They give you a set of 22 questions, but they never want you to solve all those 22 questions in 40 minutes.
1. Tell us about your background. Can you share the story behind founding RODHA Educational Services and your journey in the education industry, particularly focusing on CAT exam preparation?
I am from Patna, Bihar. I started teaching in various online and offline institutes in Delhi. I have done my Btech in Electronics and Communication from ICFAI and now for 8 years, I have settled in Bangalore.
So the story of Rodha started around 2017–18 when companies like Flipkart and Amazon were booming in the e-commerce market. I thought if e-commerce could have such growth and impact on people's lives, then why not ed-tech?
During that time, mostly "offline classes" were prevalent in the coaching industry; there were no significant platforms for online learning. One downside of the offline platform is its reach. I was working hard and teaching well, but my reach was limited to 40–50 students in a single batch. And at that time, the fees of the offline coaching institution were between 40-60 thousand; which was not easily affordable by all. So, I started Rodha (a Sanskrit word for bridge) intending to create a platform where students could meet quality content at an affordable price.
With that aim, I started researching for my platform and scouted for high-quality software when people were taking classes on board. It may sound funny to some of you, but I started from square one. I used to prepare myself for what I would write, what I would say next, and how I would explain the concept—all this to ensure quality content. I recorded around 350+ videos within one year, edited them myself, and uploaded them to the channel. And that's how Rodha started.
2. What has been the biggest challenge that you faced and how did you overcome that?
One of the biggest challenges that I faced was the problem of finances. Coming from a middle-class background, money was a significant problem at every step. If I had to start a startup or set up something new, I had to think ten times before investing a single rupee.
Somehow, I landed a government job. Having a background in Bihar, this was seen as a great achievement because people had immense respect for "government jobs." But I was not satisfied with it. Within 2–3 years, I realized that there was no significant growth. Hardly 20% of the creative capacity was used in that job.
So, I decided to quit that job and build everything on my own in the last 4 years: my YouTube channel, then Unacademy, and then my own company.
So yeah, these two were the biggest challenges that I overcame through upskilling and hard work.
3. In your role as #1 Educator of Quantitative Aptitude & LRDI at Unacademy CAT, what strategies do you employ to prepare students not just for the exam but also for personal interviews, and how do you address the holistic needs of your students?
Unacademy is obviously a very good institute with good educators. Many of these educators are from IITs and IIMs, and some famous book authors are also there.
Seeing such famous names, my only thought was not to be a crybaby. I wanted to maintain my foothold in a single subject and be in the top 0.5% of that skill. To reach that top 0.5%, I started by reading a lot of books and practicing a lot of questions. I read around 40–50 different types of novels.
Not only was I mentoring the students, but I was also working on upskilling myself. I worked a lot on upgrading my skills and knowledge in the quants, LRDI section, and personal interviews. Everywhere, I tried to upskill myself and wanted to reach that 0.5% so that my background, my marks, or my college did not matter to anyone.
Eventually, I became the #1 educator, and I maintained that for four years. I trained more than 35000+ students at the Unacademy in those 4 years, and they did benefit from different courses. I also guided them through GDPI, personal interviews, and case studies. In fact, a couple of caste studies that I discussed in my classes were asked in the IIM-Bangalore WAT and MDI interviews, among others. The students greatly benefited, and that's what upskilling does to you.
4. Apart from mathematics, you mentioned a love for reading books on maths, autobiographies of sportspersons, and inspirational figures. Can you recommend a book from each category that has personally inspired you or significantly influenced your perspective?
When you read books, you not only inculcate a reading habit, but you also learn from the lives of great personalities. Some books that I read were the autobiographies of Yuvraj Singh, 'Wings of Fire' by APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari, and the biographies of Rahul Dravid and Saina Nehwal. Amazing books about amazing personalities where you can relate to their struggles and their stories help you develop a never-give-up attitude.
To sum up, I would suggest that aspirants should read books, not only as a way to improve their 'reading and comprehension' section but also to learn some productive lessons from them.
5. Having worked with prominent education organizations like Career Launcher and T.I.M.E., how have these experiences enriched your understanding of the education sector, and what lessons have you carried into your own ventures?
During my early years, I worked with prominent institutions, like TIME, CL, and IMS. But my long-term ambition was to develop an edtech platform.
I started Rodha around 2018, but from 2012–16, I worked with all these institutions to know their cultures and to understand how these coaching institutions operate.
Basically, I was very keen on making content. The sad truth is that in the coaching industry, nobody is interested in making content because inexperienced people are paid very little. If I took a class, I would have received around 800 rupees per hour; for content creation, it was around 150 rupees per hour. But I worked for as little as Rs. 150 per hour, even when other faculties questioned my choice of content creation. They would say, 'Why are you creating content? It is a hectic job. Just take a class and have a chilled life.' But that was not my aim. My aim was to create good content, even if it was at a low price. All those years of content creation have helped me develop my thinking power. In due course, I was paid well for my work. Many of the LRDI sets created by me are still floating in the market, and many of the similar questions have appeared in the CAT exam as well.
