TutorVista Global Private Limited is an educational organisation that specializes in online tutoring in the US. The website and its content are provided mainly in English. It relies on a combination of voice over Internet Protocol telephony, session recording, instant messaging, file sharing and an interactive whiteboard. The company mainly provides academic help by paid subscription to students in subjects such as English, Mathematics, Statistics and Science. TutorVista’s operations are entirely located in India, but most of its market is abroad. TutorVista’s online tutorial platform connects students with about 2,000 teachers across India, United States, UK, Australia, China, Middle East and South East Asia. TutorVista is reachable through computers, tablets, and mobile phones.
History
TutorVista was founded in the year 2005 by the duo Krishnan Ganesh and Meena Ganesh. Other formation contributors included Srinivas Anumolu, Louise Kumar, and Ravi Kannan. In 2006, Sequoia Capital India and Light speed Venture Partners invested more than $10 million in TutorVista. The company expanded with the acquisition of Edurite, an educational firm in 2007, and a partnership with American Book Company in 2009. In 2011, Pearson increased its smaller stake to a 76 percent majority stake in TutorVista for $127 million and fully acquired it by buying the remaining 20 percent stake in 2013. At this point, Krishnan Ganesh and Meena Ganesh stepped down from all management roles in the Bangalore-based company and Srikanth Iyer was appointed the new CEO.
Acquisitions and investments
TutorVista had acquired Edurite, an education solutions provider, in 2007.
Pearson acquired a 17 percent stake in TutorVista from Bengaluru-based entrepreneur-investor couple K Ganesh and Meena Ganesh in 2009.
In January 2011, it purchased another 59 percent holding for Rs 577 crore before increasing its controlling stake to 80 percent shortly after.
Two years later, Pearson acquired the remaining 20 percent.
TutorVista, founded by serial entrepreneur K Ganesh in 2005, was bought by Pearson in a multi-million deal across several years which was completed in 2013.
Bengaluru-based edutech company Byju’s acquired the online education ventures of TutorVista and Edurite from the world’s biggest learning company Pearson in June 2017.
Criticism
The Economist has suggested that building trust for an unknown Indian brand was the biggest difficulty faced by the company. There have also been several protests in the United States against those organizations that do not allow face-to-face and personalized tutoring. Officials and parents from both local and national bodies have mixed reactions regarding the ethical and practical implications of this trend. In the UK, it is estimated that 1 in 4 students is now tutored outside school, with offshore tutoring companies increasingly entering the market.
