Leading content creator and entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo has made an important announcement. Warikoo said in an X post on Friday that he is “shutting down” his Rs 100 crore course business as it does not make any sense to continue it.
In a follow-up post on Sunday, the author said he has actually converted his Rs 100 crore business into a subscription-based platform.
The platform, WebVeda, will now provide access to all its courses, for the cost of one course.
“Between making more money and helping more people – the choice was super clear to me! Skills. Community. Jobs. Growth as a subscription. All 5 lakh existing WebVeda students have been upgraded to the membership for FREE,” Warikoo announced.
He further posted that as a WebVeda member, one will get access to all courses, present and future (a course is added every day, every week, every month), an exclusive members-only community, and personalised jobs based on one’s skills. “100% refund policy, as always (sic),” he added.
Explaining the reason behind his move, the entrepreneur said he is aiming to empower everyone with a phone and internet to have same opportunities as someone from a privileged background would have.
“I want every person in this country with a phone and an internet connection to have the same learning, networking and job opportunities in life as someone born into privilege. Where they were born, how much they earn, what language they speak – none of such things should ever matter,” he wrote.
Earlier, writing about the success of his venture, Warikoo wrote that WebVeda had enrolled 5 lakh students since being launched in 2020, the year Covid-19 pandemic hit. The next six years saw Rs 100 crore in sales and Rs 25 crores in profits.
While he wrote that “but it makes no sense to continue it”, the follow-up announcement makes it clear that the model of the business has been changed from being a seller of individual or combo courses to becoming a subscription service, where a single payment gives one access to all courses for the period of the subscription.