10 Things You Didn’t Know About Subramanyam Reddy
Subramanyam Reddy is an Indian businessman and entrepreneur. He has built an impressive career that has led him to become the CEO of Upgrad Knowledge Hut, one of the more successful startups in the country. We were curious about how Mr. Reddy evolved into the powerful executive that he is today, so we looked into his personal and career history. We made some interesting discoveries that we believe are worth sharing with other aspiring entrepreneurs. Here are ten things you probably didn’t know about Sumramanyam Reddy that you might find inspiring.
1. Subramanyam Reddy is the founder of Knowlege Hut
According to LinkedIn, Mr. Reddy is not only the chief executive officer of Knowledge Hut, but he is also the founder. He established the edtech startup in April of 2011. The company has steadily been growing and expanding for the past decade, and it has become one of the most successful in its niche of the education industry. It has grown into a global enterprise that has helped to train more than 250,000 professionals throughout 70 countries in the world.
2. Subramanyam Reddy is an educated man
Before launching his career as an entrepreneur, Mr. Reddy laid a solid foundation by going to college. He attended Sri Venkateswara University from 2002 through 20005. He graduated with his bachelor of science degree. He didn’t take a break from his studies. After completing his undergraduate degree, he was accepted into the Holymary Institute of Technology and Science in the Marketing and HR program. He started his coursework in 2005 and graduated 2 years later in 2007 with his MBA degree. He understands the value of an education.
3. He started as a director
Mr. Reddy launched Knowledge Hut in 2011, but he didn’t immediately accept the job of chief executive officer. Instead, he started in his own company as a director. He didn’t become the CEO until August of 2021. He has been with the organization, working hard to make it a success for ten years and five months as of August of 2021.
4. Reddy was a small-town boy
According to Hindustan Times, Subramanyam Reddy was raised in a small town in the country of India. From the time that he was young, he knew that he wanted to grow up and become a businessman who owned a company. This inspired him to go to college and educate himself in business matters. He had the goal of entrepreneurship.
5. He didn’t have much when he started
Subramanyam was born in 1983 in the town of Kadapa, located in Andhra Pradesh. Reddy began his incredible journey with a small stake of just $10,000. This was scarcely enough to launch a large company, but it was enough to start a small one. He started as a marketer with a Bengaluru startup in 2009 as a marketer.
6. He’s had some tough breaks
Reddy worked hard on his job as a marketer. He performed well enough for the company that the founder and owner promised to give him a five percent bonus. Instead of receiving the bonus, he was fired with no reason given. He never received the funds even after performing so well that the business grew in size. This was a blow to him both financially and personally. He had been taken advantage of and used but he didn’t let it stop him.
7. He identified a problem then found a solution
Mr. Reddy was determined to continue pursuit of his goals of entrepreneurship. He got together with two of his friends to launch a new company. Knowledge Hut was established in 2011. He saw that there was a real need for training for students and professionals and that there were not enough qualified instructors to fill the demands in a meaningful way. This is how he got his idea to start an edtech startup.
8. He started his company on a shoestring
Without a lot of capital to start the new company, the partners found an old building that was rundown, but safe and functional. They set up an office and hired twelve employees to start work on building the Knowledge Hut company. When Subramanyam ran out of the money he had saved for the business, everyone wanted to leave, but he talked them into staying on. It took three months, but by the end of that period, the company began to receive leads that generated revenue of $28,000. This was a good start. By the end of the first year, the company had brought in $280,000, or ten times the amount they made in their third month of business.
9. He built a successful startup and sold it
According to BW Disrupt, Subramanyam had achieved success with a company that he and his partners took global within four years of operation. They beat the odds with a bootstrapped operation that couldn’t even pay its employee wages, to one that is now valued at $15 million. Knowledge Hut was recently acquired by a larger company called GradUp, and it now operates under the umbrella of its parent company. We can assume that part of the terms of the agreement was for Mr. Reddy to stay on as CEO for a time as he just recently took the job.
10. Subramanyam Reddy is a role model for young entrepreneurs
Mr. Reddy didn’t start with much. He was a boy from a small town in India who worked hard and had a few tough breaks along with way. He didn’t let any of these things stop him from accomplishing his goals. He has created a multi-million dollar company out of nothing but a desire to help others learn. He has an interesting story to tell about struggles, but his never quit or admit defeat attitude carried him forward to eventual success.