The journey of 2022!
2021 ended really well with meeting the person who inspires me the most!
बाकी तो आपको मेरे चेहरे की हंसी ही बता देगी कि कितना खुश थी मैं!
And now 2022 begins!
My mom believes “Whatever we do on 1st Jan remains with us throughout the year”, so I got braces! Haha, yes and it remained!
Well, jokes apart thinking about how 2022 went gives me a lot of memories. 2022 was the year when we took some very important decisions for our organization!
In this blog I will be writing about highlights, lowlights, my learnings, what did I accomplish and my life apart from BeyondExams!
B2B sales:
When thinking about B2B we targeted schools and colleges. We visited almost 20+ schools and colleges all over India. We pivoted our product based on requirements. What we could have done better I feel was stick to 1 customer convert them and then move ahead. Building relationship with B2B customers is very important as they can become long-term partners.
Learnings: “For B2B you will have to build a relationship with the customer and you might have to change your pitch accordingly”
Beyondexams defined what we really want:
It took time but we realized that we cannot be all over the place. We cannot serve everyone who wants to learn. So with this in mind, we launched our hero product!
3-months web dev skill training with lifetime internship support for 1st and 2nd year college students
You must be thinking “Why not 3rd or final-year students?” or “Is it not difficult to get an internship during your 1st or 2nd year?” and this was the mindset that we wanted to change!
Why not get a paid internship? What it all needs is the right skills with the right mentoring. And our students have proved themselves really well!
Learnings: “Defining Niche and what fits your niche will help you get a lot more traction”
B2C sales
While converting schools and colleges we wanted to try to get customers directly. So we ran our first ad and got enough traction from it.
We had students from different domains from different cities. When converting direct customers we have realized that you must create FOMO in them about your product. And with the right audience, we have almost 40+ students studying in our cohorts-based classes!
Learnings: “Keeping a track of customers is very important”
Marketing and ads
While running an ad all that matters is how catchy is your graphic. Is it hitting the right emotion? So, we ran around 6 ads and we figured out that our ads should revolve more around getting an internship! Also, the target audience plays a very important role so define your niche and the people you want to target!
Do check out our Instagram page and feel free give feedback!
Learnings: “Marketing is all what audience loves, experiment and find out”
Morethanmarks went to hibernation:
Morethanmarks(sister initiative of beyondexams) that focused on skill training for school students parted to hibernation.
Morethanmarks (MTM) was very close to my heart as “The idea was to train students during the very initial days of their life”. But MTM was a mindset change for parents as we wanted students to focus on skills and parents wanted students to just focus on marks!
So with a limited team, we just hibernated morethanmarks and thought to focus on one hero product!
Learnings: “When you talk about mindset change it takes a lot more effort to sell the product!”
Team reunion
This was the first time when the entire team at beyondexams planned to meet physically in Mumbai!
A 2-day trip in which we came to know each other as a person. The trip was more about building that bond that still stays with us! From enjoying local food to exploring the deep oceans together!
We made unforgettable memories that will stay with us forever!
Learnings: “It’s not a team, it’s a family!”
Malpani ventures connect
The mega day! It’s hard to summarize the day when experts from different domains sit together and help you grow!
The connect was mainly about the entire team discussing what have we achieved and what we really want. With different and experienced perspectives on the same table, we at least know that “One product with the defined niche is the key to success”
Learnings: “ Identify the pain point and the target audience accordingly. Keep a price that is justifiable but don’t fluctuate it too much”
Book suggestion: “Profit from the Core”
Life beyond BeyondExams
During corona, I started my Instagram page, do check it out and don’t forget to follow. From 100 followers in 2021 to 400+ followers in 2022! And we are still growing!
Family and relaxing trips:
A family trip to vridavan was fun! It was about visiting temples and enchanting:
“Hare rama, hare rama, rama rama hare hare; hare krishna hare krishna, krishna krishna hare hare”
AND NOW THE AMAZING YEAR COMES TO AN END! With amazing memories and amazing people!
Major Learnings:
- There are times when you really doubt yourself and that’s when you need to come back strong!
- Some of our experiments failed, but we kept on trying!
- Experiment, learn and improve instead of just believing on what worked for others.
- People will give you suggestions you will have to decide what to adapt, what not to!
- Make your product fit for your customers, talk to them what they want more!
- People have already done so much research and figured out what works, Use it!
- You are the owner of your product, never doubt it!
- As a co-founder sometimes you will have to fill the vacant spaces in the team and that’s totally ok!
- Life hai, it will go on! Keep learning keep growing!
I hope you enjoy reading this blog and my learnings might help you grow! Feel free to reach out to me for any suggestions on techiesimran@gmail.com!
Happy reading!
I wish you a very Happy new year 2023!
With lots of love
Simran
