After a slowdown in the frenzy that greeted edtech following the outbreak of covid, a major acquisition has put the sector back on the news.

India’s most valuable startup Byju said on Wednesday it has acquired California-headquartered reading platform Epic for $500 million. TechCrunch has the story. It is the latest addition to Byju’s collections, and the startup said it hopes to acquire more American companies in the future.

The deal involves both cash and stock, and Epic founders Kevin Donahue and Suren Markosian will continue to run the business, they said in an interview with TechCrunch.

Epic operates an eponymous digital reading platform for kids aged 12 or younger. The platform, which has a presence across 90% of elementary schools in the U.S., has amassed more than 2 million teachers and 50 million kids (up from 20 million last year).

Epic, which counts Evolution Media as an early backer, collects and analyzes real-time anonymized and aggregated data on how many children read a book, how deeply they engage with it and where their interest starts to wane. In a Netflix-esque move, the firm has also started to release several print versions of its own original titles.

TechCrunch reported in March that Byju’s was in talks to acquire Epic. Donahue and Markosian are no strangers to Byju’s. They first met with Byju Raveendran, co-founder and chief executive of the eponymous Indian startup, four or five years ago, but conversations about an acquisition only began this year, they said.

Raveendran said in an interview that his son uses the app, which gave him the conviction to explore any opportunity with the startup more seriously.

“We started Epic about eight years ago with the goal of bringing books to every child. We thought through technology we can get kids excited about reading and we can remove any barrier between the child and book. We are now in almost every school in the U.S., reaching over 50 million kids and a billion books read,” said Markosian.

“It has been our personal passion to build this platform because we wanted our kids to read more, too. So when we got to this point, it really made sense for us to look at scaling globally and internationally. When we started to talk to Byju, we realized that we share a common passion for education and belief in technology helping solve this opportunity. Together with Byju, we can take Epic to the next level,” he said.

For Byju’s, the new product expands its current portfolio and brings expertise about a demographic of the U.S. that the startup has been looking for, said Raveendran. The addition of Epic to Byju’s offerings is “complementary from a product standpoint, as reading is a very powerful format for students to learn,” he said.

“The distribution they have will also help us offer more options to students in the U.S. and reach a demographic that we have also been working to serve. They understand this demographic very well,” he said.

Earlier this year, Byju’s rebranded its international business as Byju’s Future School, as part of which it is offering coding and math in synchronous and asynchronous formats to students, and plans to add music, English, fine arts and science to the catalog. Raveendran said he hasn’t decided whether Epic will be rebranded, acknowledging that the California-headquartered startup has a strong brand awareness in the U.S.

Byju’s, which launched a learning app featuring Disney characters in the U.S. earlier this month, now has three large offerings in the U.S. that Raveendran expects will generate $100 million each in revenue this year alone. “Our ambition is to make a global impact,” he said.

The startup plans to invest $1 billion in its North America business, he said. Byju’s also plans to bring Epic’s offering to India and other markets, he added.

In the past two years, the startup has acquired U.S.-based kids-focused “phygital” startup Osmo (for $120 million), online coding platform WhiteHat Jr. (for $300 million), coaching centre chain Aakash (for nearly $1 billion) and Indian edtech startups Toppr* and Gradeup*. (*Yet to be officially confirmed.)

“We have not done acquisitions for the sake of doing it,” said Raveendran, who himself is a teacher, pointing to the growth and success of firms he has acquired post-acquisition and how these firms have been led by their original founding teams. “Our aspiration is very long-term. We work with the founders to help them turbo-charge their growth,” he said, adding that the startup is open to exploring more M&A opportunities.

Byju’s, which has raised about $1.5 billion since the pandemic broke last year and has attracted several high-profile investors, including Blackstone, said the fundraise in recent years has helped the startup to acquire younger firms. He said the startup currently doesn’t plan to raise more external capital, but he didn’t rule out more fundraises in the next few months.

Nigerian students, do not drop out of school citing Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Bill and Mark did not drop out, they merely dropped in.  In a way, they replaced mass-training professors at Harvard University with private Harvard-quality professors called venture capitalists (VCs).

Magically, they have “special professors” who actually pay them! Which one is better: a Harvard professor that asks you to pay school fees or the VC that writes you $millions and still coaches you because he wants to ensure his $millions are safe?

I am a TED Fellow, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, etc, the kind of immersive experiences in some ecosystems is a testament that using “dropout” does not do justice to what happens to these technical “dropouts”. In TED, I met a guy who did not finish secondary school but MIT admitted him.

Do not fall into the illusion: stay in school and work hard. Startups and opportunities to create new ones will always be here. The best businesses have not been started. You will have time to do just that, post-graduation. That university education is an internship for something big – make the best out of it.

