The recent Forbes List Of 100 Richest Indians saw the entry of Divya Gokulnath, clocking in at number 47. The co-founder of Byju’s – The Learning App, Gokulnath is one of the six female entrepreneurs on the list.

Byju’s – The Learning App is a name that’s familiar to everyone, even more so since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since schools turned digital, online learning apps like Byju’s have seen unprecedented growth.

The roots of Divya Gokulnath, the entrepreneur

Born to a doctor and a programming executive, Divya comes from humble beginnings. Since a young age, her parents have encouraged her to dream big which gave her the wings she needed to fly.

In 2007, she met Byju Raveendran, whom she later married, while preparing for a GRE preparatory course. That was the start of her dream to be an educator.

Divya started her career as a teacher at the young age of 21. She started off as a teacher in 2008 with Byju’s when it was just an offline outfit. Fast-forward to 2011, she became one of the founders of what is undoubtedly the largest ed-tech company in India.

A passion for education

Divya had appeared for and cleared various exams to secure a place in major US universities. But the moment she started teaching at Byju’s, she knew where her true calling lay. She decided to forgo her education abroad to teach in India.

In a chat with Femina, Gokulnath said about her vision for Byju’s,

Our vision is to make students fall in love with learning, as it is the most integral and defining part of childhood. We truly believe that we should teach our next generation ‘how to learn’ and not ‘what to learn’. We should encourage them to question why, and not just spoon-feed them to answer questions.

Divya’s primary focus has been to create unique and personalised learning experiences for students across grades. Apart from being one of the teachers on the Byju’s app, she plays a crucial part in curating academic learning experiences as well.

Accolades and honours

Divya is passionate about educating the youth to fulfil their dreams. Since the inception of Byju’s, she has managed to consistently make her place as one of the entrepreneurs to look up to.

In 2020, Gokulnath made the list of Business Today’s Most Powerful Women in Indian Business, Femina Power List, Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswomen and Fortune India’s Most Powerful Women. In the same year, she won the DKODING Media, People Who Inspire PWI Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The year 2021 saw her win the prestigious MAKERS India Conference, Entrepreneur of the Year, Women Who Make India Awards.

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