Redbytes Software was reviewed by Young Turks, one of the most popular shows on CNBC TV-18 channel about entrepreneurs. It was a proud moment for Redbytes and the team. Here is the video.
With almost 50% of our population below the age of 25, the education industry is poised to be one of the fastest growing sectors. As per latest survey conducted by industry body Assocham, private equity and venture capitalist firms are likely to invest a whooping Rs 4,500 crore into the sector over the next three years. Infact over 40 Indian education companies have successfully managed to raise funds in the last two years and new start-ups are being registered everyday.
For investors, innovation holds the key. Education start-ups that can accommodate affordable technology into their products and services is what investors are placing their bets on. This is where players like 39 years old Altaf Rehmani have an advantage point.
Remember, the good old days, when your school life was all about books, notebooks, pencils and pens. If Altaf Rehmani of Redbytes Software has his way, these could be things of the past. This Pune-based serial entrepreneur offers educational applications from mobile devices which cater to kids in the age group of two-six.
Now, Redbytes is hoping to revolutionise the way children start out their educational years. Redbytes was a finalist in the hunt for India’s best product startups. Here is a look at Altaf’s tablet for success.
Nothing prepares us for success like failure. Third time lucky, Altaf Rehmani returned to India from Hong Kong in 2009 to start Redbytes Software. With 15 years of corporate experience under his belt, Altaf started Redbytes after tough lessons learnt from previous ventures like ushops, an online market place and a testapart.com, an online website for technical testing. Not one to give up, Rehmani zeroed in on the idea of making learning fun for kids using interacted mobile educational applications.
Altaf says, “We are big believers in early education. Mobile devices are here to stay. Also, we know that by research, a lot of brain development takes place in the first five years of a child’s growth. Three, we were all inspired by our own kids growing up with these new generation of devices. For example, I was just amazed at how my two-year old daughter could quickly use the ipad, navigate through the ipad and really learn through what the apps had to offer on that device. Within a span of six months, she started teaching her mom, she started teaching her grandmother how to use and navigate these apps. So, it was simply amazing how quickly kids learn through these devices. And that really inspired us to turn the entire company around and start doing mobile application for kids.”
And kids are keen to bite into Rehmani’s idea and curious about how it works. Redbytes has developed more than 28 educational apps across iOS and Android platforms and claims to have recorded more than 120,000 downloads.
Redbytes helps kids colour and draw, have fun with numbers, learn about animals and nature and understand the world around them.
Rehmani says, “We are one of the very few companies who are focused in creating a complete curriculum for toddlers. There are over 30,000 apps in the app-store, but very few companies are doing the kind of curriculum that we are doing. That’s first and foremost very unique to us. Secondly, we are trying to get the concept of games and educational learning into our apps. So, what we are trying to do is really make education fun by making it more interactive so that the child is truly engaged while using our apps.”
Redbytes makes most of its money from the sale of its apps like ikids, a program in which Redbytes partners with schools to create customised content for mobiles. With a large chunk of business coming in from schools and Middle East, Altaf has managed to clock revenues of more than Rs 50 lakh annually and in confident of breaking even in six months.
Rehmani says, “We generate revenue from our apps which we sell in the app-stores worldwide. We also work with international publishers where we take their content and package their content so that it becomes monetisable on the mobile platform. We also partner and tie-up with device manufacturer. So, there are number of players in India and abroad who are selling mobile tablets out in the market. We are partnering with some of these names, with some of these companies and trying to pre-package our content onto their devices. That is also a fantastic distribution and marketing channel for us.”
Inspired by his kids, Rehmani uses his experience as a dad to refine Redbytes offering and stay ahead in the game. With an eye on growth, he is keen to team up with international publishers to give Redbytes access to newer markets.