Thirty-two-year-old Abhinay Sharma was born and raised in Rampur village of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. He attended a government primary Hindi medium school in his village. He spent most of his childhood in abject poverty. His father had a small construction business, and his mother was a homemaker. They did not even have a stove at home. His mother would burn papers to heat milk for him and his brother. Abhinay’s family was often ridiculed and insulted for their poor financial condition. His relatives would ask them not to attend family gatherings because they did not have good clothes and they would not even offer them a ride in their cars.
Abhinay had to wear the same uniform for an entire week, washing it only on Sundays to wear it again the next week. His classmates used to mock him and would refrain from speaking to him. His father’s construction business was not very stable, and there were times when the family struggled to have even two square meals a day.
Abhinay had a natural talent for solving math problems and was the top scorer in his school. After completing his schooling, he enrolled in a B.Sc course at a government university located 150 km away from his hometown. As he was particularly skilled in Mathematics, he started working as a tutor for aptitude tests to support his family financially while pursuing his graduation. His strong aptitude skills helped him secure a job at Tata Consultancy Services with a minimum salary, but the joining period was a long way away. During this waiting period, his mother suggested that he consider taking government exams, so he could get a government job, which provides financial security and stability.
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Abhinay followed his mother’s advice. He moved to Delhi in 2011 after his graduation to prepare for the Staff Selection Committee (SSC) examination. To provide him with emotional support, his family also moved with him to Delhi. They rented a low-cost flat to stay close to Abhinay and support his journey. While preparing for the SSC exams, he began giving tuition to school students to support his family. He would walk long distances and survived on Maggi noodles to sustain him through the day as it was the only economical food he could afford to buy. His hard work paid off when he cleared the SSC examination on the first attempt. He was placed in Dehradun as an Income Tax Department Officer.
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Shubham PandatThe new job and salary did not put an end to his difficulties. His landlord told the family that he is not renewing the rent agreement for the flat anymore. He asked them to vacate it immediately. Another tragedy struck when his father took out a huge loan to buy a house for the family but failed to repay it on time. Abhinay’s job alone could not repay his father’s loan. As a result, the family was deeply in debt, causing major health problems for his parents. His mother suffered facial paralysis, and his father was diagnosed with diabetes.
Abhinay started his own YouTube channel – Abhinay Maths — in October 2017. The channel became one of the first few education channels on YouTube to reach one million subscribers in just eight months. He also expanded his coaching to a hall with a capacity for 150 students. When he announced the batch in November, around 500 students approached him. The number went up to four thousand in his March 2018 batch. There was no looking back now.
Abhinay realised that his stable government job was not enough to repay loans and meet household expenses. His father had been his pillar of strength and taught him to be optimistic. Despite facing a challenging situation, Abhinay’s perseverance and resilience motivated him to take control of his life. In 2017, four months into his new job, he quit and returned home to deal with the crisis. He went back to teaching, his passion and talent, to make ends meet. Abhinay sold his phone and, with some savings, moved to a rented flat with his brother. They would stay and sleep in one room and the next morning, would clear the room and prep it for the tuition classes. With limited resources, he started teaching a small batch of only 20 students. Abhinay’s dedication and commitment to his students paid off, and his coaching centre slowly gained popularity. His students appreciated his simplified approach to Mathematics, and his innovative teaching techniques helped them grasp difficult concepts with ease. His ability to connect with his students and make learning enjoyable helped him build a loyal following.
In mid-2017, one of Abhinay’s students suggested he upload a video on YouTube because his concepts were fresh and no one else on the platform was teaching such concepts. Within six days, the video received over one million views. In the video description, they added a link to one of the books Abhinay had written. Students liked it because he simplified answers to mathematical problems. For instance, how one can make Algebra and Trigonometry easy using zero. Soon the sale of the book boosted, and the number of students in his coaching increased to 400. He started earning Rs 5-7 Lakhs a month. That was one of the best phases of his life. Just a year earlier, he could not even afford to buy a chappati.
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Inspired by this, Abhinay started his own YouTube channel – Abhinay Maths — in October 2017. The channel became one of the first few education channels on YouTube to reach one million subscribers in just eight months. He also expanded his coaching to a hall with a capacity for 150 students. When he announced the batch in November, around 500 students approached him. The number went up to four thousand in his March 2018 batch. There was no looking back now.
Abhinay saw YouTube as an effective way to reach out to more students in remote areas. He provides free books and content for students who cannot afford education. He has more than 2.5 million subscribers on his YouTube Channel. Throughout his journey, he never saw education as a business. He approaches education as a relationship with his students rather than a business, believing that only a structured curriculum and teaching can bring about a revolution in education.
He noticed YouTube lacked certain features required for better learning, like monitoring student growth and mock tests. So in 2017, Abhinay also launched an App – Abhinay Maths – which focuses on competitive exam preparation for SSC (CGL, CPO, CHSL, etc.), Bank (Clerk, PO), Railways and several other government exams with India’s top educators. It has served over two lakh students from more than 500 cities and towns across the country. The platform targets the majority of government job seekers who come from Tier II, III, and IV cities, where affordability is a significant concern. Abhinay offers affordable education through his App, which serves as a one-stop solution for all the learning needs of students preparing for government exams, such as mock tests, books, recorded sessions, and problem-solving.
Abhinay continues to break down geographical, financial, and resource barriers by providing revolutionised education to students across the country. His App, Abhinay Maths, has over 250K downloads. If students from impoverished backgrounds do not have enough money, he would not cross-question or deny them admission because he sees himself in those students. His App has a dedicated team that is manually working on supporting each student who is unable to pay high amounts for courses and coaching and solving all students’ queries. Abhinay has provided free education to over 10 million students from small towns and cities across the country, with over 10,000 students who were taught by him passing government exams with flying colours.
Abhinay managed to repay his loans. He was able to buy a car for himself. He also ensured that each of his family members have their very own home. After all the hardships the family had been through, Abhinay felt that it is time for them to live a comfortable life, free of all worries about where their next meal would come. He has been able to silently respond to all those who mocked his family. Abhinay is now a family man blessed with two lovely children. He is finally living all his dreams, but this money and comfortable life came after much sacrifice and hard work.
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During the pandemic, Abhinay worked as a full-time educator for an Edtech unicorn, becoming a Legend Educator with 280 million watch minutes, which is the most on the platform. After that, he left the platform to focus on building a free education community on YouTube where he provided free books and content for students who cannot afford education. He has created a community of more than four lakh students on Facebook, and 21 crore views on his YouTube channel from across the nation.
Abhinay continues to break down geographical, financial, and resource barriers by providing revolutionised education to students across the country. His App, Abhinay Maths, has over 250K downloads. If students from impoverished backgrounds do not have enough money, he would not cross-question or deny them admission because he sees himself in those students. His App has a dedicated team that is manually working on supporting each student who is unable to pay high amounts for courses and coaching and solving all students’ queries. Abhinay has provided free education to over 10 million students from small towns and cities across the country, with over 10,000 students who were taught by him passing government exams with flying colours. He says he will continue teaching for free on YouTube, even after he retires.
Abhinay’s journey has been marked by numerous challenges and hardships. Despite these obstacles, he remained committed to his goals and worked tirelessly towards them. His unwavering determination, combined with his family’s support and hard work, allowed him to overcome every obstacle and achieve success.
