In an illuminating interview, Diwakar Chittora, the visionary CEO and co-founder of IntelliPaat, a leading e-learning platform, shares the inspiring journey of transforming the tech upskilling landscape. From identifying a critical gap in industry-relevant education to building a globally recognised platform that has empowered over 600,000 learners, Chittora’s story is one of passion, innovation, and unwavering commitment to democratising education. This interview delves into the motivations, challenges, and strategies that have positioned IntelliPaat as a trusted name in EdTech, offering insights into its mission to make high-quality, affordable learning accessible to all.
Q: What emotions and thoughts drove you to start IntelliPaat?
When we launched IntelliPaat, we identified a significant gap between the skills required to succeed in the industry and what was being taught. I initially set out to train myself in Big Data Hadoop, which I believed had immense potential. To my surprise, no one in India was offering such specialised training at the time. The only options were self-learning through the internet or travelling to places like Singapore or the US, where such training existed—but at a steep cost. For someone from a middle-class background, spending ₹2 lakhs for a three- or four-day workshop or over ₹1 lakh on travel and accommodation was simply not feasible. There was clearly strong demand, but affordability was a major hurdle.
That’s when we started thinking creatively: could we use online learning to make this training accessible? By eliminating the costs of physical infrastructure, we realised we could create a technology-first platform focused on this challenge. That’s how IntelliPaat was born.
We not only built and scaled online learning but also discovered that in the technology space, things evolve every two to three years. Each tech wave peaks and gives way to new innovations. This constant evolution means professionals must upskill regularly to stay relevant. That core insight became the driving force behind IntelliPaat—to help people stay ahead of the curve through affordable, accessible, and industry-aligned education.
Q: Your journey started with just a LinkedIn post. Did you anticipate the kind of response and scale that would follow?
Yes. When we began, we hadn’t planned on starting IntelliPaat. It all began with a simple LinkedIn post—the idea was to gather around 10 people so I could learn the technology alongside them. To my surprise, the response was overwhelming. Within a week, not just 10 but 12 people had signed up, and we had to turn others away. That made us realise there was a clear need in the market—but no one was offering a proper solution.
What was even more surprising was that the post didn’t just attract individual learners; even corporates started reaching out. And mind you, it was just a single LinkedIn post. These companies were also facing the same upskilling challenges. That’s when it really struck us—this wasn’t just a niche issue; it was a widespread, unsolved problem. So, we set out to solve it—and eventually, we did.
Q: What inspired you to transition from a corporate role at Wipro, a Fortune 500 company, to becoming an EdTech entrepreneur?
Teaching has always been my passion. Even in my free time, I naturally gravitate towards teaching others. During my college days at IIIT Bangalore, I would often teach my peers as we studied in groups. We even had informal knowledge-sharing sessions. I also tutored individual students—it was never about obligation, but about a genuine love for teaching.
Over the years, I’ve trained more than 600 professionals across over 50 corporates. At heart, I’ve always been an educator. That’s how I define myself—an educator before anything else.
While working at Wipro, I realised that even if I created something truly impactful, it would benefit only a limited set of people within the organisation. But with IntelliPaat, stepping into the role of an EdTech entrepreneur, I found an opportunity to make a much larger difference.
At IntelliPaat, it’s not just about filling skill gaps through online courses. It’s about improving employability—helping freshers land their first job, enabling professionals to secure promotions, and empowering people to achieve better careers. This doesn’t just change individual lives—it uplifts entire families financially.
We’ve seen that learners from IntelliPaat have a drastically different career trajectory compared to those who try to self-learn. Many of our students don’t come from privileged backgrounds. That’s why we invested in building one of the world’s largest YouTube channels, with over one crore subscribers—so that anyone with the drive to learn can access high-quality content for free.
And it’s working. We frequently receive heartfelt messages from freshers who couldn’t secure a job even after spending four years and lakhs of rupees on a degree. After just four to five months of learning with us, they land their first job. One learner once told me, “I was in the middle of the ocean, and you came as a ship and rescued me.”
Stories like these remind us every day that we have a responsibility. There are so many people who need a platform to grow—and we are committed to taking them to the next level. That’s what drives us.
Q: How did you manage to onboard a corporate client like Ericsson so early in your journey, and what changed for IntelliPaat after that?
To be honest, we never imagined that a giant like Ericsson would approach us. But it happened—because right from day one, we addressed a critical problem and struck the right chord. As early movers in this space, we had a first-mover advantage.
At that time, we had no knowledge of B2B sales. I’m a technical person without a sales background, and we had never reached out to Ericsson—or to Genpact, for that matter. They came to us. They called and said, “Hey, we see that you’re offering this. Can you help us train our employees?”
