Teacherpreneur, solopreneur, videopreneur – the myriad derivatives of an entrepreneur started emerging when the edtech story boomed in India and cornered the biggest chunk of funding at $4.73 Bn in 2021. Classplus wrote its first script when this landscape boomed during the pandemic.

While unicorns like BYJU’S and Unacademy raised billions taking tutoring online when the schools went shut during the pandemic, Classplus went off the beaten track to equip teachers with digital skills, online courses, student communication channels, and hosting their courses online.

The startup pioneered the B2B segment in the edtech space, weaving it around a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model to help teachers – creators, in this case – monetise their skills by creating online courses, helping in content management and distribution to students, who were the users.

The monetisation hook was simple – charge the teachers under a subscription plan ranging from INR 13,000 to INR 50,000 depending on the services and access to its tech stack. It additionally charged a commission of 15% of the course fees on the packages sold. The company tied up with coaching institutes across tier II and III cities, extending the SaaS model.

Classplus pitched itself as Shopify of edtech, helping traditional tutors go digital and providing end-to-end solutions from tracking attendances, conducting classes and test assessments.

The model clicked with investors too. The startup raised $159 Mn between 2020 and 2022, with its last funding round of $70 Mn in Series D in March 2022, led by Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global, valuing it at INR 5,000 Cr ($600 Mn). The investors stayed on even when Classplus filed a revenue of merely INR 26 Cr in FY22 and its losses spiralled to INR 164 Cr.

Classplus had another close rival in Lightspeed-backed Teachmint that raised nearly $118 Mn on the back of its SaaS model, mostly helping tutors conduct live classes online.

While Teachmint pivoted from SaaS edtech to selling school supplies-related hardware, including setting up smart classrooms for schools, Classplus went on an acquisition spree with some of them turning sour.

Classplus makes an interesting case study of yet another B2B edtech player finding a saviour in B2C model .

What adds a twist to the tale is a small B2C player it had picked up. Testbook’s revenue for FY24 was nearly double that of Classplus that helped jack up the consolidated revenue of its new-found parent.

Piqued by the evolving business dynamics at Classplus, we looked deeper.

Why The Core Edtech SaaS Crashed

Covid-19 resulted in the surge in apps built around digital mode of tutoring, especially in K-12 and test prep segments, when over 320 Mn students and teachers in Indian schools and higher education institutes were locked at home.

The founder of a SaaS edtech startup in Mumbai said the model aimed to make an app that would provide all the backend tools to digitise their coaching businesses – uploading videos, selling notes, collecting payments, and communicating with students.

“But as offline coaching reopened after the pandemic’s peak, tutors found less reason to pay for the SaaS tools. Many reverted to free options like WhatsApp and YouTube, or simply resumed classes offline,” he added.

The argument justifies why the value proposition of Classplus worked well in 2020 when the teacher engagements were high, customer acquisition costs were low, and sales had........

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