In 2008, when Arun Prakash launched his YouTube channel for teaching tech in Tamil, little did he know that it would scale to become Guvi—a full-fledged edtech startup valued at over Rs. 150 crores today, with a 51% majority stake held by IT services giant, HCL.
Incubated in IIT-M & IIM-A, Guvi was founded by Arun Prakash, his late wife Sridevi, and SP Balamurugan, who were all colleagues at PayPal. Their vision: “To bridge the gap between academia and industry by teaching tech in native Indian languages.”
Today, Guvi’s Zen Classes (live online career programs) and interactive tools like Codekata and Webkata enable learners to pursue tech courses of their choice in vernacular languages with self-paced modules and task-based gamified learning. The transformative learning experience enabled by the Guvi platform has touched the lives of over 30 lakh students since inception, supported by a 750+ strong team of educators, developers, and marketing professionals.
Arun’s journey from a YouTube educator to scaling Guvi as a major ed-tech player in India offers invaluable lessons for all content creators and educators who are looking to scale their ventures to highly scalable tech-first startups. In an exclusive interview with ProdWrks, Arun shares his journey to show how he did it and how you can too.
The Problem with traditional tech courses
Arun says, “There are two problems in learning complex technical subjects and industry-specific tech skills: one, you have to understand tech, and two, you have to also understand the English in which it is taught at the same time. If one of these problems is removed, people are happy to take the second part, and it makes learning much easier.”
"I suddenly got one million hits from international audiences in the US and UK who hail from Tamil Nadu and appreciated learning in their native language," Arun explains.
From YouTube to EdTech: Productization & Business-Model Fit
“We had initially considered a volunteer-driven NGO model. But volunteers were only available for one-off activities and couldn't sustain continuous efforts. I realized that you have to give value to them to derive value out of their efforts. I came to the conclusion that a business framework would allow Guvi to scale more effectively," he explains.
“That is when I pulled out all the videos from my personal YouTube channel, pushed it to AWS, and started building a platform (Guvi) to give it structure. In 2014, I registered Guvi Geek Network Private Limited. With help from renowned Indian academician and innovator Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Guvi was also incubated at IIT-Madras.”
The MVP Mindset: Productizing and Monetizing Content
"The first step is to figure out what you’re going to sell and how you’re going to monetize it," Arun advises. "You don’t need to have 100% clarity, but you should have a clear understanding of how your content can become a product."
"If I weren’t a tech person, I would have gone to platforms like Wix to set up a simple website for showcasing my video courses. You don’t need to build an entire tech platform from day one. Also, with UPI, you can collect payments easily and manually unlock the videos for the paid users. You need to validate your ideas in simple ways like this before investing heavily in tech."
Does UI-UX matter? High Touch vs. Low Touch Products
Arun recalls. "I realized something critical: when you're in a high-touchpoint environment, UI/UX takes a backseat. But when you're in a low-touchpoint environment, where users are required to navigate your platform independently, UI/UX becomes everything."
In a high-touch product—for example, a B2B training solution—a trainer works closely with the student. So the interface’s design isn’t critical. The human element compensates for any shortcomings in the user interface.
"If there's someone sitting beside you or a support system readily available, even a subpar UI won’t deter the user," Arun explains. "They'll reach out, get their doubts clarified, and continue using the product."
In contrast, a low-touch product, like a self-service portal or SaaS application, demands an intuitive, seamless user experience. There’s no one to guide users from one step to the next.
"Here, the platform must guide the user through their journey independently, all the way to monetization. A bad UI/UX means users will drop off before reaching their goal—and that’s a deal-breaker."
"At the time when we started, there were around 20 other startups solving similar problems. Some relied entirely on manual processes, while others focused solely on building technology. We took a hybrid approach," Arun explains. "We built half-baked technology and augmented it with people. If something went wrong, we had support staff to reassure users, address issues, and keep them engaged."
This approach was most effective during live college sessions. When students encountered bugs in features like the leaderboard, which mistakenly showed students from other colleges, Guvi turned the situation around by encouraging students to compare their results with peers from different colleges. As Arun humorously noted, “We managed to make the bug a feature.”
This strategy allowed them to foster user engagement while gradually improving and perfecting the technology.
