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<keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">Edtech</keyword> major <keyword id="6630114" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="unacademy" source="Orion">Unacademy</keyword> has laid off 12 per cent of its workforce or over 350 employees in its latest round of job cuts. Gaurav <keyword id="6320" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="munjal" source="Orion">Munjal</keyword>, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, announced the latest layoffs in a <keyword id="1815769" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="slack" source="Orion">Slack</keyword> message to employees, reports <keyword id="179988" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="techcrunch" source="Orion">TechCrunch</keyword>. "We have taken every step in the right decision to make our core business profitable, yet it's not enough. We have to go further, we have to go deeper," Munjal was quoted as saying. "Today's reality is a contrast from two years ago when we saw unprecedented growth because of the accelerated adoption of online learning. Today, the global economy is enduring a recession, funding is scarce and running a profitable business is key. We have to adapt to these changes, build and operate in a much leaner manner so we can truly create value for our users and shareholders," he added. Moreover, in a message to employees, Munjal stated that he takes "complete responsibility for the way things have turned out". In November last year, Unacademy laid off 10 per cent of its workforce or nearly 350 employees, as funding winter deepens for the Indian startup ecosystem. Earlier this year, Unacademy-run Relevel laid off 40 employees, or 20 per cent of its workforce, as it shifts its focus from the education business to "tests product" and a new app called NextLevel. Meanwhile, another edtech major BYJU's has laid off a further 15 per cent of its employees from its engineering teams, as the company continues phased layoffs to remain growth-oriented in a global economic meltdown. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/meet-the-tigers-elephants-rabbits-and-turtles-of-the-e-commerce-jungle/articleshow/99109220.cms">Meet the tigers, elephants, rabbits and turtles of the e-commerce jungle</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/how-to-subscribe-verified-blue-tick-on-facebook-and-instagram/articleshow/99108865.cms">Get verified blue tick on Facebook and Instagram now: Here’s how to subscribe and price details</a>

Unacademy lays off 12% of workforce in its latest round of job cuts

<ul><li>According to cyber intelligence firm <keyword id="9086224" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyble">Cyble</keyword>, the database of nearly 22 million learners on the edtech platform <keyword id="6630114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy">Unacademy</keyword> was compromised in January 2020 and went up for sale on Dark Web a few days ago. </li><li>That includes professionals from Wipro, Infosys, Cognizant, Google and Facebook. </li><li>Unacademy confirmed Business Insider that database of 11 million learners was hacked — but no sensitive information was compromised. </li><li>The company is now conducting an aggressive background check for any loopholes or <keyword id="6355300" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="security">security</keyword> threats. </li></ul>The database of nearly 22 million learners on the edtech platform Unacademy was compromised in January 2020 and went up for sale on Dark Web a few days ago. That includes professionals from Wipro, Infosys, Cognizant, Google and Facebook. <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/unacademy-database-of-22-million-users-hacked-up-for-sale/articleshow/75594089.cms">According to a cybersecurity intelligence firm</a> Cyble, these contacts were put up on sale for $2,000 on May 3. This includes account details such as username, email address, password, profile, and login location and timings. While the startup confirmed Business Insider that the data breach happened, it said that no sensitive information was compromised. The database of 11 million learners was compromised. "As per our internal investigations, email data of around 11 million users has been compromised as against 22 million stated in reports. This is on account of only around 11 million email data of users available on the Unacademy platform," the company said. "We have been closely monitoring the situation and would like to assure our users that no sensitive information such as financial data or location has been breached. Data security and privacy protection of our users is of utmost importance to us and we are doing everything possible, to ensure no personal information is compromised," said <keyword id="2926733" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hemesh-Singh">Hemesh Singh</keyword>, Co- Founder and CTO, Unacademy. The company is now conducting an aggressive background check for any loopholes or security threats. We follow stringent encryption methods using the PBKDF2 algorithm with a SHA256 hash, making it highly implausible for anyone to decrypt passwords. We also follow an OTP based login system that provides an additional layer of security to our users," Singh elaborated. However, as per the cyber intelligence firm, the intruders have only leaked user account information as of now and the hackers might have more information with regard to these user accounts, adding that the registered learners should change their passwords immediately. The edtech startup has a user base of 10,000 educators and over 13 million learners. Cyble, which also reported the data breach involving teleconferencing platform Zoom, claims that the database has details of 21,909,709 <keyword id="9181097" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy-users">Unacademy users</keyword>. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/sudhir-krishnaswamy-on-facebook-oversight-board-which-will-control-controversial-content-on-facebook-and-instagram/articleshow/75593282.cms">Meet the Indian on Facebook's oversight board which will police content on Facebook and Instagram</a>

11 million Unacademy user accounts were hacked in January — and they are now up for sale on Dark Web

