Zerodha Nithin Kamath backed Stoa School EdTech Space Announces Closure!

Starting in 2018 as an edTech startup, Stoa School backed by Bangalore’s Zerodha cofounder Nithin Kamath shut shop after four years because of challenges in the upskilling and education sector.

Bengaluru based EdTech startup Stoa School, which was launched in October 2020, has called it curtains. Stoa was founded in support of Nithin Kamath, with the goal to displace upskilling with a six month MBA course against Masters' Union and Mesa School of Business. Lacking further detail, the co-founders said they stepped down due to personal and professional reasons.

In a LinkedIn farewell, co-founder of Stoa, Aditya Kulkarni, showed his heartfelt gratefulness to his team, investors and users who supported Stoa. He talked about his 12 years in education, how he faced the challenge of Stoa providing quality education without following traditional methods, in new setting and change demands.

Kulkarni wrote "we took a shot at solving upskilling for the rebellious lot, who may not want to conform to the ground rules of traditional educational institutions. In this respect, we made many achievements, but also suffered defeats. It was a journey filled with experiences and growth, both for me as an individual, and a professional.”

This included an angel round with prominent angel investors such as Richa Kar (Zivame) and Kunal Shah (Cred) in order to raise a total of 1.77 million dollars, Stoa School, has also been appreciated for building a good cohort of learners and alumni. Many of the alumni have gone on to either create their own businesses or join fast growing startup environments.

However the closure may mean the end of the Stoa’s journey, the team remains positive that the positive blueprint for what they have learnt will be helpful for future EdTech efforts in the country.