Byju Raveendran's wife Divya Gokulnath recalls initial years of starting up, calls last 6 months ‘toughest’

The last few months have been a roller coaster ride for the edtech decacorn, Byju’s, and its co-founders Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath. In a rare display of emotions, Gokulnath opened up on how tough the last six months have been for them both personally and professionally in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday. She also recalled that in the initial years of starting up, they would travel to six cities across India in a week to conduct back-to-back classes. 
 
Posted yesterday, Gokulnath wrote, “The last six months were my toughest in the last ten years,” Byju said in his interviews last week. He bared his soul to reveal he has hardly slept in the past six months. Those who know Byju know he never uses the adjective ‘tough’ for any challenge. If he says ‘tough’, it must have been really tough.”
 
The company released its FY21 results a few weeks ago. The edtech giant, owned and operated by Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, saw its consolidated losses widen nearly 20 times to Rs 4,588.75 crore from Rs 231.69 crore in FY20, as per company’s financial statement. 
 
Gokulnath further added that professional reasons apart, the last few months have also been tough for them as her father-in-law has been suffering from late-stage cancer. “Not that Byju sleeps a lot on his non-tough days. His daily routine has not changed in the last ten years. He works hard every day, cares deeply about his family, even more about those who work with him, and the most about the purpose of his existence.”
 
She also shared that her husband and the co-founder of the edtech unicorn was born in a village to teacher parents. He learnt English by listening to cricket commentary and lived a life which was far from being privileged. 
 
Gokulnath pointed out that they “did not emerge suddenly out of nowhere.” “ It has taken a lot of hard work to make learning effective and engaging. We have come a long way but we have a longer way to go,” she wrote.
 
She concluded by adding that they were very much aligned to their roots even today and focused on fulfilling the dream they saw together. She also wrote in the end that her husband is the most beautiful person she knows. 

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