Tracking PlanetSpark’s growth

Good Morning,

Gurugram-based PlanetSpark is on a mission to make children between 4 and 16 years confident communicators.

Started in 2016 by XLRI graduates and hostel wingmates, Kunal Malik and Maneesh Dhooper, to disrupt the unorganised private tuition sector in India, PlanetSpark initially sought to transform traditional KG to Class 8 tuitions by combining physical teaching with mobile technology. However, it shifted its focus to online learning, and later to communication skills – a segment that has helped it grow. 

“Our approach towards children’s communication skills development goes beyond the theoretical framework. We spent three years designing a curriculum that could make ‘public speaking’ and ‘writing’ interesting and application-based for K-12 kids,” Maneesh tells YourStory.

Today it offers live 1:1 classes in public speaking and creative writing for children aged 4-16 years. Children coached by PlanetSpark have also become YouTubers, podcasters and published authors across 13 countries including the US, Middle East, Europe and India. YourStory takes a deep dive into its growth trajectory so far and the road ahead. Read more. 

The Interview 

Hear thought leaders discuss the way forward for India’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) landscape, how developing partnerships accelerates growth and future-proofs young companies, the role of tech moats as differentiators and enablers of faster go-to-market for products, and finally, cost-effective cloud strategies at scale, so SaaS companies and their teams can spend more time building software that changes the world as they deploy faster and scale easier. 

Editor’s Pick: Arcana Network

Launched in 2019, Bengaluru-based Arcana Network has built a storage and privacy stack for Ethereum DApps and works with developers across crypto, NFTs, DeFi, etc. as well as Web 2.0 products in fintech, healthcare, SaaS, etc to bring privacy and security to data. The Decrypting Story unpacks the startup. Read more. 

Startup Spotlight

Accelerating towards a green future

Bengaluru-headquartered deMITasse Energies is a clean power generation startup that is building next-generation power plants that have zero emissions and are capable of storing long-duration grid-scale energy.

The startup ties up with energy generators, refineries, etc to help them save excess energy and use it when there is a greater need for energy. Read more.

News & Updates

• Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) unicorn The Good Glamm Group has acquired a majority stake in Organic Harvest, India’s largest ECOCERT-certified beauty and personal care brand. The Good Glamm Group will be investing a further Rs 75 crore in growing the brand.

• IPO-bound fintech firm MobiKwik is reportedly expecting to close the current financial year with 100 percent revenue growth. MobiKwik Chairperson and COO Upasana Taku said the company will not like to hit the market when it is behaving erratically but wait for the market condition to stabilise.

• Healthcare startup Smiles.ai has raised $23 million in Series A funding round led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI). The round also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Chiratae Ventures.

• Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman, while speaking at the Broadband India Forum (BIF) event, called upon Wi-Fi equipment makers to lower the cost of their products for the expansion of Prime Minister's Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) scheme.

• The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has issued guidelines to make drone technology affordable to promote precision farming in India. It envisages granting up to 100 percent of the cost of agriculture drones, or Rs 10 lakh, as a grant.

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