Hyderabad: Bengaluru-based edtech startup Stoa School, known for its alternative MBA program, has officially shut down its operations four years after it was founded.
In a post on LinkedIn, Stoa's co-founder Raj Kunkolienkar announced the closure, describing the decision as "gut-wrenching".
"Update -- after 4 years of operations, we are closing the doors of Stoa. It has been our privilege to serve over a thousand folks who have now gone on to do some amazing things across industries and geographies...," Kunkolienkar said in his post.
Founded in October 2020 by Kunkolienkar and Aditya Kulkarni, Stoa aimed to disrupt traditional business education by offering a more affordable, flexible alternative to the conventional MBA. The startup's flagship offering, the StoaMBA, was a six-month, part-time program targeted at working professionals seeking to transition into business management roles.
Despite its ambitious goals, Stoa faced challenges in the post-pandemic edtech landscape. In his announcement, Kunkolienkar noted that while the online mode was key to providing affordable education to millions, interest in online learning had dipped significantly after the pandemic.
"Post-pandemic, there was a perceptible dip in the interest for online-live-learning due to changing consumer preferences," Kunkolienkar said.
He revealed that although the company had built a strong brand, it ultimately chose not to transition to offline operations. "...we decided against going offline because the economics of that move would lead us to a place we stood against," he said.
The company had managed to raise funds from angel investors including Cred founder Kunal Shah, Zivame founder Richa Kar, and others totalling $1.77 million. However, despite the financial backing and the popularity of their model among some learners, the company couldn't sustain the momentum in the competitive edtech market.
In a statement on X, Kulkarni, the other co-founder said, "We succeeded at a lot of things- getting learning from operators right, building a helpful community, but also failed at a few things."
After 4 years of a crazy journey, @kunksed and I are closing the doors on @StoaHQ .
— Aditya Kulkarni (@bizaditya) November 12, 2024
At a personal level, what started as an internship at the Planning Commission way back in 2012 has been a 12 year rollercoaster across K-12, Higher education and early parenting.
Our problems…
He also acknowledged the significant contributions of Stoa's alumni, many of whom have gone on to start their own ventures or join key positions in fast-growing startups.
Also Read