After a report claimed that edtech major <keyword id="6630114" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="unacademy" source="Orion">Unacademy</keyword> has laid off employees from its job hiring platform <keyword id="12215842" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="relevel" source="Orion">Relevel</keyword>, the company's Founder and CEO <keyword id="1727930" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gaurav-munjal" source="Orion">Gaurav Munjal</keyword> said on Wednesday that there were no layoffs. "No layoffs. We have moved some team members to other Businesses of the Group though. Team worked really really hard to ensure that we find a role for everyone," <keyword id="6320" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="munjal" source="Orion">Munjal</keyword> tweeted. A user replied: "That's nice Gaurav. Nice to read this. Compassion towards employees and fitting them in other divisions". MoneyControl first reported that Relevel "halved its team to 700 employees" amid the economic meltdown. Relevel was launched in 2021 by <keyword id="3886063" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shashank-murali" source="Orion">Shashank Murali</keyword>, Saksham Keshri and Prakash Kumar, on the back of strong traction witnessed in user growth, hiring company partnerships, and placement rate. Last year, Relevel raised $20 million from its parent edtech company Unacademy. In April, Unacademy laid off nearly 600 employees, contractual workers and educators, about 10 per cent of its 6,000-strong workforce across the group. As the funding winter hit edtech startups and unicorns in India, Unacademy founders and management took pay cuts. In an internal email last month, Munjal said that even though the company has more than Rs 2,800 crore in the bank, "we are not efficient at all". "We spend crores on travel for employees and educators. Sometimes it's needed, sometimes it's not. "There are a lot of unnecessary expenses that we do. We must cut all these expenses. We have a strong core business. We must turn profitable asap," the email read. "We will be shutting down certain businesses that have failed to find the product market fit (PMF) like the <keyword id="14425744" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="global-test-prep" source="Orion">Global Test Prep</keyword>," he told the employees. Unacademy last month said that a small fraction of its workforce (2.6 per cent) has been asked to go as part of a performance improvement programme (PIP). Nearly 150 employees (2.6 per cent) from Unacademy's PrepLadder team were laid off. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/syrma-sgs-technology-ipo-last-day-to-subscribe-grey-market-premiums-at-25/articleshow/93625416.cms">Syrma SGS Technology IPO: Last day to subscribe, grey market premiums at ₹25</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/markets-to-open-slightly-lower-on-us-fed-signals-of-more-rates-hikes/articleshow/93628803.cms">Markets to open slightly lower on US Fed signals of more rates hikes</a>

Unacademy founder Gaurav Munjal says its job hiring platform will see no layoffs

Millions of <keyword id="790242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp" source="Orion">WhatsApp</keyword> users in India have been left baffled at the amount of international <keyword id="2232456" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spam-calls" source="Orion">spam calls</keyword> they have been receiving in the last couple of days, leaving many at the risk of financial loss. These spam calls with international numbers, mostly from African and Southeast Asian countries, along with fake messages from unknown users, have flooded WhatsApp and Indians have nowhere to go but Twitter to share their ordeal. Meta-owned WhatsApp has close to 500 million users in India. "What is happening with WhatsApp? So much spam. So much," Gaurav Munjal, Founder, Unacademy Group, posted on Tuesday. "WhatsApp Business was a big blunder. Brian Acton (WhatsApp Co-founder) has been proved right," tweeted Sourabh Mathur, an entrepreneur. Although the mobile numbers show country codes of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Ethiopia, it is not necessary that these calls are actually coming from these countries. Most of these calls start with +251 (Ethiopia), +62 (Indonesia), +254 (Kenya), +84 (Vietnam) and other countries. Ray Stings @Purba_Ray tweeted: "I keep getting missed calls on WhatsApp from unknown numbers from different parts of the world every single day. It's so bad, I have to keep my phone on silent". WhatsApp was yet to comment on the growing fake spam calls on its platform. "Same here. Seems to be an epidemic. @whatsapp needs to allow us to choose to get calls from contacts only," posted Shivam Vij, New Delhi-based independent journalist. Another affected WhatsApp user said: "I get that (scam calls) at 5 in the morning. Almost my daily morning alarms now". "That's <keyword id="118709" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jamtara" source="Orion">JAMTARA</keyword> GLOBAL, for you," posted another. Another scam that is being reported in India is that of receiving job offers via WhatsApp messages. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/condom-maker-mankind-pharma-lists-at-20-premium-beats-grey-market-expectations/articleshow/100090002.cms">Mankind Pharma stock runs up in trade after listing at 20% premium</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/up-to-follow-netherland-model-to-check-school-dropouts/articleshow/100101677.cms">UP to follow Netherland model to check school dropouts</a>

