BWDISRUPT interacted with Bradley Loiselle, CEO and Chairman of betterU to know more about his online education technology ventureBradley Loiselle is the CEO and the Chairman of the Board of betterU. With over 2 decades of experience in the industry, Bradley brings extensive knowledge and leadership to the business. Bradley embarked on his entrepreneurial career in 2001. A published author and a serial entrepreneur, Brad has received multiple business awards, sits on advisory boards in both Canada and India and is an avid public speaker.
Brad built his career as an entrepreneur by leveraging the discipline of Project Management where he turned his unsuccessful ventures into successful ones. By 2000, Brad founded a company that became the largest importer of licensed wrapping paper and other paper products in partnership with The Walt Disney Company, Marvel, Nickelodeon and others.
Prior to betterU, Bradley served as the President and Founder of two successful companies, iPal and Box-It Solutions. Previously, Brad also served as a Board of Director at the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber of Commerce. In his prior role, he was responsible for creating public awareness about the principles and values of Indo-Canadians in Ontario by developing and conducting programs.
betterU, an online education technology company, aims to provide access to quality learning tools from around the world in order to foster growth and opportunity to those who want to better their lives. Through the development of an education to employment ecosystem, the company is working to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners. The company connects you to a “Better Education, Better Job, Better life, which all starts with making a betterU” The marketplace offerings can be categorized into four broad functions: to compliment school programs with flexible supporting KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to foster an exceptional educational environment by providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the gap between one’s existing education and prospective job requirement by training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job opportunities.
betterU is a comprehensive and robust marketplace with an interactive design and a high level user interface providing all the tools and resources needed to support online programs. betterU provides a learner with what they need, when they need it, catering to a wide target group including K-12, professional and student development and self-interest. Head-quartered in Mumbai, the company plans to scale across the country with its unique product offerings.
Investment RaisedThe company has invested 15.5 Crore into the development of betterU and mid last year, betterU received a 150 Crore investment from the BCCL (Times Group), to support the marketing of online education through TV, radio, digital, newsprint and billboards.
Clients & PartnersCurrently, a few of betterU’s partners include Meritnation, Pluralsight, Bombay Stock Exchange Varsity, EdX, Eliquo, Udemy, Manipal University, Amity University, Aspiring Minds, EDC (Export Development Canada), DFATD (Canadian Department Foreign Affairs Trade Development), Service Canada and ITAC (International Technology Association of Canada). Furthermore, betterU plans to include the advancement of a full range of courses from KG-12, exam preparation, skills development and higher-education including free or subscription based and pay per use courses. In addition to educational programs, betterU is currently working to launch their employment portal that will also help a learner better prepare to join the work force. This would include being able to map their career ambitions across job profiles, inclusion into placement services, job banks, career counselling services and more. betterU is also building out the corporate training portal that will assist corporations in the development of their employee training programs. betterU’s automated process will guide corporate resources by outlining their requirements and by leveraging thousands of quality courses available on the marketplace. betterU will connect course results immediately on the available type of programs, duration, costs and more, making betterU a one stop shop for all learning and training.
Challenges that you faced while developing When the company had started, most foreign educators were not willing to spend the time or money to understand how to build the right business for India. The team at betterU was however relentless in its efforts and dedicated a significant amount of time and money to develop R&D and build effective relationships and partnerships ensuring a way to move forward properly. With all the pillars such as partnerships and infrastructure in place, the content providers saw value in what was developed and started working with the brand to provide courses.
In 2008, when Bradley visited China several times, he observed several loopholes in the education system of the country. In order to make a difference in the emerging markets, Brad founded iPal Interactive Learning, an online education company. However, post its acquisition in 2011, the customer base of the company shifted from the emerging markets to North America. Following numerous visits to the country, Bradley envisioned India as the key to solving skill shortage issue worldwide. In order to refocus his efforts on India, Brad founded Skillsdox O/A betterU in 2013.
What kind of marketing opportunity is betterU looking for?betterU plans to attract more users in the upcoming months by investing money in digital, social media, speaking events, educational conference sponsorships as well as print, TV and radio advertising. With a growing support team in both Canada and India, betterU is now equipped to becoming India’s leading and largest online educational marketplace of 2016.The company is harnessing storytelling with the help of various tools such as digital communications and media outreach. Marketing campaigns funded through the investors have increased the reach of the brand across the nation and the overall visitation on the marketplace has gone up significantly. With a growing support team in both Canada and India, betterU is now equipped to becoming India’s leading and largest online educational marketplace of 2016.
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Soumya is a young writer and journalist, with bachelors in Multimedia and Mass Communication. She is an alumini of the Asian College of Journalism, and finds politics and sustainability intriguing beats to work with.
