It all started back in August 2013 by Satish Rajagopalan. At that time, Satish was very fortunate to have been joined by 2 colleagues whom he knew from his earlier days. They together spent days over days with multitude of interviews to find the right candidate. And finally, all the efforts fruitfully paid off and a passionate and enthusiastic team of ApnaCourse was formed. Today, ApnaCourse.com has been listed by mooc-list.com and is the Only Indian MOOC as on date.
Evolution of the Idea
At present, ApnaCourse is serving thousands of individuals all over the world with multitudes of courses across various domains. The seed of the idea was laid a few years back when Satish was at Mumbai. His friends used to prepare for the CFA and FRM exams and would apply to classroom trainings. But given the work pressure, they would miss out on most classes. Furthermore, some trainers were students who had passed the certification exam few weeks ago and had no prior teaching experience. This motivated Satish to bring in an online platform with qualified experts to provide quality training. The idea has evolved over the years to what it is today.
The Instigator of ApnaCourse
Satish Rajagopalan, Founder, Director and CEO hold a B Tech (Computer Science) degree from VIT, CCAP – Finance from NITIE. He is also an MBA in Strategy & Entrepreneurship from Great Lakes. He is a CISA, CISSP, CISM and an ITIL Foundation certified professional, having passed all these exams in his first attempt. He graduated magna cum laude (the highest level of academic distinction) in MBA (gold medalist) and a merit scholar in graduation.
Satish has over 9 years of experience across multiple industries including a leading Mutual Fund house as a Business Analyst and Research Analyst at India’s largest Research and Ratings agency. He has also served as a member of the ISMS (Information Security Management System) committee and Director of Technology, providing strategic support in assessment and implementation of ISO/IEC 27001:2013 in his prior engagements.
“Stay Focused and have an attitude to excel: I personally don’t think there’s anything more important to a new startup than to stay focused. There will be numerous days when critics will condemn the business proposal and mark it as uninteresting. But as a startup, if you have the gut feel to know that it will surely hit big, go with that feel and never turn back. Do not alter your business plan just because some expert asked you to do so,” advises Satish to the budding entrepreneurs.
Unique Bouquet of Offerings
Apnacourse launched by SpearheadEduOnline.com is India’s ‘first of its kind’ e-tutoring platform for professional courses and certificate programs. Domains for training include Financial Management Certifications like CFA, FRM, CFP et al., Project and Quality Management Certifications like PMI-ACP, PMP etc., IT Services and Security Management Certifications like ISTQB, CISA, CISM etc., and certifications like Business Analysis and more.
Online Education through instructor led training via video combined with interactive sessions and the fact that candidates can learn at their convenience are unique. Products include Global Certifications in the fields of Finance, Management, IT are being delivered by ApnaCourse.
ApnaCourse’s unique bouquet of offerings includes Unlimited Video Repeatability, Replenished Content every now and then, Progress tracker to keep track of your progress in the video, best in class Faculty and Real-time support.
Instrumental Bonding with Clients
ApnaCourse have well experienced accomplished and renowned faculties who have always been around when the candidates need them. They have been instrumental in bonding with their clients and the company is proud to give them an end to end support 24×7 resulting in a long-term relationship. They say, “The reviews which we receive from our clients speak volumes. We have many clients who are not just getting trained once, but they are our very cherished and recurring customers who wish to get themselves certified on varying topics. Our client database is huge, and it is an achievement by itself for ApnaCourse.”
ApnaCourse says that the staff of the company is their greatest strength. They contribute to the success of the company. The follow ups, perseverance, perfection seeking employees are an asset to any organization. The company’s value systems are strong, and their vision is for a long term. The skill and the mission to achieve them is extraordinary which is being met by everyone involved with ApnaCourse, including the faculty and their satisfied customers.
Finding Opportunities in Challenges
According to ApnaCourse they have faced multiple challenges. The company’s biggest challenge was acquiring their First Faculty and getting the core team. Faculties were heavily skeptical about their online product. It took lot of efforts to convince them and after many weeks ApnaCourse got its first faculty to sign up. Today, they have faculties writing directly to them and asking for partnerships. As ApnaCourse stands today, they believe that there are no new challenges, just opportunities to grow bigger.
As stated by ApnaCourse, they are not pitted against any existing player. This is because they are both an MOOC and an e-training provider. Hence, being low on price points, providing quality with renowned faculties and being Online as an MOOC, the company is unique in today’s marketplace.
Rising Up and Reflecting Consistent Growth
ApnaCourse surely looks enticing for learners with popular certifications being provided at an affordable cost online. The products, technology, efficient faculty, customers, employees are the company’s greatest assets. Without these they would not be where they are. The company has invested heavily in technology, which they believe is latest to ensure that they are up to date when interacting with customers. The technology of ApnaCourse is at its best so that the faculty should not feel any difficulty in delivering the lectures. The employees are well trained to use the best available in ApnaCourse. These factors help the company to move ahead with no hindrance to and it reflects on their consistent growth.
Source :-The 30 innovators Who Changed the Startup World
ApnaCourse: An Extraordinary E-tutoring Platform for Professional Courses and Certificate Programs