'Jamtara Global': Indian WhatsApp users flooded with spam calls

<ul><li>Ad &amp; Media Insider’s latest property Storyline, brought to you in association with <keyword id="1959531" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wattpad" source="Orion">Wattpad</keyword>, one of the world’s most loved <keyword id="282281" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="storytelling" source="Orion">storytelling</keyword> platforms, endeavors to decode what storytelling stands for today. </li><li>Today, we bring you highlights from our first three episodes where we discuss how marketers and advertisers are navigating new mediums and innovating to tell engaging stories in today’s highly dynamic world.</li><li>Watch <keyword id="4332869" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pg-aditiya" source="Orion">PG Aditiya</keyword>, Chief Creative Officer, dentsu Webchutney and Pooja Manek, creative director, dentsu Webchutney Bengaluru, <keyword id="2289556" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rajdeepak-das" source="Orion">Rajdeepak Das</keyword>, CEO &amp; Chief Creative Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett and <keyword id="336063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sonal-mishra" source="Orion">Sonal Mishra</keyword>, Associate Vice President- Marketing, <keyword id="6630114" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy" source="Orion">Unacademy</keyword> talk about creativity and what it takes to tell successful stories in today's world.</li></ul>Stories are almost as old as human existence and with time, storytelling has evolved, hand-in-hand with human evolution. It has been an important part of our history and will continue to be an intrinsic part of our future too. In today’s digitally-driven world, where almost everything is happening online, storytelling continues to be at the heart of it all, albeit in different forms. Brands are still trying to find new ways of telling stories that engage with the consumers, and help the brands seamlessly become a part of their lives. Ad &amp; Media Insider’s latest property Storyline, brought to you in association with Wattpad, one of the world’s most loved storytelling platforms, that endeavors to decode what storytelling stands for today, how marketers and advertisers are navigating new mediums and innovating to tell engaging stories in today’s highly dynamic world. Here are some key takeaways from our first three episodes: Episode 1: PG Aditiya, Chief Creative Officer, dentsu Webchutney and Pooja Manek, creative director, dentsu Webchutney Bengaluru Dentsu Webchutney in 2021 was the highest scoring Indian agency at the Cannes Lions this year, for the second year in a row. This year, the agency got 20 shortlists, bringing home a total of 7 Lions. So we tried to understand what storytelling means for this dynamic young agency. Mediums and Creativity Both PG Aditiya, Chief Creative Officer, dentsu Webchutney and Pooja Manek, creative director, dentsu Webchutney have been responsible for crafting some of the agency’s most-loved campaigns over the last few years. We got to talking to them about how writing for the internet has impacted long-form writing and Aditiya started off with, “If long copy was Julius Caesar, then the internet is Brutus, with the last stab.” And truly, the internet has often been accused of killing long copy. However, Aditiya feels it has given birth to a new writing aesthetic. Today it is not simply about crafting a great video, it could be about writing that perfect tweet or creating that engaging reel. “We have a joke within the team, that if a tweet is taking more than 15 minutes, its not worth it. There are so many trends everyday and at times, brands try too hard to get the most manufactured tweet with very engineered writing. And that’s when you get caught. We all make the mistake of thinking that the younger audience, especially Gen Z, are kids. But honestly, it's time to consider them as grownups and trying too hard comes across as a red flag for them,” explained Manek. What works today On what works in today’s world, Manek says, “Today, it’s no longer about something that is embraced and enjoyed. It is more about what travels. For GenZ, it is usually quid pro quo, you have to give them something for them to give you something back. It's no longer about hard selling, or over-engineering, it's about giving them something to chew on, and that’s how you get their attention.” The internet is also an ephemeral medium. So how does one create engaging stories for the medium? “We try to spend less time on the theory of it and just make sure that whenever one of us has something that's worth not letting go of, we try to make it work,” added Aditiya. User-Generated Content: The Secret Sauce The advent of social media has also given consumers a voice today and user generated content has become an important tool for many brands. Webchutney has come up with a lot of social media campaigns that have gone on to generate UGC, making brands the talk of the town and part of a lot of trends. Talking about one such campaign they did for Tinder, Manek said, “For Tinder’s Valentine’s Day campaign, we were doing something around moving on. We were thinking of a few ideas and we realized that the digital age has made it harder for us to move on because you might want to move on but then you get reminders on different platforms. We all have so many pictures stored on our phones that we don’t delete maybe because we are attached to the memory, or we look good. So we launched a photoshopping service for two days and asked people what they wanted to replace their exes with. And we kept getting requests and replaced people with pizzas or wine. So we ended up photoshopping pictures for close to 36 hours, and that’s the power of UGC. We couldn’t have done it without people actually sharing those pictures. So you give the consumer something which is worth it and you just