IIT-KGP Alumnus Ravi Handa's ('06) new Funda: From Academy to Unacademy
Forbes India (March 30, 2021)
Handa's new Funda: From Academy to Unacademy
How IITian Ravi Handa scaled up his seven-year-old online venture for MBA preparation, and eventually sold it to an edtech major
The first thing that strikes you about Ravi Handa is his brutal honesty. A teacher, after all, needs to be upfront. The IITian starts the conversation by making two candid confessions. First, he reveals his weak spot: Computer science. “I was bad at it, and I mean really bad,” smiles the 37-year-old edtech founder of online CAT (common admission test) and MBA coaching venture Handa ka Funda. An IIT-Kharagpur alumnus, Handa has dual degree (BTech and MTech) in computer science and engineering.
Earlier this week, Handa ka Funda was acquired by edtech major Unacademy for an undisclosed amount.
Unlike a fellow IITian—or any other from Handa’s alma mater—who would have traded the prized-engineering tag by joining some fancy multinational company and settling for a hefty pay pack, Handa was the odd one out. Reason: He knew his limitations. “I did not try apart from the campus placement,” he concedes. Poor computer science, he underlines, would have been a major handicap. “Even if I could get a job because of the IIT brand, I was sure I would get fired once they realised I was Jon Snow,” he laughs, alluding to the fictional character in a Game of Thrones. (Read More)