16 July,2023 11:02 AM IST | Mumbai | Jane Borges
Manoj Bajpayee, Udit Narayan and Vikas Khanna
When e-education website MasterClass launched in 2015, it became a trailblazer of sorts. Headquartered in San Francisco, and founded by David Rogier, the platform drew the "rich, celebrated and famous" into an unusual online learning model, where they were rapidly elevated to the status of gurus. The sharp trio of actor Dustin Hoffman, tennis ace Serena Williams and bestselling writer James Patterson kicked-off the venture, doling out gems of wisdom in classes that cost no less than $90 (Rs 7,000 approx). Expensive, Indian standards, but not prohibitive considering the names involved. MasterClass' roster has since grown. You now have Usher talking about the art of performance; Christina Aguilera offering singing lessons; Werner Herzog and Martin Scorsese teaching filmmaking; Dr Jane Goodall showing you ways of conservation; and Bobbi Brown giving classes on makeup and beauty. The list is endless - wait, we forgot to mention the class with far-reaching implications: renowned scholar-linguist Noam Chomsky teaches about media's invisible powers, and learning "how to cut through propaganda, defend against manipulation, and control what you consume". With monthly plans starting at Rs 999 a month, the learners' community today has a rich repertoire to dip into to hone their skill-sets.
MasterClass itself has had an interesting trajectory. In May 2021, when the world was battling the second COVID wave, it raised a massive $225 million in a fresh round of funding, tripling its valuation to $2.75 billion. Less than a year later, it seemed to be tottering, with several rounds of layoffs. According to reports, in June last year, the platform laid off 20 per cent of its 600 staff, bringing its headcount to "half of what it was a few months earlier".
Despite the platform contending with a few lows and blows, its learning-from-the-master model has galvanised entrepreneurs closer home to come up with more exclusive platforms, which are part of a growing edutainment ecosystem of both, potential and promise.
The most recent member of this club is the Khar-based The Designer's Class (TDC). Touted as India's first design education platform, TDC offers an eclectic choice of courses in interior design, photography, fashion design, and jewellery design led by the who's who of these industries. Apart from high-profile tutors - Gauri Khan, Masaba Gupta, Rohan Shrestha, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Kunal Rawal, Rhea Kapoor - it also has industry heavyweights like Sachin Jain, managing director of De Beers India, and Tarang Arora of Amrapali Jewels.
Samarth Bajaj, co-founder and CEO of The Designer's Class, says design was something he was always surrounded by. "My mother is a jewellery designer, and my father who is in real estate has always focussed on the more creative side of things. Their work really inspired me." Bajaj first thought of a design education platform 10 years ago. The dated curriculum and lack of good faculty were proving to be huge impediments. "If you look at Indian design education in general - when compared to any other professional course like business that has seen massive leaps - it has pretty much been stagnant. And there was no solution for this, except having a brick-and-mortar space. But that would restrict access. Affordability would also become an issue. At the end of the day, a business has to be profitable," says Bajaj.
When the pandemic hit, and online education started becoming more acceptable, the idea for TDC took birth. The platform's main aim was to democratise design education, making it accessible, affordable, relevant and engageable to everyone. TDC was officially launched on August 31, 2021. "It [getting the experts] was an effort for sure," says Bajaj. "Everyone's only apprehension was that design had never been taught online - it's something that involves practical rigour. But once we managed to convince them about our vision, they were encouraging and enthusiastic."
To ensure that the information being relayed on the platform is top-notch, Bajaj and team curated a group of experts, including former heads of reputed national institutes. It also offers certificates signed by the industry experts, along with an internship. Bajaj, however, clarifies that TDC is not meant to replace a university. "It will give you insights into each field, and provide substantial knowledge. This is [meant to be] supplementary education."
Vipul Agrawal is the co-founder and CEO at Gurgaon-based Mugafi, formerly known as Unluclass, which offers professional programmes related to writing, acting and singing. On Mugafi, one can learn from Manoj Bajpayee, Ruskin Bond and Monali Thakur for just Rs 999.
Agrawal is of the opinion that "the concept of masterclasses does not thrive in India". "In the US market, individuals are willing to pay a significant amount of money to hear celebrities speak, as it represents a sense of aspiration. However, in India, there is a need for the experience to provide tangible value for the money invested."
Agrawal says his middle-class upbringing in a small town in Bihar, made him recognise what the average Indian wanted. "As someone who has experienced financial struggles first-hand, it became crucial for me to assist others in earning a livelihood." According to him, the classes on Mugafi are not intended to teach acting or writing. "Expecting anyone to teach such skills in just three hours would be miraculous," he says. "Instead, we invite celebrities to share their unique experiences and discuss the transformative steps they took to achieve success, even coming from humble beginnings. It's about learning the valuable lessons and insights from their life's journey - the dos and don'ts," says Agrawal.
Over and above this, Mugafi has developed programmes that enable writers to actively write stories or scripts. "We are launching an AI tool called Ved next week, designed to help writers improve their work. It can edit and transform stories into screenplays. Users can also take part in writing and music projects. We create stories that can be licensed to production houses. In the last nine months, we've generated nearly 2,000 songs and movie scripts, earning over Rs 10 crore in licensing fees. We create monetisation opportunities for all the IPs created with us." Two months ago, Mugafi and the singing app Smule came together to launch a talent hunt for singers called Swar Samrat to discover hidden singing talent and provide them with a platform to showcase their skills to industry experts.
