Sunday, 31 August 2025

My Life Story: 5000 rupees to 500 crores (Last Part)


Read the first part here before proceeding below : First Part

After running the coaching center in Guntur for one year, I had to shut it down.

I moved to Bangalore in search of a job.

Within just one week, I got placed at Cisco.
At that time, I badly needed money, so I joined immediately.

The work was simple for me. Whatever task they gave, I used to finish it in just 1–2 hours.
But I never told them that it was already done.
I waited until the deadline and only updated when they asked me.
That way, I was free for most of the day.

I hardly went to the office.
I was doing everything from home.

Back then in India, GATE coaching was completely offline.
No one was teaching online. Coaching centers were the only way for students to prepare.

I began approaching different institutes. Slowly, they started giving me classes.
My remuneration was ₹3,000 per hour.
On weekends, I used to teach almost 10 hours a day.
Even during festival holidays, when students got long breaks, I used to travel.

For example—
During Durga Puja, students in West Bengal had 10 days holiday. I went to Kolkata and taught there.
Like that, I traveled across India, taking sessions in different cities.

But the coaching centers were small.
At max, I could teach 100–200 students in a room.

One day, I heard about an institute in Delhi.
There, in a single class, at least 500 students would attend at once.

I was excited.
If I got a chance there, it meant my teaching could reach more students.
It also meant recognition. And honestly—I felt it would be fun too.

I applied. A few days later, they called me.

They explained their selection process:
“You’ll get a 3-hour class for problem-solving.
There’s a break after 1.5 hours. If the number of students after the break is the same, and they continue to listen, then you are selected.
If the crowd reduces, you are rejected.”

This was the challenge in front of me.

All this I was doing while still continuing my Cisco job from home.

Now the big question—
Did I get the class or not?

I knew the rule. If students left after the break, I would fail the test and never get a class there. So, I had to make sure no one walked out.

I decided to play to my strength — Computer Networks.
After all, I was working at Cisco, and I knew this subject inside out.

I picked the most difficult concepts. And I made them so simple that anyone could understand.

When the class started, the strength was low. In a hall that could seat hundreds, there were only 40–50 students in front of me. It felt almost empty.

But something magical happened during the interval.

Those students who were listening went out and called their friends:
“Someone has come who is explaining Computer Networks in the easiest way possible. Come and listen.”

After the break, the classroom was overflowing.
Every bench was filled. Some students didn’t even get chairs — they stood the whole time, listening to my lecture.

That day, I got selected.

My remuneration jumped to ₹7,000 per hour. And now, wherever I got a chance, I taught. Sometimes even 12 hours a day. I didn’t waste my time on anything else.

You see, I also had a habit — I loved reading books.
Around that time, I read two books that completely changed my life:

1. Good to Great
2. The Innovator’s Dilemma

You may not believe me — but these two books helped me create a wealth of ₹500 crores for me and my family. They changed my thinking forever.

From those books, I realized the future is online.
Offline coaching would decline sooner or later.

At that time, YouTube was already popular in India.
But no one was using it seriously to teach.

I told myself: If the future is going to be online, I should be the first.
And I can proudly say — I was among the first to start teaching Computer Science on YouTube in India. In a way, you could call me the one who started EdTech in India.

I did my research.
I calculated how much money YouTube creators could earn.
I thought ad revenue would be high enough to sustain everything.
So, I recorded my Compiler Design and TOC lectures and uploaded them.

The response was huge. Millions of views.
But the money? Very small.

Maybe ₹50,000–₹80,000 in total from those videos.

I researched more. And then I found the reason.

YouTube’s payment depends on who’s watching.
If the audience is from the US or Europe, the ads pay much higher.
But my audience was mostly Indian students — young and preparing for exams.
They never clicked on ads. Ads shown here were different, and the rates were low.

That’s why the income stayed small.
I understood this was not the right way to earn money.

But one thing happened —
By then, I had already become very popular.

I was not earning anything worthwhile from YouTube ads.
Millions of views, but only a few thousand rupees.

So one day, I thought — Instead of relying on ads, why not charge for the full course?

That morning, I woke up early as usual. I recorded a simple YouTube video.

In that video, I said: “If you want all my GATE lecture videos for Computer Science, pay ₹10,000 to this bank account.” And I shared my HDFC account details.

At that time, my YouTube channel had only TOC and Compiler Design lectures.
The entire GATE syllabus wasn’t recorded and not uploaded yet.

Still, I uploaded that video and went back to my day.
I had an offline class starting at 9 AM.

Around 10 AM, during the class, I heard a notification on my Motorola phone.
I checked it quickly.

The message said:
“₹10,000 credited to your HDFC account.”

For a second, I froze.
Someone had actually paid.

I continued teaching, and then — ping!
Another message.
Again ₹10,000 credited.

Then again. And again. And again.

In just 3 hours, while I was teaching my offline batch, I saw more than ₹3 lakhs being deposited into my account. That moment changed my life.

After the class, I went straight to the institute owner.
I told him: “I don’t want to teach offline anymore. I will teach online.”

