Seekho is an edutainment platform built by three alumni of IIT Kanpur that went from a side hustle to a projected revenue run-rate of around ₹600 crore in just a few years. What makes the story more striking: at one point the company had less than a month of cash in the bank. Through pivoting, embracing paid-subscriptions early, focusing on learning-first content and upgrading its product, they reversed from near collapse to serious scale. Their path offers lessons for any startup chasing growth, retention and profitability in the edtech/edutainment space.
Founding Moment & Early Insight
The founders of Seekho met at IIT Kanpur and then worked together at a digital-content firm. During the pandemic era, they observed a shift: while many apps focused on entertainment, there was a large aspirational middle-class in India looking for content that would help them learn, up-skill, improve their earnings. Instead of diving into generic short-videos, they asked: what if scrolling could also mean gaining a skill? That insight led them to create a platform where short-form video meets learning—ranging from how to play guitar, to public speaking, to life-skills and up-skilling.
The Near-Death Blow
By mid-2022, the startup had built users but no meaningful revenue; marketing and content costs were burning cash. They ran out of runway, with less than a month left. Investors weren’t keen due to zero revenue. The founders made a bold decision: introduce a paid subscription at a low price point (₹199 per annum) to test willingness to pay, convert users to paid, stabilise cash flow. That move broke the ice—they got their first revenue inflow, cleared some payables and regained faith.
Growth Engine & Product Shift
From that pivot the company ramped up:
- They switched from “viral entertainment” short-videos to “learning + value” short-videos (under 5 minutes), with clear outcomes.
- They raised the subscription price once users were engaged, expanded creator incentives, improved content quality and retention.
- They opened new learning categories: finance, business growth, life hacks, even agriculture and regional languages.
- Their paid user base grew to ~2 million, monthly revenue crossed ₹50 crore, and they are targeting full-year revenue of ₹600 crore in a near future year.
- The team invested in product features: recommendation engine (to boost engagement), creator dashboards, regional-language content, AI-powered features (Q&A, interactive video shows).
Key Metrics & Snapshot
| Metric | Recent/Target Value |
|---|---|
| Paid Users | ~2 million |
| Monthly Revenue | ~₹50 crore |
| Full-Year Revenue Target | ~₹600 crore (FY) |
| Annual Subscription Price (initial) | ~₹199 |
| Content Format | Short-form (<5 min) videos for learning |
| Key Categories | Skills, business, life hacks, up-skilling, regional content |
Why This Model Works
- Clear value proposition: Users aren’t just consuming entertainment—they are learning measurable things.
- Short-form format: Fits user behaviour (scrolling), but re-oriented to learning rather than mindless watching.
- Early monetisation: Introducing paid model when cash was tight helped build business discipline and user commitment.
- Expansion of categories & languages: To scale beyond a niche audience and tap diverse Indian users.
- Creator & product investment: Ensured content quality, retention, recommendation logic—all matter in stickiness and monetisation.
Challenges & Risks
- Retention & engagement: Learning platforms often struggle with drop-off once novelty fades—maintaining active paying users is crucial.
- Competition: The short-video + learning space is crowded; differentiation and content quality will decide winners.
- Regional scaling: Reaching deep markets (regional languages, lower tier cities) adds cost and complexity.
- Unit economics: Paying creators, producing high-quality content, marketing—all cost money. Profitability depends on scaling well.
- Content relevance & outcome proof: Users paying must feel they are getting value (skills, certifications, incomes). Without that, churn may spike.
Future Roadmap
Seekho plans to:
- Roll out more categories (agriculture, regional job-skills, vernacular languages) to broaden accessibility.
- Introduce AI-driven interactive features (ask a question, get tailored content, micro-tests) to boost engagement and effectiveness.
- Increase subscription price tiers and diversify revenue streams (corporate training, partnerships, B2B).
- Expand into export/Indian diaspora markets or non-India regional markets with adapted content.
- Focus on improving retention metrics, increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) and reducing acquisition cost over time.
Key Takeaways
- A startup can go from near failure to scale if it acts decisively on monetisation, product-market fit and retention.
- Short-form video + learning is a compelling combination in India given user behaviour and large aspirational audience.
- Early revenue builds credibility—not just for investors but for product discipline and user trust.
- Scaling in India means regional languages, diverse categories and strong product/engagement features—not just “more of the same”.
- For founders in edtech/edutainment, retention, content quality, creator ecosystem and stickiness matter at least as much as user-acquisition headlines.
FAQs
1. What is Seekho’s core offering?
Seekho offers short-form video content (typically under five minutes) focused on life skills, up-skilling, business knowledge, finance, personal growth, job-related topics. Its aim is to convert scrolling time into learning time.
2. Who are the founders?
The company was founded by three IIT Kanpur alumni who had prior experience in digital content and media companies. Their background gave them product/tech/analyst skills and they leveraged those towards a learning-first platform.
3. What triggered the turnaround?
At a critical juncture when they were running out of cash, the founders introduced a paid subscription model, validated users’ willingness to pay, improved their content product, and pivoted from pure entertainment to purposeful learning. That decision marked the start of the turnaround.
4. How big is their revenue target?
They are targeting around ₹600 crore annual revenue in the near future, based on current growth momentum (paid users ~2 million, monthly revenue ~₹50 crore).
5. What are the key risks for this business?
Key risks include sustaining retention and engagement, increasing ARPU while controlling costs, differentiating in a crowded market, managing regional scaling, and proving learning outcomes/impact to users so as to avoid high churn.
