Arunprasad Durairaj – Flintoclass@HOME, a Chennai-based Flinto Learning developed to continue running its business and provide preschool exposure at home, was released after the schools were shut to prevent COVID-19 infection.
The epidemic has kept children at home around the world. While edtech businesses take advantage of these unique circumstances and help students continue their education from the comfort of their homes, preschoolers are not sitting comfortably either.
During the pandemic, Flinto Learning Solutions in Chennai was quick to recognize the void left by edtech giants in the preschool market.
Flintoclass at HOME, a prekindergarten program delivering organized early education to children, was launched in June 2020. The goal is to ensure that kids are ready for school from the comfort of their own homes.
“While online education for children above the age of six is permitted, the problem arises for those under the age of six,” says Co-founder and CEO Arunprasad Durairaj. “Excess screen time might be harmful to their health,” adds Co-founder and CTO Nitin Mehta.
Flintoclass claims to have more than one million clients throughout the country, and it grows by ten people every ten days.
Pivoting to persist
Arunprasad Durairaj, Vijay Babu Gandhi, and Shreenidhi Srirangam launched Flinto in September 2013 to revolutionize how young kids learn. The company has two products in its seven-year history — Flintobox and Flintoclass.
Arunprasad Durairaj (Co-founder and CEO)
Flintobox is a non-traditional education initiative that focuses on 16 fundamental skills through unstructured play. Flintoclass, a preschool system launched in 2017 that provides early learning experiences in a classroom setting regardless of the location, has already been introduced.
However, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic, schools were closed to prevent the virus from spreading. And while more children were kept at home due to the lockdown, we experienced an unprecedented demand for our goods during COVID-19. More parents came to us looking for more meaningful engagement with their children, which encouraged us.
Flintoclass’s business began to decline as a result of the pandemic. This compelled Flinto to create Flintoclass@HOME, a new product to secure their company during the epidemic.
Flintoclass@HOME is a virtual school that students may attend from the comfort of their own homes. Flintoclass offers an online education system for children ranging in age from three to six years old, according to the team. It promotes language and literacy development, cognitive growth, and creative expression.
Roadblocks
While the national shutdown was going on, the company faced another obstacle. The logistics industry came to a halt, and only necessary items were permitted to move. “The closure of the primary warehouse had an impact on product delivery,” Arunprasad explains. In April 2020, Flinto generated no income.
Flinto, on the other hand, had already proved its mettle. The company’s warehouse was flooded in 2015, and operations were disrupted again by the Vardah storm in 2016. “We’ve seen that our team has a propensity for developing creative answers when things get tough,” he continued.
Flinto’s secondary warehouses aided in resolving some of the difficulties. Despite the outbreak, Flinto claims that orders placed remained at a same level.
Number game
In July, Flinto secured a $7.2 million pre-Series B round from Lightbox Ventures, bringing its total funding to date to over $10 million. The company plans to use the cash to improve its supply chain for international distribution of Flintoclass@HOME.
The company’s revenue model takes the place of preschool fees, with parents paying term by term. Parents can buy boxes for a one-term period or three months for Rs 13,497 (if paid upfront) or Rs 4,499 per month. The annual subscription fee is Rs 40,491 (upfront) or Rs 2 ,349 per month.
Market overview
According to YourStory Research, education technology was India’s second-most funded field after fintech and financial services in H1 2020.
According to a study by Grand View Research published in June 2020, the worldwide edtech market was worth $76.4 billion in 2019 and is projected to rise at an annual rate of 18.1 percent from 2020 through 2027. The early childhood education category is anticipated to show the highest CAGR among all segments in the worldwide edtech industry.
“We think that preschool cannot be moved online because it would do more harm than good during those early days,” Arunprasad explains. “The more children engage, play, and explore with real objects, the more likely they are to learn. Online classes aren’t the same thing as this.
Flinto is currently competing with Bengaluru-based Magic Crate, Delhi-based Smartivity, and Indore-based Class Monitor for kids’ attention.
“We’re getting a lot of inquiries, not just in terms of money, but also about business possibilities in other countries where the same problem exists,” says Arunprasad.
Triflino is preparing to start offering its services in Singapore as well. Triflino has also noticed an increasing demand from the US and other South East Asian nations, where it aims to expand next quarter.