He laughed. He said, “Online won’t work.”
I smiled and replied, “It will. Wait and see.”

But still, I had to respect my commitment.
So I completed the offline syllabus for those batches.
Daytime, I used to teach in offline institutes.
Night-time, I used to record videos.

I slept only 2–3 hours a day. If you watch my early videos, you’ll notice — most of them were recorded late at night.

There was no platform in India to host online courses back then.
So I searched, I learned, and finally I discovered an open-source platform called Moodle.

I downloaded it, set it up myself, and built my own online course platform.

The videos were heavy — more than 1 GB each.
Internet speed was poor, and data was expensive.
Uploading was almost impossible from home.

Luckily, the person who is my wife today — back then she was my girlfriend and working in a software company — helped me.
I used to copy videos into a hard disk and give it to her.
She uploaded them from her office WiFi.

She actually hated her job.
But I kept telling her:
“Please just keep working for one more year. Trust me. After that, you will never have to work again.”
I don’t know where that confidence came from.
But I believed it.

That first day in 2013, I received 3 lakhs. And from that day until 2021, not a single day passed without money coming into my account.

Every single day, I got credited.
Minimum 3 lakhs a day.
At peak, even 30 lakhs in a single day.

Of course, I paid all my taxes properly.

Every single day, money was getting credited into my bank account.
All my financial problems were gone.

I paid all my taxes.
And my tax payments themselves started running into crores.
Something I had never even imagined in my life.

When I got ₹1 crore for the first time, you know what I did?
I went and bought a Mercedes Benz E 350 for ₹75 lakhs.

The next time when I got ₹2 crores, I bought a Mercedes AMG.
Then another time, I bought a Mercedes S Class.
And later, even a Mercedes A Class.

Not just cars — I also bought a Harley Davidson CVO for ₹50 lakhs.
Another bike, a Triumph Tiger 1200 for ₹22 lakhs.

I’m telling you all this, not to show off, but to admit —
I wasted so much money.

I used to roam in helicopters.
Stayed in the costliest hotels.
Traveled across the world.
I even did a full world tour — except for the USA.

They say if you have money, you don’t get time.
And if you have time, you don’t have money.

But in my case, life was different.
Since my content was recorded, I only had to do it once.
After that, I had both — money and time.

I fulfilled all my dreams.

In 2021, I sold my company to another EdTech at a very high valuation.
As part of the agreement, I was not allowed to teach or compete for 3 years.

So, for 3 years, I stayed at home.
I had money.
I had no financial worries.
I had done everything on my bucket list.

But I felt empty.
Life became boring.

Then I asked myself — What do I truly enjoy?

The answer was clear.
Teaching.

When I teach, I forget time.
When I teach, I feel alive.
When I teach, I feel happiness.

So I started teaching again.

God has given me everything.
Even without me asking… He gave.
Now I don’t ask Him for anything anymore.
I only thank Him.

And because God has blessed me so much, I feel it is my duty to give back to society.

God has blessed me so much, and I feel it is my duty to give back to society.
That’s why I created the Raudra Charitable Trust, through which we help poor students pay their fees and continue their education.

I’ve already decided — when age finally forces me to retire, I will give away 50% of everything I earn to orphanages, or I will start one myself. The other 50% will go to my family.
My dream is for my daughter to run that orphanage, continuing to help thousands of poor children long after I’m gone.

And when that day comes… I want my last breath to be in front of a blackboard.
I want to die while teaching.

Because whatever I am today…
It is all because of teaching.

My idol is Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
He died while giving a lecture.
I too want the same — a peaceful death while teaching.

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् |
उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात् ||

Aum Tryambakam yajaamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam |
Urvaarukamiva bandhanaan-mrityormuksheeya maamritaat ||

(This prayer means: release me peacefully from life, like a ripe fruit falling from the vine, free of pain, free of suffering.)

This is my life.

Before I end, I want to share my final thoughts —

👉 If you are born poor, it is not your mistake.
But if you die poor, then it is definitely your mistake.

👉 Don’t ever say that money can’t buy happiness.
It may not buy happiness directly, but it solves 99.9% of your problems.
First earn. Take care of your family. Live your dreams. Then think about the world.

👉 Don’t follow your passion blindly. Plan your life wisely.
Ask three questions:

What are you truly passionate about? (Something you’d do even if no one paid you.)

What comes to you naturally? (Your genetic or natural strength.)

What does the world pay for? (Your economic engine.)

The intersection of these three is your life’s work.

In my case:

Passion → Teaching

Natural strength → Explaining complex concepts simply

Economic engine → Students willing to pay for quality education

That’s why I succeeded.

And my last advice to everyone —

No matter how rich or successful you become,
Always remain humble.
Respect elders, bless juniors, and help the poor.

The moment arrogance enters your life, your downfall begins.
Stay grounded. Stay grateful.

I still remember where I came from.
And I’ll never forget it.

Thank you all for the love.

Jai Hind. 🇮🇳

My Life Story: 5000 rupees to 500 crores (Last Part)

Read the first part here before proceeding below :  First Part A fter running the coaching center in Guntur for one year, I had to shut it d...