An accomplished serial entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in education, Madhumati Narayanan is the founder-chief executive of Mpower Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd, an m-learning (mobile technology to aid learning) education services company started in 2011, and formally launched in February this year. The mission of this Chennai-based start-up is to offer trainer-led video coaching to make learning available and affordable to youth aged 15-25 years. The company makes video content for hand-held devices including mobile phones, tablets, notebooks and PCs.

Newspeg. Mpower’s recently launched flagship product Videos2learn is a series of 1,000 five-minute audio-visuals which cover a wide range of lessons in physics, chemistry and maths (PCM) to provide supplementary on-demand lessons to Plus I and II CBSE students preparing for the IIT-JEE and other engineering entrance exams. It also offers campus2corporate videos which provide soft skills training, tips on resumé writing, business etiquette and interview preparation.

The 1,000 five-minute PCM videos which can be downloaded on a Windows PC or Android phone, can be purchased individually (Rs.1,500 each) or for a consolidated fee of Rs.4,500 per year. The over 70 campus2corporate life skills videos can also be purchased for Rs.1,500. Videos2learn has already attracted 1,339 subscribers to date.

Direct talk. “We are in the business of providing on-demand, result-oriented learning for the Facebook generation which accords equal importance to social networking and studies, and prefers not to spend hours poring over books. Our five-minute videos on different subjects allow students to learn and assimilate PCM concepts at their own pace. The end-to-end course content is especially useful for students in rural areas who can download content and access it offline according to their needs. The product, developed after months of research and with lots of inputs from the students’ community, is a game changer in the highly competitive coaching market,” says Narayanan.

History. An alumna of Madurai Kamaraj University, Symbiosis, Pune and IIM-Bangalore, the enterprising Narayanan began her career in 1993 in NIS Sparta Education and Learning Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Following another two-year stint with education portal eGurucool, she co-promoted the Aspire Learning Company Ltd in 2002 with K. Swaminathan and M.A. John, where she was instrumental in building a successful business. Her vast experience in the education space primarily in the entrance exams, test preparation and academic support segments led her to conceptualise and promote Mpower Learning Solutions in 2011, and after two years of extensive field research, she launched Videos2 learn. “The bricks-and-mortar coaching business has limitations in terms of ensuring standardisation of content and delivery, scalability and good quality teachers where the need is greatest. Mpower Learning does away with these limitations, and students even in the remotest areas can access quality coaching at affordable prices,” she says.

Future plans. Having got off to a flying start with two goal-centric video-coaching programmes, Narayanan has plans to add 30 courses/titles in the next 18 months including higher education and job-oriented courses for college students, video coaching for CAT (Common Admission Test) and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and additional course content for Plus I and II students. “We will soon be releasing a second version of Videos2learn which will include features for testing, evaluation and checking students’ progress online. We plan to partner with schools and colleges for delivering content and will be recruiting women entrepreneurs to visit institutions and market the product. Our m-learning model is highly scalable and I’m convinced the company has a bright future,” says Narayanan.

Fair winds!

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)