Sequoia-backed edtech startup Scaler, which is on its path to profitability by the end of this fiscal, is eyeing net profit margins of 25-30% on a topline of $150 million within the next year-and-a-half.
“Right now we are just Ebitda positive… the plan that we have for two years, we see 25-30% net margin is easily achievable,” co-founder Abhimanyu Saxena told FE in an interaction. At present, Scaler’s annual revenue run rate is $80-100 million with gross margins of 70-75%.
Net profit margin is an indicator of how much of the company’s revenue has translated into profit after accounting for all expenses, charges and taxes.
Founded by Saxena and Anshuman Singh, who had previously worked on Facebook Messenger, Scaler primarily offers tech-related courses such as software development and data science on its platform for working professionals looking to upskill in their careers.
It currently enrolls 2,000-2,500 learners every month for these courses, where the average fee is `3.5 lakh. Besides this, the company recently opened a campus in Bengaluru, where it offers an undergraduate programme in partnership with Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.
“We are also evaluating building a full-time, residential postgraduate programme,” Saxena said, adding that there is demand from people who have worked for a few years and are looking to take a career break or a sabbatical to explore new career paths. The offline post-graduate programmes will likely focus on tech-based cross-domain specialisations.
Scaler competes in a crowded edtech market with players such as US-based General Assembly and Emeritus, and other upskilling platforms such as Udacity, UpGrad and Coursera.
Valued at $710 million, Scaler has so far raised $76.5 million from investors such as Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) and private equity firm Lightrock, according to data from Tracxn.
However, Saxena said the company does not plan to raise new funds from external investors or through an initial public offering for at least the next two years.