Divya Gokulnath

Divya Gokulnath is an Indian entrepreneur and educator who is the co-founder and director of Byju's, an educational technology company.[1][2]

In this Indian name, the name Gokulnath is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Divya.
Divya Gokulnath
Divya Gokulnath at Asia Business Council 2019
Born1987 (age 34–35)
NationalityIndian
Alma materR.V. College of Engineering
OccupationEntrepreneur, educator
Years active2008–present
TitleDirector and co-founder of Byju's
Spouse(s)Byju Raveendran
Children2

Life and education

Divya was born in Bengaluru.[3] Her father is a nephrologist with Apollo Hospitals and her mother was a programming executive with the broadcasting company Doordarshan.[3][4] She is an only child of her parents.[5] As a child, her father taught her science.[6]

Divya completed her schooling at Frank Anthony Public School and pursued a Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology from RV College of Engineering in Bengaluru.[3][7] After her graduation in 2007, she met Byju Raveendran,[8] who was teaching her GRE exam prep course.[3][9] Byju encouraged her to become a teacher due to her questions during breaks between the classes.[3]

Her career as a teacher began in 2008[3] at age 21.[10][7] In 2020, she told Fortune India, "It was an auditorium style class with 100 students. They were just a couple of years younger than me so to look mature I wore a saree to the class."[3] During her teaching career, she taught mathematics, English, and logical reasoning.[3]

Career

In 2011, Divya co-founded the online education platform Byju's with her husband.[11][12][13] At first, the company offered in-person education to support school education, and in 2015, launched an online app with video lessons.[11] Divya has appeared in videos as a teacher.[14] During the COVID-19 lockdown in India, while Divya managed user experience, content, and brand marketing,[3] Byju's provided free access, and added 13.5 million users in March and April 2020, for a total of 50 million,[11] and reached 70 million students by September 2020, and 4.5 million subscribers.[15]

According to Forbes, as of 2020, Divya, her husband Byju Raveendran and his brother Riju Raveendran, have a combined net worth of $3.05B.[12]

Divya also writes online, including about the future of education, parenting, and women's participation in STEM fields[16][17] and has been an advocate for mitigating gender pay gap in India.[18] She has also spoken with Mint Startup Diaries about challenges for women entrepreneurs,[19] and co-written an opinion article with Byju Raveendran in Vogue India about educational technology in India.[20]

Honours and awards

Personal life

As of April 2020, Divya lived with eleven other family members, including her young son,[28] and then her second child was born near the beginning of 2021.[29] Before the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked long days at the office, but during the lockdown, transitioned to working from home.[3][28][30] In 2021, she told The Indian Express her typical day includes "juggling son's online classes, meetings, recording video lessons and spending time with newborn."[29]

Notes

    References
    1. "Most Powerful Women of 2020 by Fortune India". Fortune India.
    2. Chen, Benjamin; Garcia, David Cendon; Caldas, Amy Espinoza; Andrade, Beatriz; Nicholas, Kayla; Dhesi, Kiman; Costa, Luciana; Huemer, Sarah; Shekhawat, Vaidaansh (2021-05-23). Youth Economist Compilation: For the youth by the youths. Benjamin Chen. ISBN 979-8-5056-5091-2.
    3. Ghosh, Debojyoti (November 21, 2020). "Byju's better half". Fortune India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    4. STP Team (March 12, 2021). "Women Can Take Care And Take Charge. They Needn't Have to Choose says Divya Gokulnath". SheThePeople.TV. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    5. STP Team (March 12, 2021). "Who is Divya Gokulnath : All You Need to Know About Byju's Co-founder". SheThePeople.TV.
    6. Punj, Shwweta (March 30, 2021). "Start-ups must take quick decisions: Byju's co-founder Divya Gokulnath". India Today. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
    7. Kapani, Puneet (9 March 2021). "Divya Gokulnath: Educationist,Entrepreneur". Entrepreneur.
    8. Vedam, Venkatesh (2022-01-24). The Puffin Book of 100 Extraordinary Indians. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5492-361-6.
    9. ET Now Digital (October 10, 2020). "With a wealth of over Rs 11,300 crore, meet India's youngest billionaire". TimesNowNews. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    10. DNA Web Team (March 7, 2021). "International Women's Day 2021: Meet the 94-year-old whom Anand Mahindra termed 'Entrepreneur of the year'". DNA India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    11. Gilchrist, Karen (June 9, 2020). "These millennials are reinventing the multibillion-dollar education industry during coronavirus". CNBC. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    12. "India's Richest - #46 Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath & family". Forbes. 10 July 2020.
    13. Sharma, Raktim (March 23, 2021). "10 inspiring Indian women in business and what's unique about them". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
    14. Rai, Saritha (June 20, 2017). "Zuckerberg or Gates? Billionaires Try Opposite Paths for Online Education in India". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
    15. "Roshni Nadar, Divya Gokulnath, Ameera Shah and Vinati Saraf — India's most powerful businesswomen of 2020, according to Forbes". Business Insider India. September 23, 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    16. Chand, Abhigyan (November 17, 2020). "LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: India". LinkedIn News. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    17. Priya, Ratan (January 7, 2021). "10 Female Leaders On LinkedIn Who Are A Must-Follow for 2021". SheThePeople.TV. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
    18. "'First acknowledge pay gap, then devise long-term strategy to fix it': BYJU'S co-founder Divya Gokulnath". The Indian Express. 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
    19. "Byju's Divya Gokulnath: Why Women Entrepreneurs are missing from India's Start-Up Story". LiveMint. April 5, 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
    20. Raveendran, Byju; Gokulnath, Divya (October 21, 2020). "Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath on India's growth potential: "The power of education and technology can transform our country"". Vogue India. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
    21. "Here is the LinkedIn Top Voices 2019 India". Business Insider.
    22. "BT MPW 2020: Business Today honours 'Most Powerful Women' who lead from the front". Business Today. October 4, 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    23. "Divya Gokulnath Wins The PWI Next Gen Woman Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2020-21". DKODING.IN. November 1, 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
    24. Kamdar, Shraddha (November 23, 2020). "Femina Power List: BYJU'S Co-Founder Divya Gokulnath Is A Teacher at Heart". Femina. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
    25. Watson, Rana Wehbe (September 14, 2020). "Asia's Power Businesswomen 2020: Highlighting 25 Outstanding Leaders In Asia Pacific". Forbes. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    26. "Trailblazing Women Leaders Win Top Awards at First MAKERS Conference in India" (Press release). March 15, 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021 – via BusinessWireIndia. for her progressive leadership at the World’s most valued edtech company.
    27. Ghosh, -Debojyoti. "Divya Gokulnath - Most Powerful Women in 2021 - Fortune India". www.fortuneindia.com. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
    28. Phadnis, Shilpa (April 13, 2020). "How Women Executives Run Businesses From Home". Times of India.
    29. Narayanan, Jayashree (March 8, 2021). "'Take time out for yourself': Successful women entrepreneurs share mantra for work-life balance". The Indian Express. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
    30. Alves, Glynda (June 18, 2020). "Byju's co-founder has turned her bedroom into a work studio during WFH". The Economic Times - Panache. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
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