Scaler's Rahul Karthikeyan on how the tech education start-up is leveraging regional influencers

Scaler, a tech education start-up, has unveiled a new web series, ‘Codeyil Iruvar’, in association with Parithabangal, a Tamil language YouTube entertainment channel in the recent past. The six-part series, written and directed by Sahit Anand, revolves around the adventures of two friends, Gopi and Sudhakar, as they navigate their way through life's challenges with wit and humour in pursuit of their start-up dreams.

“If Dhoni is speaking in Tamil and saying “Whistle Podu”, it shakes up the entire community. We want to be that wave in the edtech space. That's where Parithabangal came in. Parithabangal is one of the biggest influencers in not just Tamil Nadu. Their base is more than 5 million. We found that it's a direct fit in terms of what we are envisioning for the state. It's one of the most fantastic scripts that we have ever worked with till date. I am very proud about the content that has come out from there. We also got tremendous feedback from our students as well,” shares Rahul Karthikeyan, CMO, Scaler.

Karthikeyan sheds light on how today every state is going back to its roots. “There's a proud Maharashtrian now. There's a proud Tamilian now. There's a proud Keralite now and they are expecting brands to be able to communicate in their mother tongues. Say for example, if I am fluent in Tamil, I would also want the brand to communicate in Tamil."

He explains why the startup chose Tamil to market itself. "Tamil Nadu is one of our biggest markets. Tamil Nadu as a state is very close to its roots and its also an entertainment hub. The only way a Tamil can associate with the brand is if the brand is able to speak its language as well. The ease of its communication is much more relevant. One of the reasons for Chennai Super Kings to be successful in IPL is due to this."  

Apart from Tamil Nadu, the other four important markets for Scaler are Maharashtra, Karnakata and Telangana. In 2023, Scaler had done a pure Marathi  web series with Pune influencer BhaDiPa (Bharatiya Digital Party). 

Scaler is an edtech company which specializes in tech learning and helps people who are in the beginning of their professional journey and looking to upskill. "Even though you can learn on YouTube and can do your own structured learning, not all students are as smart to decide how to go through that process. That's why Scaler came in. Scaler enabled structured learning. Our business model is simple. Get students, inspire them in a way that you have to work hard. And if you work hard, that's how you can get greater outcomes as well, says Karthikeyan.  

The ratio between engineering students and non-engineering students at Scaler stands at 70-30. “The 30 percent comes from data science. Data science is much more diverse and generalized. We get students from across all categories including shipping, logistics, marketing, and finance among others,” signs off Karthikeyan.