1 year after Facebook funding

Dear community members,

Exactly 1 year back we announced our funding announcement from Facebook. I thought of reflecting on the year gone by and share where we are now. This is the newsletter we sent out 365 days back.

A lot has changed since then.

Despite all changes, which have been energizing, the essence of Network Capital remains the same. We are still the same community where ambitious students and young professionals come to accelerate their careers. With your support, we have managed to build a conducive ecosystem where people feel safe to discover their career-market fit.

All of you, our business partners, subscribers and patrons have played a pivotal role. I wrote about the collective contributions in this Harvard Business Review essay.

Personally, professionally, intellectually and academically, the last 365 days brought about memorable adventures. When I lost my beloved grandmother and struggled to work, many of you stepped up to offer support. When RBI changed rules about subscriptions for Indian card holders, you took pains to resubscribe. For a subscription based business, this change could have spelled a death knell but we survived. In fact we increased our revenues almost 10x. How we did that still seems like a bit of a mystery to me but I am very grateful that we managed to become more anti-fragile, a system that strengthens with chaos.

We have always been (and will continue to be) prudent with cash. We only spend money on stuff that increases the learning experience of our community members. That’s our single parameter for allocating capital, technology and resources.

The more we increase our profitability, the more scholarships we can offer. We are need-blind and to continue to do so, we need to keep growing our endowment fund.

Over the course of the year, the edtech industry has gone through a tectonic shift. As things came back to normal, attitudes of learners changed. Online learning needed to be adapted. Learners had enough of Zoom, it seems. This reflected in the completion rates of most companies including Maven (where I was an investor)

We adapted our online fellowships, partnered with some of the most promising companies like Mudrex and armed thousands of learners with practical skills to advance their careers. The key insight was to connect learning with earning. Companies like Mudrex offered prize money, job/internship options and other ways to grow the careers of our students. This kept the motivation levels high and propelled us to emerge unharmed by the changing sentiment towards online learning. There is an exciting new fellowship coming up. Thanks to Mudrex, it is fully funded. You can enroll in it.

This is the feedback from some of our subscribers. Take a look.

We measure ourselves on actual outcomes for our subscribers. Stories like these keep us energized towards the broader mission. Antisha writes

“Dear all, I am glad to announce that I have accepted the offer letter from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to pursue an MSc in Economics this fall 2022. As I write this, I bow before you in reverence Dr.Shobana Nelasco for you made me believe that this is possible. I am elated to add further that I have received offer letters to pursue postgraduate study at the University of Oxford, University of Chicago, SOAS University of London, and University of Sussex as well among several others.The application journey to study abroad comes with its trials and tribulations. Thank you- Garima Tyagi, Darshan Raval, and Aishna Joshi for holding my hand firmly like one do to their child, in this stressful admission cycle.Pivoting from being a CA Final student to taking off again with academia wasn’t easy. Utkarsh Amitabh, thank you for guiding me to put things from a positive perspective. Siddhartha C., thank you for being generous and sponsoring my access to the bounty of resources and diverse community at Network Capital powered by 5ire.org (valued $1.5B), it has helped me grow exponentially. As an NC Scholar (2021), I look forward to giving back to the members, do reach out for help I could do.With this, I leave a note that has kept me composed through and through. I hope it helps other future applicants“The beauty lies in accepting the uncertainties of life. When you’re facing them, be impatient with actions and patient with results”______________PS- Looking to connect with more offer holders and Londoners. I hope this year is transformative, informative, and above anything enlightening, in ways both personal and professional for all of you.”

In a way, her post captures the essence of Network Capital. I hope we continue to build on the momentum and keep the spirit of the community thriving during times like these when things seem to be going well and amidst adversity which is sure to strive multiple times in the years ahead.

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

Utkarsh