That’s how the conversation started. In fact, IntelliPaat was officially registered because of that opportunity. They asked for our bank details and company documents, and that’s when we realised we needed to formally register the business. So, in many ways, I credit Ericsson for kickstarting IntelliPaat’s journey.
Q: IntelliPaat has trained over 600,000 learners. What were some key strategies that helped you scale so effectively in a competitive e-learning market?
I would say there are a couple of key strategies we’ve followed. First and foremost, we stick to our golden rule: every learner must see tangible benefits and have their learning objectives fulfilled. Learners come to us with dreams and goals—we make it our mission to help them achieve those.
Second, the journey matters as much as the outcome. If someone joins IntelliPaat to become a data analyst, we ensure their six-to-eight-month learning journey is smooth and fully supported. From day one, every learner is assigned a dedicated learning manager to guide them throughout the programme.
We also offer a strong, industry-aligned curriculum designed for progressive learning. Our platform tracks over 20 key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor each learner’s progress and growth. The content is structured to be easily understandable, and the trainers are domain experts actively working on real-world tools and applications—so the knowledge comes straight from the source.
We bring in faculty from top institutions to ensure academic rigour, and we balance that with deep industry exposure. Our curriculum is 85% hands-on, filled with projects and real-world scenarios, making it one of the most practical in the market.
Another major differentiator is our 24/7 technical support—especially for coding-related issues. If a learner is stuck at 2:00 AM, they can simply send a message or email, and we’ll arrange a session right then and there. Even today, most major EdTech platforms struggle to offer this kind of round-the-clock technical handholding. We’ve been doing it successfully for the past five to six years.
Q: What sets IntelliPaat apart from other online learning platforms, especially in the space of tech upskilling?
While we operate as a business, we’ve never lost sight of the fact that we are educators first. That mindset drives every decision we make. Our goal has always been to keep our programmes affordable so that learners from all backgrounds can access quality education. We ensure that students not only enrol but also gain maximum value from their learning experience.
Q: Can you elaborate on how you design and update your courses to stay aligned with rapidly changing tech trends?
We follow a structured process to continuously review and update our content. Every quarter, we evaluate our curriculum to ensure it reflects the latest trends, tools, and technologies in the market. We proactively track what’s gaining traction or is expected to become industry-relevant in the coming months.
When we identify such updates, we create new content modules, develop aligned products, and design exercises to match. We also begin training our learners accordingly—so by the time they graduate from our programmes or step out of college, they are already skilled in the tools that are in highest demand in the industry.
Q: Do you have a specific philosophy or pedagogical principle that guides your approach to hands-on learning?
We ensure that students who join our programmes are committed to working hard—and we instil that discipline through a rigorously structured curriculum. Our philosophy is simple: without consistent effort, success isn’t possible. That’s something we deeply believe in and have witnessed firsthand.
The core of our pedagogy is hands-on learning. Every module is broken down into multiple components—exercises, case studies, mini-projects, and quizzes. We ensure learners complete each one to fully grasp the concepts.
At the start of every batch, we carefully assess the background and profile of each student. Based on their experience and skill level, we place them in appropriate cohorts to provide the right level of handholding. Beginners are grouped separately so we can guide them from the ground up, while advanced learners receive deeper, more technical challenges.
Every learner is also assigned a dedicated mentor who supports them throughout the programme—answering doubts, resolving challenges, and ensuring they stay on track. It’s this personalised approach, combined with a strong hands-on framework, that drives real outcomes.
Q: As the idealist behind IntelliPaat, how do you nurture innovation and adaptability within your team?
At IntelliPaat, we foster a very open and entrepreneurial culture across all teams. Everyone is encouraged to take ownership and solve real challenges. We operate in a startup-like fashion—agile, responsive, and deeply collaborative.
As leaders, we stay close to the ground to understand what’s really happening. Our reporting structure is flat, which means anyone can walk in, share ideas, and actively participate in discussions. Decisions are made collectively, based on what’s best for solving the problem at hand.
Every team member is empowered to think boldly, contribute their perspective, and take responsibility for execution. And when we succeed, we celebrate that success together—as one team.
Q: What is it like co-founding and running a company with your life partner?
One of the biggest challenges in building IntelliPaat in the early days was that both of us—my co-founder and I—came from purely technical backgrounds. We were coders and analytical thinkers, but we had no experience in marketing or sales. I could build a great product or design an excellent course, but even the best offerings need to be marketed and sold effectively. That was our first major gap.
