Codeyoung is on a mission to develop cognitive skills and creative thinking among children through coding
Codeyoung, a Bangalore based startup dedicated to introducing Coding to K12 students, has
been able to generate massive traction by achieving an annualised revenue of $1M in the short
span of just 14 months. Founded by IIT- Delhi alumni Shailendra Dhakad and Rupika Taneja,
Codeyoung is on a mission to develop cognitive skills and creative thinking among children
through coding. The ed-tech startup offers coding courses to K12 students between 5-16 years of
age across 5 countries.
Codeyoung raised two rounds of funding led by US-based VC firm Guild Capital to date and,
due to their recent success, has been receiving strong interest from multiple VC firms for the
next round of funding. Codeyoung has been able to generate massive traction by engaging over
25,000 students from five countries, including India, UAE, Australia, Malaysia, and the US.
What differentiates Codeyoung from other players in the sector is its focus on teacher quality,
academics and peer learning. A hallmark of the program is the collaborative approach to learning
as a team rather than one-to-one interaction with the teacher, a crucial skill required by the next
generation of entrepreneurs & technologists. Fanning the curiosity of young, inquisitive minds is
the cornerstone of Codeyoung’s mission, and something that the platform aims to achieve in its
community.
Codeyoung was born out of the two founders deep desire to make education more fun and
contextual for school students across the world. While working at their respective jobs, they
realized how much they learned only on the job. They agreed that school is indeed a great time to
introduce kids to skills that involve creative thinking and problem solving because that is what is
required to thrive irrespective of their profession. It also tackles the fact that kids spend a lot of
time on screens for passive entertainment. However, they can actively engage with computers
and create different products to express their creativity.
Codeyoung has created 11 years-long well-researched learning paths for kids. Codeyoung’s
curriculum extends beyond the drag &drop environment equips kids with the skills to create
industry-standard programs on popular languages like Python and Java. Having an NPS of 70,
customer repeat rate of 60% and demo conversion of 40%, Codeyoung aims to grow to reach
$10 M in annualised revenues by the end of the year 2021. The team will use the next round of
funding to fuel the growth and develop one of a kind coding learning experience platform named ‘SANDBOX’
About Founders
Rupika Taneja: Rupika, a young IIT Delhi alumnus, has always been passionate about
education and making a positive impact on society. Her stint at Flipkart as a Business Analyst
just after college showed her the impact technology can make at scale. Following the drive to
take on a bigger and more meaningful personal challenge while also doing something good for
society, she co-founded Codeyoung.
Shailendra Dhakad: Shailendra is a young IIT Delhi alumnus and was actively involved in
various social-entrepreneurial projects on campus. He always wanted to follow a path that is
driven by meaning and impact. As a fresh graduate, he joined an early-stage startup based in
Brisbane as Growth Product Manager. Seeing the impact of coding and entrepreneurship first
hand, he decided to take on the mission to get young kids introduced to technology at an age
when they are still creative and energetic.
Source: Business World
