Mumbai, January | 19th January 2021: BeyondSkool, a first-of-its-kind LIVE Online UpSkilling Academy For Kids, has raised seed funding of USD 2 million from Tomorrow Capital, an early-stage strategic investment fund focussed on helping early-stage businesses with capital, access to blue-chip talent, industry networks, and other resources.
Founded in August 2020, BeyondSkool, a first-of-its-kind LIVE Online Learning Platform upskills the child with ‘Higher Order Thinking Skills’, through an ‘Integrated UpSkilling Certification Programme’, that enables children to ‘Think & Create’ and become Problem-solvers, Innovators and Thought Leaders. In this era of technology expansion where knowledge is soon becoming a commodity, going beyond and teaching skills of logical reasoning, critical thinking, creativity and communication is where our current education system is lacking and that’s the gap which BeyondSkool intends to bridge.
Built on the premise of developing Higher Order Thinking Skills of innovation and creation, BeyondSkool aims to facilitate Holistic Cognitive Development of children’s IQ, EQ, and CQ simultaneously. Aiming to bridge the gap in our current education system that only offers subject knowledge, BeyondSkool currently has learning solutions for children that can build strong foundations. With a highly experienced team leading the mandate and encouraging a culture of openness, meritocracy, and agility, BeyondSkool has been built for curious and ambitious students aged between 5-15 years.
BeyondSkool plans to utilize the amount for expanding its product offering, maximizing technology integration for enhanced learning, and scaling up business operations. Furthermore, the platform will also look to create high impact marketing, expand its team across verticals and build a state-of-the-art ‘LIVE Online Learning’ platform.
Speaking on the funding, Ms Payal Gaba, Founder, and CEO of BeyondSkool said, “We are thrilled to have Tomorrow Capital as a partner in building BeyondSkool. Their experience of working with entrepreneurs to build strong organizations and brands with rapid scale-up is a very apt fit for us at this stage in our growth journey. At BeyondSkool, we believe ‘Knowledge Without Skills Is Education Half Given’ and hence follow a learning approach of ‘UpSkilling’ and ‘Not Tutoring’. We will leverage this capital infusion to fortify our technological capabilities, enhance our product offerings, and expand our business operations across nationally and internationally.”
Talking about the investment Rohini Prakash, CEO, Tomorrow Capital said, “The Indian education system has a large gap in the early schooling, especially in developing strong foundations for children in scientific thinking, critical and creative thinking and communication skills. We believe BeyondSkool is a very relevant and unique solution that complements the core education to help provide the right platform for lifelong academic excellence. Payal and Atul as founders of BeyondSkool bring an excellent mix of a deep understanding of the problem as parents and also a fantastic execution capability, which has been very impressive so far. We are confident that BeyondSkool will transform the manner in which K12 education is looked at in India, and are very excited about working with the founders in this endeavour’.
The company was founded by Ms. Payal Gaba, alumni of MDI who has previously been associated with global brands such as Maruti and Samsung, and Mr. Atul Chugh, alumni of the Kellogg School of Management who has served in leadership roles in several notable organizations including JIO, Vodafone, and HDFC Bank.