We had to learn everything from scratch—acquiring knowledge, experimenting, and gradually improving over time. It took us a while, but we managed to build that capability.
The second challenge was money. Right from day one, we were bootstrapped. We didn’t have any external funding, and that meant every rupee we spent had to be carefully considered. Even today, IntelliPaat remains bootstrapped, which makes us one of the rare profitable EdTech companies of our size.
The third challenge was our lack of entrepreneurial background. I didn’t come from a business family. Neither did my co-founder. So, concepts like scaling, capital allocation, and business modelling were all new to us. We were figuring everything out as we went along.
When you don’t have funding, every decision becomes critical. You have limited time, limited money, and you still have to build a strong team. You can’t always hire the top minds, so you make the most of the resources you have. You identify people who align with your mission, bring them into the fold, and make them part of your vision.
Despite all these challenges, we were fortunate. We made great early hires, and we had the advantage of being early movers in the space. That gave us momentum. But if you asked me whether I could build IntelliPaat again today, I’d probably say no—the market is far more competitive now, and capital flows freely for many players. Back then, it was a different game, and we played it the hard way.
Q: In hindsight, is there a moment or decision that you now see as a game-changer for the company?
In the early stages of IntelliPaat, we were heavily focused on the B2B segment—primarily delivering corporate training. For the first two years, B2B was our core business. But we soon realised that while B2B has its strengths, it also comes with limitations. If a few key client accounts face issues or drop off, it can significantly impact your revenue and growth.
On the other hand, B2C offers exponential scalability. You’re not dependent on a handful of clients—growth is diversified across thousands of learners. So, we made a strategic and calculated decision to pivot completely from B2B to B2C. Looking back, that was one of the best decisions we made.
Another key move was our decision to partner with some of the top academic institutions. These collaborations helped us bring academic rigour and credibility to our offerings, strengthening our positioning in the market.
A third major shift involved geography. Initially, we split our time and efforts between India and the US. But we soon realised that trying to build a presence in two geographies simultaneously was diluting our focus. So, we decided to go all in on India. In the last three years, we’ve gone deep into the Indian market—building a strong foundation and capturing significant market share.
That focus paid off. Today, IntelliPaat is recognised among the top tech upskilling companies in India. Now, with a robust playbook and deep insights from our Indian expansion, we’re ready to apply those learnings to other geographies—and scale globally with the same intensity.
Q: Your mission is to democratise education. How do you ensure affordability and accessibility, especially for learners in underserved regions?
As I’ve said before, I consider myself more of an educator than a businessman. Even when we’re designing our programmes or making business decisions, we lead with our heart. Of course, the business side has its own operational requirements, but at the core, our decisions are driven by empathy and purpose.
We’ve always tried to keep our programmes affordable so that learning remains accessible to everyone. If we come across someone who is truly capable but financially constrained, we provide scholarships to support them. Our goal is to ensure that anyone with the intent to learn can begin their upskilling journey without barriers.
We also work closely with NBFCs to offer education loans with flexible, low-cost EMIs. This way, learners don’t have to worry about paying large amounts upfront—they can spread the cost and focus on learning.
We see many learners coming from farming and rural backgrounds. While we try to support as many as possible, we recognise that we can’t always meet every need. That’s why we built a YouTube channel with a clear purpose: to provide high-quality learning resources, free of cost, to anyone who has the drive to learn.
Today, our YouTube content is extremely rich—many videos run for 9 to 10 hours and are designed to provide complete end-to-end understanding of key technologies. Learners have not only upskilled using this Concurrent content but have also cracked job interviews and started careers with it.
In fact, many learners write to us saying things like, “Your free videos helped me land my first job.” That kind of feedback means everything to us. As of now, over one crore learners across the globe consume our content, making it one of the largest tech learning channels in the world. Knowing that our free content is changing lives—that’s incredibly rewarding.
Q: What geographies are you excited to explore?
India is currently one of the most exciting geographies for us. With the largest population in the 18–24 age group globally, the potential for impact here is immense—and we believe we’ve only scratched the surface. There’s still much more to be done to support learners across the country.
At the same time, we’ve started expanding into new verticals like study abroad to further diversify our offerings.
We’re also actively working in the US market and plan to scale our presence there significantly this year. Our goal is to grow the US share of our business while continuing to deepen our footprint in India.
Q: How do you see the role of e-learning evolving in the next five years, especially with advancements like AI and immersive tech such as AR and VR?
I believe e-learning—and education as a whole—will continue to evolve, but the demand for skills will always remain constant. Regardless of how the delivery changes, employers will consistently value real, job-ready capabilities.