Furthermore, one more thing that I realized when I was working with all these prominent coaching institutions was that giving 'n' number of detailed classes was not possible due to some logistical and other factors. These limited classes were sometimes insufficient to develop an average student's brain. I really thought that there was a need for an ed-tech platform where you can put more questions in a class and show more approaches to those questions so that a student can think in multiple directions and their thinking process is developed. This experience has helped me to carry forward these lessons, and let's see how it goes in my own organization.
6. Being proficient in fast calculations, such as reciting the table of 373 in less than 10 seconds, how does this skill contribute to your teaching style, and how do you integrate it into your CAT preparation sessions? (follow-up question) Your expertise extends beyond mathematics. How do you incorporate elements of emotional intelligence or holistic well-being into your teaching methodology, especially considering the stress students might face during exam preparations?
I hated calculation in my childhood. I was a lazy child; I didn't want to write or do all those lengthy calculations. When I was in grade 8 or 9, I read an article about a child with fast calculation abilities, and I was fascinated by mental calculation. I worked on myself and developed this trait over time.
Still, today, when I'm sitting, I pick up a number like 387 and keep on adding, like 387, 774, 1161, 1548, and so on. Doing so keeps your mind active. Fundamentally, CAT requires calculation, and having such ability increases your respect among students. If I can do some simple calculations like 52*21 mentally, students are also encouraged to do so if the person sitting on the other side of the screen can. Such mental calculations, rather than just explaining theoretically, have a greater impact on students.
Coming to the second part of your question, I think in two or three different directions. First, when I'm taking a live class, most of the students are tired after their hectic jobs or college, so I try to crack some jokes, or maybe roast them, to lighten up the mood of the class. After that, if I see a student who is not studying, I will scold them harshly, giving them real-life examples of how if you don't study, you will live an average and difficult life. And I don't want you to be an average guy; I want you to upskill yourself and try to inculcate good habits.
So I try to create a friendly learning environment along with a dose of motivation and some harsh reality checks.
7. As a founder, educator, and content creator, what do you find most rewarding about guiding students through their CAT preparation journey, and can you share an inspiring success story from your teaching experience?
I think a founder, content creator, and educator all have different responsibilities. As a founder, I'm enjoying this phase right now of making a team of people and trying to build a good ed-tech platform for students. My focus is on building a realistic ed-tech platform where the prices are not too high but also realistic so that the company remains profitable, especially for the company that just started.
Second, as a content creator, I try to put some motivational posts on YouTube and LinkedIn. Recently, when we lost in the World Cup Final or when the CAT exam didn't go well for some students, I shared my thoughts via posts to keep my audience motivated. As an educator, I want to teach high-quality content from basic to advanced rather than just making them solve some basic questions or cram up the concept. I try to improve the problem-solving skills of my students.
Lastly, an inspiring story that I could share is about a guy who was consistently getting lower marks in mocks, between 50 and 60 percentile; in CAT, he also got around 75-76 percentile. But he didn't give up; finally, he scored 98%ile in XAT, and he is in XLRI, one of the best B-schools in Asia. I also know a girl who used to score 44-45%ile even in mocks in November. I just told her to be consistent and not give up, and she got 98. something percentile and she is in IIM-C. So these kinds of stories motivate the average student to not give up and keep fighting till the end.
8. Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for RODHA Educational Services, and how do you envision the future of CAT exam preparation, particularly in the digital education landscape?
So I started this Rodha company in October. Personally, I feel an ed-tech company should provide very high-quality content at a realistically affordable price as a one-stop solution (which the Rodha channel is known for).
For all my courses, where the faculties teach high-quality content, the prices are very reasonable and affordable. This would not only benefit the students but also the start-up. My vision is that my company should be profitable, even if it's a small margin.
I'm taking baby steps, and I'm happy with the response that I have received from students within the last 1.5–2 months. In this period, we had around 13,000+ app downloads and 5000 paid users on the platform. My aim is to provide quality education. Let's see how it goes in the next year.
9. You've mentioned helping students clear CAT exams. What advice would you give to aspiring CAT candidates based on your observations of successful students?
My first piece of advice would be that before entering the competition, a student should be sure that they have to take the CAT exam. I personally feel the CAT is a great exam, especially for those who just graduated or are in the middle of their career.
CAT is basically a test of your stress and time management. They give you a set of 22 questions, but they never want you to solve all those 22 questions in 40 minutes. With all the given stress, they want you to smartly pick those 10–12 doable questions when the clock is ticking. Selection of the right questions and leaving the rest is the key, both in Quants and LRDI, which could only be achieved through a lot of practice and gaining enough knowledge of the subject.
I would suggest students should give at least 30–40 mocks and devise the best strategy. While attempting the mock, they had to ensure that they had to leave questions. This would eventually be beneficial for the exam.
So just study, and that's all from my side.
All the best!
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