24-26 for marriage, and most households have two kids at the most.In India where 70 percent of the population resides in rural areas, preschool was not previously well-known, but this is beginning to change. There fore, the top five players control between 9 and 10 percent of the market capitalization; these companies have a shown ability to succeed in the market, but they are 20 years old names. In addition to being prohibitively expensive, they place little emphasis on providing actual value to students in favor of turning a profit. That's a major problem and need that we want to fill by appealing to that segment of the people and trying to establish a firm foundation in each and every town.
What will be your advice for budding professionals and entrepreneurs in the education and training domain?
In each field, you have to either know why you're there or how to help the industry out. Focus on finding the source of any social problem and design solutions based on it. Anyone who follows these steps will eventually succeed.
Nayan Sharma, CEO, eduMETA EduTech India
Nayan has extensive expertise as both an entrepreneur and a professional in the field of education. He has two Master of Business Administration degrees, one in International Marketing from AIIMS Chennai and another in Finance and Marketing from IPS Academy Indore. He has also successfully completed the YEP from IIM-A. Nayan has competence in a wide variety of areas, including analysis, mentoring, trading, and strategic planning.
Mission:Our mission is to enable all children to reach their potential with happiness.
Vision:Our vision is to become Most Innovative, Transparent, Supportive & Easy To Start Play School & organized evening programs which can help educators and parents to give better and affordable education to budding children.
Reflect on some of the major challenges you have experienced in your journey so far. How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
We struggled mightily, in the beginning, to establish a widespread profile throughout India due to a lack of publicity. However, during COVID, we provided preschool education to around 3,000 kids in the first year and to 8,000 students in the second year. The exposure provided by our parents was crucial in overcoming this difficulty. The lack of access to funds was the second difficulty we encountered. The challenge of finding investors was equally significant.
How do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal and professional life? What is your success mantra?
My wife is now assisting me in managing the school network, therefore I am working around the clock with her. The two spheres of our lives, work, and play, are so very different, yet we do manage to carve out some time for ourselves. However, at the moment I am completely devoted to managing the preschool network we have, and I find that doing so gives me renewed vitality. This is more like playtime for me than work.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
The median age in India is just 24-26 for marriage, and most households have two kids at the most.In India where 70 percent of the population resides in rural areas, preschool was not previously well-known, but this is beginning to change. There fore, the top five players control between 9 and 10 percent of the market capitalization; these companies have a shown ability to succeed in the market, but they are 20 years old names. In addition to being prohibitively expensive, they place little emphasis on providing actual value to students in favor of turning a profit. That's a major problem and need that we want to fill by appealing to that segment of the people and trying to establish a firm foundation in each and every town.
What will be your advice for budding professionals and entrepreneurs in the education and training domain?
In each field, you have to either know why you're there or how to help the industry out. Focus on finding the source of any social problem and design solutions based on it. Anyone who follows these steps will eventually succeed.
Nayan Sharma, CEO, eduMETA EduTech India
Nayan has extensive expertise as both an entrepreneur and a professional in the field of education. He has two Master of Business Administration degrees, one in International Marketing from AIIMS Chennai and another in Finance and Marketing from IPS Academy Indore. He has also successfully completed the YEP from IIM-A. Nayan has competence in a wide variety of areas, including analysis, mentoring, trading, and strategic planning.
Mission:Our mission is to enable all children to reach their potential with happiness.
Vision:Our vision is to become Most Innovative, Transparent, Supportive & Easy To Start Play School & organized evening programs which can help educators and parents to give better and affordable education to budding children.