And I will add, education is not just for making money or for finding jobs. Education liberates your mind.  These guys are brilliant and do not be fooled into thinking that their Vice Presidents and Directors run them.  The “dropouts” are insanely in charge and brilliant because they are well coached, “educated”, mentored and ventured.

Just recently, Facebook used a single word to practically de-weaponize the highly heralded EU GDPR privacy law. The law has required “consent” to track users, but if you have a “contract” to fulfil, that is not needed. So, technically, Facebook upgraded its terms that once you visit its site, you have established a contract for it to track you. And with that, the law is largely muted. One word and that is it: it requires a huge elevation in thinking, and the process to get that is not in the streets. #SchoolWorks

“Before the GDPR was introduced in 2018, Facebook said its users were “consenting” to having their data used for personalized ad-targeting. But the new law introduced stricter standards for what “consent” means and implies—people can withdraw their consent at any time—so Facebook switched to saying the consent clauses in its user agreements are instead contracts in which its users order personalized advertising.

Under the GDPR, personal data can be processed if doing so is necessary for fulfilling a contract. However, the conditions for using this reason are pretty narrow. The EU’s privacy regulators have advised that the “contractual” basis for processing is fair enough if, for example, an online retailer needs to process billing addresses for payment purposes—but not if they want to profile their users’ tastes, because that isn’t strictly necessary for executing the sale.”

How do you launch a new product? How do you launch a new business unit? How do you launch a new subsidiary? Yes, how do you launch a new company? And how do you launch a New Vision?

Sat, Jul 24 | 7pm-8.30pm WAT |  How To Launch (Business, Career, Things) – Ndubuisi Ekekwe

This Saturday at 7pm WAT, at Tekedia Mini-MBA, our topic is “How To Launch”. Let us have a conversation to co-learn and co-share, and advance the wealth in nations. I will be anchoring the session. The goal would be to master the mechanics on How To Launch as we begin to move to  the Execution phase of the current Tekedia Mini-MBA edition. Yes, it is getting to the action time – let the boss know that you know!

Meanwhile, tomorrow, the team from Mecho Autotech will be at Tekedia Live to discuss how to scale a business in Africa. Zoom links are already in the Board.

Thur, July 22 | 7pm-8pm WAT | Scaling A Startup and Getting into YCombinator – Olusegun Owoade, CEO Mecho Autotech (2021 Y Combinator) 

Registration for the next edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA is ongoing – register here

A few days ago, I wrote, “Legends have it that most of the wealth displayed during the burial came through donations from men who Obi Cabana supported in their entrepreneurial journey. As I have written in Harvard Business Review, the Igbo Apprenticeship System remains a vehicle to accelerate wealth creation and insure a future. Obi Cubana is another case study.” I want to discuss that case study in this piece.

The Igbo Apprenticeship System is a business philosophy of shared prosperity where participants co-opetitively participate to attain organic economic equilibrium where accumulated market leverageable factors are constantly weighted and calibrated out, via dilution and surrendering of market share, enabling social resilience and formation of livable clusters, engineered by major participants funding their competitors, with success measured on quantifiable support to stakeholders, and not by absolute market dominance.

The Igbo Apprenticeship System is the Umunneoma Economics – and Obi Cubana is his recent interview and writing (see below) has provided new datasets on how the system works: “In 2013, I pushed 53 uneducated Oba boys into the market to learn trading. In 2017, I withdrew all of them from their Ogas and settled all of them with 3million Naira each and paid for their shops…In 2018, I took 100 educated men out of streets and introduced them to the white men for business and today there are billionaires …Yes, I will gift 1 million to 300 Oba boys to start up business and link them up too to make it. I have a lot of friends and associates and we are like brothers to each other. ” Check, that is a venture capital fund and private equity fund combined, except that he does not take equity!

Obi Cubana’s philosophy reminds me of Dr Nnorom Ukpabby, one of the finest men who ever lived in my Ovim (Abia state) community. The man was so loved that during catechism in the church, when people were asked to name their saviour, many said “Dr Ukpabby”. They failed the catechism and would return back to class, hoping next time they would pass the exam, to be admitted as full members of the Methodist Church.

Dr Ukpabby earned his PhD from the United States, returned back and became the first indigenous dean at UNN. He pushed his kinsmen to education and did all necessary to help them across Nigeria. After the old version of FLSCE (primary school), a town crier would go around, telling villagers that a truck would arrive from the city next week, and anyone with his standard six certificate should come to the village square. He mentored them, supported them, and turned boys into men. He was not a businessman but he ran a playbook that brought another dimension to community building. 

Obi Cubana’s umunneoma economics accelerates economic returns and the world has seen what it means to push for the rise of all, not just a few. While we do not want such displays of wealth, as it is not necessary, I want us to pick a lesson here: nations rise with the rise of ALL, and not just a few. Obi Cubana’s Oba community is rising not just because of him, but because others are arising with him. That is the ubuntu philosophy and that is the spirit behind the Igbo apprenticeship system. Focus on that – and avoid the noise!

