New Delhi: Anurag Verma, A young tech enthusiast, who plays with the data, believes if we combine data with strategy it will give wonders results. This leads him to start his own venture “Acad Skool”.
Born in a small town with big dreams, Anurag’s journey is as a beacon of innovation and problem-solving, studying B.Tech in Computer Science with a minor in Data Science, Anurag recognized the transformative potential of data.
He firmly believes that “data is the new oil”, capable of lubricating the wheels of progress and steering businesses and even political narratives toward success with the power of data combined with strategic vision.
Verma’s professional trajectory is characterized by a series of transformative roles where he seamlessly integrated data and strategy to drive tangible outcomes.
His diverse experience spans across multiple domains, including Sales, Marketing, Research, and Tech as well as notable stints with prestigious entities such as a Startup Accelerator in the USA and the esteemed Government of India (Invest India).
His insightful research project on how data influences politics underscores his commitment to leveraging data for societal advancement. By analyzing data, he unveils narratives and messaging crucial for political endeavors. In business, understanding consumer data and tailoring marketing campaigns accordingly yields tangible results.
“Strategy without data is just a shot in the dark. Data without strategy is just noise.” – Greg Satell
“His Entrepreneurial Journey”
After working on different projects and internships, and playing with the data, He decided to do something bigger. He started his venture “Acad Skool” while being in college. “Acad Skool” is a community-based ed-tech startup. The founding team built an MVP (minimum viable product), tested it, and the traction went up 60% in the first 6 months.
It felt like a rocketship, the team started making money, we hired our own batchmates, and it was like living the dream said Anurag Verma Founder of Acad Skool.
Acad skool had an aggressive growth. It scaled to have a large user base, and Anurag started reaching out to investors, He pitched to different venture capitalists, signed Mou’s also onboarded mentors from the industry. He also went on to pitch shark of Shark Tank India, Aman Gupta, founder of Boat.
Later in the journey, we realized that scalability is an issue here, the edtech world was crashing around, and there were suggestions and temptations to explore the world beyond edtech. “People told us the market has crashed, funding winter has set in, so do more to survive. I was right about how the market will shape, but miscalculated the speed of change,” says Anurag.
Entrepreneurship is very roller coaster zig-zag journey, it is filled with highs and unforgettable lows, the journey makes a person tougher and better for upcoming challenges, it arms the person with diverse skills, high aspirations, and also the feeling of “Everything is possible, it all started with a dream to turning into reality”
Entrepreneurs are inherently driven people who want to fast-track the future,” he says. The thing to remember, though, is that one must approach a venture with a long-term building standpoint.
