eGurucool.com: Education Is Serious Biz

Be it the new economy or the old, one thing that has not changed in the

country is the nature of education and training market–it is as lucrative

today as it was yesterday. So what happens when two professionals, one an MBA

from IIM Calcutta and the other a BTech from IIT Delhi, decide to pool in their

expertise in education and technology of the latest era? The effort leads to the

setting up of Learning Universe in July 1999 and its education portal eGurucool.com

in November the same year. Also, the duo has a clearly defined objective: to

bridge the gap that exists between knowledge imparted in the classrooms and the

demands of the real world, by providing the quality education, irrespective of

time and space.

But does that make eGurucool a sizzling proposition for 2001 and coming

years? Perhaps not. But then eGurucool.com has the first mover advantage in the

online education space. Also, it has been able to create a highly visible brand

amongst the target segment: students in the 13—24 age group. And if numbers

can speak, they indeed talk about the portal’s success. eGurucool.com

says the online registration for its products is fast approaching the two lakh

mark. The portal has attracted participation of more than 500 schools so far–a

strategy that has helped the portal get captive audience.

The portal has drawn up a comprehensive brand-building and promotional blitz.

It also plans to spend about 15—25% of the funds it raised in marketing

activities. It recently kicked off country wide promotional programs including

an "ambassadors" program, Internet quiz and cyber center activities.

With over 40% of the country’s Internet users being students the portal has a

huge market ready to be tapped. It is planning to set up Internet surfers’

clubs in schools and colleges to do exactly the same.

The portal received angel funding in July 1999 and the first round of venture

capital investment of Rs 10 crore from Chrysalis Capital in December 1999. In

July 2000, the company raised Rs 45 crore in the second round of funding with

Chrysalis Capital, News Corp entity Star TV and International Finance Corp being

the key investors. eGurucool.com has

plans to use part of this fund to acquire or buy a controlling stake in small

tutorial institutes and test preparation firms for strengthening its own content

and distribution. It has tied up with Star TV for a better media presence and is

also joining hands with a number of ventures funded by Chrysalis to derive

benefits of "alliances within the investor family". In fact, it has

already tied up with Fabmart.com, Chaitime.com, Cheeco.com and Baazee.com,

towards this end.

With well defined products, test preparation and application services, and a

structured revenue model–specific online paid courses under the umbrella

"Smart Study"–the portal is all geared to emerge as a strong player

in this segment. And though its paid courses cover a wide range of products, the

emphasis is on online preparatory courses for school board exams, IIT and other

engineering entrance exams, medical entrance and MBA preparation courses–all

high revenue earners. DQ