Facebook Model: Scaling Step-by-Step Within Closed User Groups
"Facebook opened up to one college at a time, which allowed them to control traffic and resources. We did something similar to scale Guvi step-by-step. I went college by college, offering access only to students in those institutions and scaled the servers accordingly. This way, I controlled how many people could use my servers at any given point," says Arun.
Cracking the PMF Code with Codekata
Actively listening to user feedback and figuring out their needs led to the inception of Guvi’s flagship product, Codekata.
“When you sit with the user, you understand their pain point. There was a requirement from placement officers—to make coding less intimidating and more approachable for students who often feel overwhelmed by the complex questions thrown at them during placement season. Understanding this gap helped us build Codekata,” says Arun.
The CodeKata platform by Guvi hosts a series of programs curated by the veterans in the IT & software industries to help students tackle the typical “whiteboard coding” challenges during their campus interviews. This includes coding problems asked by top MNCs like Microsoft, Walmart, Samsung, and so on.
With CodeKata, Arun shifted the focus from passive learning to active problem-solving. The platform emphasized practical coding exercises and scenario-based questions, along with placement-oriented mock tests for algorithmic thinking, problem-solving speed, and clarity of concepts.
Similar to Codekata, Guvi also launched Webkata, a front-end practice platform that hosts a series of tasks on web development skills like HTML, CSS, and Javascript. This cloud-based module enables learners to practice front-end skills without the need to setup local environment.
Impact of Codekata: Real Results, Real Success
“We can now recommend top-performing profiles to recruiting companies based on their performance in CodeKata,” Arun shared, highlighting how the platform became a bridge between talent and employers.
Arun also uncovered three crucial insights that shaped CodeKata into a powerful learning tool:
Insight 1: Simplifying the Learning Processes and Validation
“Today, online compilers are common, but back then, it was a challenge. Many students learning Java didn’t know how to install it or set up the classpath,” Arun explained.
“Once we introduced the compiler, we saw a surge in students writing programs in Java. Removing the technical hurdles opened the door for more students to engage with coding.”
“Now people are asking for a platform where they can run SQL, data science, and DevOps. We are building that too. We keep adding technology features that can help learners to self-validate at every step. That is one of our platform's primary strengths."
Insight 2: Gradual Complexity Unlocks Learner's Potential
Arun noticed that students often felt overwhelmed by complex programming problems, which discouraged them from even attempting to solve them.
“In Codekata, we started introducing questions with gradually increasing complexity,” Arun shared. This change had a profound impact. Students who had never solved a programming problem before began tackling challenges one step at a time.
“It was incredible to see these students, many of whom had little confidence in their programming skills, successfully solving problems. By lowering the entry barrier and gradually increasing difficulty, we built their confidence.”
Insight 3: The Power of Gamification – Geek Coins & Leaderboards
The third breakthrough came with the introduction of gamification in Codekata through Geek Coins and a leaderboard. One of the earliest and most impactful gamification experiments actually came from Guvi’s co-founder and Arun’s wife, Sridevi, who took a hands-on manual approach to validate her hypothesis of implementing competitive learning enhancements.
“In one of the colleges where the Guvi program was implemented, Sridevi set up a physical leaderboard on a blackboard. Every time a student completed a program, they would write their name on the board and earn points. That day, students collectively finished 200 programs—compared to the usual one or two they used to do earlier!” Arun recalled.
When their names appeared on the leaderboard, it wasn’t just about solving problems anymore—it became about earning recognition and standing out among their peers.
The Guvi team discovered a critical insight about motivation. “Students don’t compare themselves to industry experts or distant role models—they compare themselves to their peers. They want to know how they rank against their classmates and friends. That’s what drives them.”
That recognition made students more addicted to solving problems. The manual leaderboard became a focal point of motivation and product innovation for Guvi.
Inspired by this success, the Guvi team incorporated virtual gamification mechanics into the CodeKata platform. Students earned Geek Coins for every task they completed, which they could use to unlock new challenges, redeem for gifts, and gain recognition within the community.
“Geek Coins created a sense of competition within peer groups. Students weren’t just solving problems—they were aiming to outdo each other, earn more coins, and reach the top of the virtual leaderboard,” Arun reflected.
