Gradeup

Gradeup, operating under the parent company GradeStack Learning Pvt. Ltd., was an online exam preparation platform founded in 2015. The company was established in Noida, India, by Shobhit Bhatnagar, Vibhu Bhushan, and Sanjeev Kumar. The founding team brought together diverse expertise: Bhatnagar, an IIM-C alumnus, handled marketing and community development; Bhushan, with experience at Yahoo and Infoedge, led product and operations; and Kumar managed technology, drawing on his background in mobile and backend systems. The founders' core belief was that students prepare better together, which led to the development of a community-based learning model. This approach focused on creating exam-specific communities where students could interact with peers and mentors, ask questions, and share knowledge.

The platform catered to a large market of students preparing for a wide array of competitive exams in India, including those for government jobs (SSC, Banking, Railways), postgraduate entrance exams (GATE, CAT, UGC-NET), and other sectors like defense, teaching, JEE, and NEET. Gradeup's business model was freemium; it provided a significant amount of free content, such as past papers and quizzes, to attract users. Revenue was generated through paid services, which included a 'Green Card' for purchasing test series and 'Classroom' for live online courses. The platform offered structured live classes, mock tests, and personalized feedback to its paid subscribers. A key differentiation strategy was engaging parents through regular online parent-teacher meetings, enhancing the credibility of the online learning format.

A significant milestone in Gradeup's journey was its acquisition by the ed-tech giant BYJU'S in September 2021. Following the acquisition, Gradeup was rebranded as BYJU'S Exam Prep. The deal was intended to bolster BYJU'S presence in the competitive test preparation market, expanding its offerings to over 150 exams across 25 categories. Prior to the acquisition, Gradeup had raised $10 million in funding, with Times Internet as its primary external investor. For the fiscal year 2023, the entity reported a net profit, largely attributed to business support services provided to its parent company, Think & Learn Pvt Ltd.

Keywords: BYJU'S Exam Prep, GradeStack Learning, Shobhit Bhatnagar, Vibhu Bhushan, Sanjeev Kumar, online exam preparation, competitive exams, ed-tech, test prep platform, community-based learning, live online courses, mock tests, government job exams, postgraduate entrance exams, freemium model, Times Internet, BYJU'S acquisition, Indian ed-tech, student community, personalized learning