The end goal at Mugafi, he says, is to not just hone talent, but also provide users a platform to take this talent forward. "In the Indian context, a learning platform cannot operate in isolation... imagine me approaching you and attempting to sell you a product without providing any information about what follows," he explains. "We put in significant effort to secure admission to a specific college precisely because it guarantees favourable job placements."
Ram Meher Nagal, who hails from Surpura in the Bhiwani district of Haryana, had been following Mugafi's work on social media since 2021, before he finally enrolled for their writing programme in collaboration with a regional OTT platform Stage in May this year. "While I have been writing since 2014, I didn't have a platform to showcase my work," says the 25-year-old, who writes social and crime dramas, and thrillers rooted in his home state. His story was recently selected by Stage and will soon get into production. Similarly, singer Chirag Tomar, 23, who enrolled for the demo classes led by Monali Thakur and Udit Narayan, says Mugafi also launched his debut earlier this year. "I have been on the platform for nearly a year; the best bit was being able to interact with singers, whom I would otherwise not have the opportunity to speak with as a greenhorn."
Not everyone has warmed to the idea. Sarmistha Mishra, a copywriter, who has tried a couple of platforms available in India and abroad, including Rogier's MasterClass, says, "While the pricing of these platforms is really low, the tips were strictly okay. I honestly feel I have learnt a lot more on LinkedIn."
Last week, the three-year-old hobby-learning and community platform FrontRow, which also featured celebrities, shut down. The platform was backed by actor Deepika Padukone and rapper Raftaar, among others.
According to news platform TechCrunch, Ishaan Preet Singh, the co-founder of FrontRow, while confirming the development, added that the startup was "exploring IP acquisition talks and possibility returning the unused capital to investors".
Celebrity School founder-director Siddharth Prabhakar admits that this is "not good news for the ecosystem". CelebritySchool.in, which launched in October 2019, is among the early pioneers of celebrity masterclasses, with wide-ranging courses from communications skills, dancing, fitness, cooking, photography, acting, direction, image management and makeup. Nawazuddin Siddiqui was among the first celebrities to join the team. Today, the school has tied up with 18 celebrities, including Asha Bhosle, Shaan, Ganesh Acharya, Daboo Ratnani, May Kom, Sabira Merchant, Madhur Bhandarkar and Vikas Khanna. "During the lockdown, we saw a great boost in terms of online sales... it was a dream run to be honest," says Mumbai-based Prabhakar, "This gave us a lot of money." Prabhakar says he and his co-founder Hema own about 87 per cent of the business, while angel investors have about 13 per cent stake. The goal now is to hit 100 celebrities, but Prabhakar wants to move cautiously. "What happened to FrontRow is terribly sad for the industry. We were all working towards creating a new online-learning ecosystem," he says, "Having competitors is good for all of us."
According to him, churning fresh, innovative content is key to keeping business afloat. "Our content is about five to seven hours long," he says. "Before we shot Asha Bhosle ji's masterclass, we spent about 25 days planning the content. Every word that is recorded is discussed and weighed beforehand." The platform is also affordably priced with an annual membership of Rs 12,000 that gives you unlimited access to all the 18 courses; individual courses costs Rs 2,999.
Despite having A-listers on their platform, Prabhakar confesses that CelebritySchool.in doesn't have crores to pay the celebrities. "For our competitors, some of the celebrities came at a premium price, and maybe they had the investors to back them. But to be honest, this is a price-sensitive market, and you cannot recover that kind of money in this ecosystem," he feels. Prabhakar says for his business, he opted another route. "We negotiated, on the basis of our vision. We told the celebrities that we don't have the money, but we promised them exposure, a targeted audience-base that would appreciate what they are doing, and the impact that their sessions would have."
Creating impact is also what's driving Bajaj of The Designer's Class. "Apart from the masterclasses, we are doing several skill-development initiatives with the government. We have already signed up with the Telangana government and only recently finished a pilot with about a 100 students that we educated [in jewellery, interiors and fashion] for free."
This writer tried the Sabira Merchant's communications skills course on CelebritySchool.in. The course, which has already been attended by over 21,862 students, is among the more popular offerings on the platform. Divided into 37 sessions, which are about eight to 10 minutes long, Merchant breaks down the art of communication, by sharing personal hacks to improve spoken English and vocabulary, working on body language, and developing confidence to speak and interact in public. She also shares stories about her favourite student Priyanka Chopra.
Speaking to mid-day, Merchant says the classes she offers online are no different from the what she takes at home. "I teach them from the same English manual that I have devised. But while these masterclasses definitely do help reach a larger group of people, the one-on-one sessions are a lot different, because you form a friendship there. You get to know your students by their first name, they share a coffee with you... it all becomes very personal."
According to bestselling author Anita Nair, who also runs an online writing and mentorship programmer called Anita's Attic, a celebrity masterclass, "is an introduction to a stream of thought". "In the sense, that you can't attend one of these classes, and expect to develop wisdom overnight. It doesn't drum that into you. What it does is give you pointers on how to align and calibrate your thought," she says, adding, "You will have to go into an in-depth version of this programme, because ultimately, it's meant to whet your appetite."
Rs 10 cr
Amount Mugafi has made in licensing fees