Local Context Over Silicon Valley Playbooks
When asked about the challenges he faced, Arun was candid about the pitfalls of trying to emulate successful tech companies from Silicon Valley. “Initially, I tried to emulate Facebook, Google, and other Silicon Valley companies; some worked, but most playbooks didn’t work here,” Arun admitted.
One of his key realizations was the importance of understanding the local context, particularly in India’s education sector. For example:
- Guvi offered offline solutions to colleges with limited internet bandwidth.
- Reports and progress tracking were provided manually where necessary, bridging the gap between traditional and digital learning.
- They focused on building relationships with placement officers, who were often more concerned with high-value job placements than the nitty gritties of broader learning outcomes.
Another insight that helped Guvi succeed was the use of native languages in its platform.
"When you offer something in English, people compare it to international products like Google or Coursera. But when you offer it in their native language, there’s no direct comparison," Arun points out. "For many of our users, we became the first and only solution in their language. We weren’t just another option—we were the savior."
Navigating a Moatless EdTech Market
"There’s no moat in EdTech. If you have a passion for teaching and a strong understanding of your subject, you can build something like Guvi too," he says.
However, Arun has a word of caution.
“The real problem starts when you scale. When you try to solve problems for 30 lakh people, then it becomes a challenge because you have to build a system. And the system has to function without a breakdown. But all systems will break. No system; even my system is not perfect. You have to continuously put bandages on and keep fixing them.”
In an industry where anyone could launch a similar platform, Guvi had to engineer its competitive advantage, or, as Arun says, “build an artificial moat.”
Guvi’s artificial moat was to position itself as a pioneer for providing top-tier training in data structures, algorithms, and coding, taught in native languages by professionals from companies like PayPal and Symantec. This “transient advantage” allowed Guvi to stand out, but Arun was quick to acknowledge that this advantage was not permanent.
Over time, competitors began offering similar programs. However, this period of differentiation gave Guvi the momentum to scale before others could catch up.
Adapting to the LLM Era
Despite the competition today, Guvi’s team of technologists, including Arun and his co-founders, use their deep technical expertise to engineer new moats through continuous innovation.
One of Guvi’s most significant innovations today is its native AI-driven language model, which understands the colloquial context of native Indian languages. This technology enables Guvi to scale content across multiple languages without incurring prohibitive costs.
“When we create a video in one language, we need to offer it in multiple languages,” Arun explains. “Right now, we support around 15 Indian languages and four international ones. Translating this manually would be incredibly expensive. So we built an AI model that handles translation with about 60% accuracy, especially for colloquial phrases.”
For instance, translating a phrase like ‘Today, we are going to learn data science’ into Tamil using traditional methods would yield a formal, textbook-style translation: ‘இன்று நாம் தரவு அறிவியல் கற்றுக்கொள்வோம்’ (Indru naam tharavu ariviyal katrukolvom).
“This is Doordarshan-style Tamil,” Arun points out. “It’s suitable for textbooks, but we’re not teaching textbook content—we’re teaching skills. And skill-based learning can be conversational, in the learner’s own words.”
“By automating much of the localization process, we’ve been able to scale without incurring massive costs, and that has become one of our key advantages,” Arun adds.
Guvi's Vital Role in the Future of Edtech in India
Looking ahead, Arun and his team at Guvi are on a mission to make coding accessible, engaging, and transformative for learners at every stage of their journey.
Their latest initiative, Guvi HackerKID, introduces young minds to coding through immersive, gamified experiences like guiding a zombie through levels or designing shapes with Python. It’s more than just a fun learning tool—it’s the entry point to an entire Guvi ecosystem. From Hackerkid, learners can seamlessly progress to advanced platforms like Zen, CodeKata, and Webkata, each designed to build skills incrementally and holistically.
“We’ve built a suite of products that helps learners transition from one level to the next, creating a pathway from beginner to expert,” Arun explains.
This ecosystem represents Guvi’s vision: a continuous learning platform where individuals of all ages and backgrounds can not only acquire technical skills but also grow in confidence, problem-solving, and innovation. Through this comprehensive suite, Guvi is not just teaching code—it’s building a community of lifelong learners ready to thrive in the digital age.
Guvi’s journey is a testament to the power of adaptability, the importance of understanding local markets, and the need for continuous innovation. Arun’s story highlights that while technology is essential, human support, local insights, and strategic partnerships are equally critical for scaling in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving edtech industry.
