The birth of the idea
Smeet Mehta, an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, worked with Procter & Gamble in Singapore. A small-town boy in him always worried about the gap in education in metros as compared to a non-metro city affected children and their future. With this thought in mind, He and his wife, Smita Deorah, left their Corporate Jobs in 2012 and led them start the Lead School now Lead. They focused on using edtech in schools to address challenges associated with low fee schools. LEAD was born in from Ahmedabad, with just 14 students on day one. The mission was to transform school education in India.
School of Impact
LEAD School is a SaaS platform that integrates and transforms schools. It’s a platform for full-stack assessment, instruction, and remediation. LEAD also has a separate app for parents that allows them to follow their children’s development while also allowing their pupils to learn from home.
Who are the Backers
WestBridge Capital led LEAD School’s Series E funding, putting $95 million. The new financing round, in which GSV Ventures also participated, and which pushes LEAD School’s all-time raise to $170 million, has doubled the startup’s valuation to $1.1 billion in nine months.
Growing Network
With over 5,000 schools in 500 locations across India, the company has experienced significant acceptance. In fiscal year 2022, the company claims to have attained an annual contract value of $80 million. It aspires to reach over two million students and is the first to commit to and produce demonstrable improvements in student learning outcomes in schools.
Changing the landscape of Rural Education
LEAD is steadily establishing itself as the gold standard for academic mastery, student, teacher, and school success. The founders understand the value and significance of a high-quality brand. Their desire to transform education in rural India through LEAD School exemplifies the one key attribute i.e Purpose. The Company believe that the Purpose-driven businesses, will contribute to a great performance.
Unpreceded Growth Path
The Company has growth substantially despite Covid and has tripled the number of school and students it serves. It is on an unpresented growth path with 100% net retention demonstrates its value proposition.