Obi will modulate next time but let us not miss this important case study. In a different nation, researchers would have descended to Oba (Anambra state) to understand what he did to produce such an impact. But in Nigeria, it is to bring him down. Of course, he will return back to business and continue to push, putting all the distractions behind. He did not get to where he is now by listening to “noise”. But  I challenge him to modulate next time as Diobi, the palm wine–tapper, must not reveal everything he sees on the top of the palm tree, says the Igbo proverb.

—-Obi Cubana’s article and video—-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk4BYswQWb4

Change Nigeria

If Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are Nigerians, the Nigerian press would have crucified them for going to space when there are many hungry Nigerians on earth. But because they are whites, they are praising them as visionaries.  They will attack Dangote even when they praise American cities for giving Amazon HQ2 tax breaks. To thrive in Nigeria, filter the noise and stay focused. Obi Cubana shaped all; the nation did not even notice that bandits killed 13 policemen in Zamfara on Sunday. Success must not be a SIN in Nigeria!

INVEST IN HUMANS….

Obi Cubana Finally Speaks ?

“I want to state this clearly, I am not the talking type or Social media interest free person”
Obi Cubana; finally speaks.

“Many have questioned the type of boys and friends I have, to me, I hardly address anyone as my boy because we are all boys to God Almighty.

I don’t have any boy who is into rituals, if you are my boy or my man because I like to address my boys as my men, it means you are working hard and you made your money in a clean way.

In 2013, I pushed 53 uneducated Oba boys into the market to learn trading. In 2017, I withdrew all of them from their Ogas and settled all of them with 3million Naira each and paid for their shops.

I linked 40 of them into importation and made them use my name and platform to import goods into the country. After two years, I checked on them how they were doing and find out some had issues and I supported them again to stand.

I am happy today that out of the 53 men, 38 are billionaires while the rest are in the level of a millionaire. In 2018, I took 100 educated men out of streets and introduced them to the white men for business and today there are billionaires in dollars.

They also help me in their capacity when I require their help. All their friends both Nigeria and outside patronises me.

I am into hotel and club business and I have so many businesses I am brand ambassadors to.
I have alliance with spirit drinks and wines, I am brand to many businesses in the world.
It gives me joy to see my men do well, non of my hotel managers in Nigeria can small poverty, I encourage them to raise others from their local communities.

I have never sacked a worker due to misconduct, I bring you in and speak to you the way you will understand.
I have this understanding that we should allow the stubborn people to exist and cool headed people to exist and we make use of them when their needs arises.

I don’t believe in the supremacy of power rather I believe in the fare share of power and authority and allow everyone to feel belonged.

I have many uncountable people through my hotel business, I have encouraged many, I have made a lot of friends millionaires and billionaires because it gives me joy. Seeing them throw money around gives me happiness and they know, so anytime there are with me, they show such attitude of throwing money to please me.

Yes, I will gift 1 million to 300 Oba boys to start up business and link them up too to make it.
I have a lot of friends and associates and we are like brothers to each other. We love and encourage one another in good and bad as you have seen in my case that all of them came massively to support me.
Critics is normal and there are there to say what they want to say but when you are doing the right thing, you don’t listen to what people say. If I have my way, I will also help those criticising me.

A lot of non Obas will still benefit from me because I am still in the business of making people great.
Cubana chief priest is my man and he is a jolly fellow. People mistake him for me, I am Obi Kubana and he is my Chief priest I hope you understand it now.

I am not into politics and I don’t have interest in it till tomorrow. I respect those in politics because dey carry power. Lol hahaha.
My advice is they should identify talents and make them great, don’t have any fear of who betrays you tomorrow, just make men and move, if they remember good if not be happy that they made it through you.

I didn’t asked my boys/men for donations or help, I didn’t also asked my friends for help or donations they did that on their own and I appreciated their efforts.

Gradually ala Igbo ga adinma”

Comment on LinkedIn Feed

Comment: “I am as well awaiting the Prof’s inputs as it concerns moral impacts on this issue.” –

My response: I have addressed that many times: my feed is a business school. Those looking for morals on how to speak about money should go to their pastors or imans. That I write on a subject does not mean that I believe or agree with the subject. My job as an academic is to apply the nuanced academic perspective without being swayed by emotions. I do not drink alcohol.  I do not smoke. I have never entered a nightclub.

But that does not mean that I cannot put effort into analysing those businesses because Ndi Igbo said “uwa bu ahia” [the world is a market]. I want to understand the business in anything! That I write on Dangote business model or Obi Cubana branding model must not be seen that I endorse or will do the same. I am simply a messenger in trying to understand what they do.

The Obi Cubana’s Carnival and Nigeria’s Acres of Diamonds