What VCs Miss About Edtech, Lessons from LEAD School

How did Sumeet Mehta and Smita Deorah turn LEAD School into one of India’s most impactful edtech unicorns transforming affordable private schools? In this episode, they reveal how their mission-driven journey is reshaping the future of K12 education in India.

Sumeet Mehta and Smita Deorah, co-founders of LEAD School, share their journey from corporate careers at Procter & Gamble to building India’s largest school-first edtech platform. LEAD School began as a single school experiment and scaled into a nationwide network serving millions of students through its school-in-a-box model. In this candid conversation with Akshay Datt, they discuss their motivations, early failures, the pivot from running schools to partnering with them, and why they believe equity in education is India’s biggest opportunity. This episode is timely as India’s K12 market undergoes massive change with NEP 2020, funding winter pressures, and edtech consolidation. Listeners will gain unique insights into sustainable scaling, contrarian business models, and the future of affordable education in emerging markets.

• How LEAD School grew from 1 school to an edtech unicorn
• Lessons from building during India’s edtech funding winter
• Why a school-first model beats B2C in K12 education
• Macro trends like NEP 2020 reshaping India’s education sector
• Founder insights on teacher training, student outcomes and sustainable growth

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00:00 - Sumeet Mehta and Smita Deorah’s early influences
04:30 - From P&G careers to finding purpose in education
13:10 - Sabbatical experiments that led to LEAD School
22:00 - Running Zee Learn and lessons in K12 education
31:50 - Founding LEAD School and the first village school
44:15 - Cracking English learning with the ELGA program
57:20 - Scaling from own schools to school-in-a-box model
1:10:00 - Surviving funding winter and finding mission-aligned VCs
1:18:30 - Competing in India’s fragmented K12 edtech market
1:26:50 - Vision to reach 10 million students

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