Now, with the rise of AI, especially tools like ChatGPT, we’re witnessing a fundamental shift. While AI has been around for years, the kind of real-world applicability we’re seeing today is unprecedented. With ChatGPT, the world has truly begun to understand the potential of AI, and the pace of innovation is now accelerating with every passing quarter.
In response to this shift, we’ve been building something we’re very excited about: an AI mentor. Think of it like this—historically, great minds had great mentors. Take Alexander the Great, for example—he had Aristotle, one of the finest mentors in history, guiding him. That mentorship helped shape one of the most powerful leaders the world has seen.
But not everyone today has access to a personal mentor. So, we asked: what if we could build an AI-based mentor that could guide anyone, anywhere, at any time?
Our AI mentor is designed to do exactly that. It will teach, evaluate, mentor, and monitor a learner throughout their journey. Whether it’s helping someone grasp a difficult concept, tracking their progress, or identifying areas for improvement, the AI mentor acts like a personalised guide—available 24/7.
We believe this tool will significantly accelerate the learning journey. In fact, based on our initial insights, learners who use this AI mentor consistently could see a 40–50% improvement in learning efficiency.
To us, AI is not just a buzzword—it’s a powerful enabler. And we’re committed to using it to make learning more impactful, accessible, and future-ready for everyone.
Q: Many learners struggle with motivation and retention in online courses. How does IntelliPaat tackle these challenges to ensure engagement and completion?
One of the biggest challenges in online learning is staying motivated—especially at the beginning. It’s a lot like starting a weight loss journey. The first week at the gym feels the hardest, the second week gets slightly better, and eventually, it becomes a habit.
Many of our learners at IntelliPaat come from non-IT backgrounds and are learning coding for the first time. For them, the initial phase can feel overwhelming—just like that first week at the gym. That’s why we’ve built a strong support system to help them push through.
We have a dedicated team of Learning Managers whose sole focus is to understand each learner’s pain points. If someone starts missing classes or shows signs of dropping off, we proactively reach out to understand why—and offer the support they need.
Whether it’s technical help, one-on-one sessions to clarify doubts, or simply a motivational boost to get them back on track, we ensure no one is left behind. This hands-on approach has been one of our most important success factors—and it’s what truly differentiates the learner experience at IntelliPaat.
Q: With so many EdTech platforms emerging, how do you maintain credibility, learner trust, and high learning outcomes in a digital-first environment?
Credibility isn’t something you can claim—it’s something others give you based on the outcomes you deliver. If you do a good job, people will speak well of you. If you fall short, that too becomes part of your reputation. At the end of the day, credibility is earned through consistent impact.
At IntelliPaat, we’ve seen this firsthand. In outcome-based surveys we conducted, learners reported an average salary hike of 50% after completing our programmes. We’ve seen freshers from tier-3 towns and colleges land packages as high as ₹30 LPA, and professionals achieve salary jumps of up to 500%. Our customer satisfaction score stands at an impressive 95%.
These numbers speak volumes about the quality and impact of our programmes—and they’re a big reason why IntelliPaat is seen as a trusted brand in the EdTech space.
Additionally, many of the most credible institutions in India and abroad prefer to collaborate with us. We offer certificate and degree programmes in partnership with IITs, IIMs, and global universities like MIT and Rotman School, as well as several Ivy League institutions across Europe. These partnerships further validate the strength of our content, pedagogy, and learner outcomes.
Q: How do you maintain high learning outcomes?
As we’ve mentioned earlier, achieving high learning outcomes starts with a strong pedagogical foundation—and that’s something we’ve built with great care at IntelliPaat. From day one, every learner receives structured, personalised handholding that continues throughout their programme journey.
This support extends beyond academics. Our dedicated career services team ensures that learners are guided through resume building, interview preparation, and job placement—with constant mentorship at every step.
Our approach combines hands-on learning, expert mentoring, and a highly intuitive platform to deliver a seamless learner experience. It’s this comprehensive ecosystem that drives real results—and it’s why learners consistently trust and love the IntelliPaat experience.
Conclusion
Diwakar Chittora’s journey with IntelliPaat is a testament to the power of vision, resilience, and a heart-led approach to education. From a single LinkedIn post to a platform that has transformed the lives of over 600,000 learners, IntelliPaat stands as a beacon of hope for those seeking to bridge the skills gap and achieve their career aspirations. By prioritising affordability, accessibility, and tangible outcomes, Chittora and his team have not only built a successful business but also created a lasting impact on individuals and families worldwide. As IntelliPaat continues to innovate with tools like the AI mentor and expand globally, its mission to democratise education remains stronger than ever, paving the way for a future where learning knows no boundaries.
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