empower them and then magic happens.” Aditiya said that this idea also busted the myth that you need some kind of incentive to make a UGC campaign work because at the end of it, consumers were not exactly winning something but were simply ‘Axing their Exes’. Watch the full episode here: <div type="twitter" handle="admediainsider" handlename="Advertising and Media Insider India" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1281482517443305472/8RPcjmow_normal.jpg" favoritecount="3" retweetcount="5" status="LIVE | Join @PGAditiya, CCO, @webchutney and Pooja Manek (@boredmanek), Creative Director, @webchutney in conversat… https://t.co/yH7WRSlYK4" createdat="1644924610000" id="1493548184102080513"></div> Episode 2: Rajdeepak Das, CEO &amp; Chief Creative Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett Rajdeepak Das, the chief creative brain at Leo Burnett is often considered to be one of the most experimental and innovative creative storytellers in the country and a discussion around storytelling would have been incomplete without a conversation with him. In our 2nd episode, we caught up with Das who talked to us about his storytelling journey and how he has evolved as a storyteller, with the evolution of mediums and consumers. He tells us that his love for storytelling started as a child, when his mom would tell him stories from Panchatantra or Mahabharata. “My mother would enact a lot of those stories and I would be awestruck. And when a storyteller is asked ‘And then?’, that’s when you realize the power of storytelling. That’s exactly what we are doing while scrolling social media platforms, looking for our ‘And then’ on these mediums. And I feel, till the time humans are on this planet, the mediums will change but the navarasa won’t,” he said. The Creative Intuition For every creative professional, there is usually a method behind all the madness. For Das, who says he is bad at most languages he has tried to learn, it is more about understanding the human feelings than understanding a language. “For any creative person, it is all about having an intuition, to understand why people say what they say and do what they do. As a creative, you have to have an intuition about what will work for consumers. You have to dream of what people want and then create something out of it,” he explains. He also adds that the best way of bringing these dreams to fruition is by realizing that it can no longer be a one-man show. “Gone are the days when people would consider themselves God and think they know everything. That is impossible today. In today’s world, the only way of creating wonderful stories or bringing our ideas and intuitions to a proper execution is by ensuring you work with people who are smarter than you,” he added. Finding solutions to human problems Earlier this year, <keyword id="261687" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="leo-burnett-india" source="Orion">Leo Burnett India</keyword> launched ‘StreetEye’, a motorcycle mounted device to help map potholes in real time which had the potential of saving thousands of motorcyclists from accidents and mishaps for digital general insurance brand, ACKO. The agency used technology to solve a basic human problem, and according to Das, that is what <keyword id="35666" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising" source="Orion">advertising</keyword> should be about. “If I were to reflect on what advertising is all about today, I don’t believe in storytelling. It is all about finding human problems and solving them. Once you are able to do that, you will automatically create stories. And that’s what we did with ACKO’s StreetEye. The brand said, we don’t want to be just about insuring people. We want to get two step ahead and talk about protecting people. We didn’t want to talk about the cure; rather we wanted to do something to prevent the accidents from happening. And this is just one part of it. Everyday, we are working with brands like Reliance, Ariel, Tide, CarDekho, Airtel etc where it is all about using innovation to solve everyday human problems. A consumer doesn’t want advertising, he doesn’t want to buy things. If you are able to become a part of their lives by solving their problems, people will come to you,” said Das. Watch the full episode here: <div type="twitter" handle="admediainsider" handlename="Advertising and Media Insider India" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1281482517443305472/8RPcjmow_normal.jpg" favoritecount="4" retweetcount="4" status="LIVE | Join Rajdeepak Das, CEO &amp; Chief Creative Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett in conversation with… https://t.co/9f6u7Qr99z" createdat="1645097410000" id="1494272960705675264"></div> Episode 3: Sonal Mishra, Associate Vice President- Marketing, Unacademy Storytellers, since time immemorial, have been exploring formats of narration that span nearly every conceivable gamut. And a lot of brands, in the early days of digital marketing, would stick to short videos. At the same time, there are brands that have been part of long-form stories, where they have seamlessly become a part of the narrative. In the past few years, we have seen Unacademy do that again and again, be it with its association with The Viral Fever (TVF) for hugely popular web series like Kota Factory and Aspirants, or its recent talked-about IPL ads. The brand has, time and again, used long-form content to draw audiences into their narrative, and it has largely worked for the most part. To understand the brand’s secret sauce, we caught up with Sonal Mishra, Associate Vice President- Marketing, Unacademy, who took us behind the brand’s thought process and what has helped them stand out. Crafting clutter-breaking stories Over the years, digital has become a highly cluttered medium where everyone is trying to grab eyeballs where there is limited mindspace. So what are a few factors that Unacademy keeps in mind while crafting its stories? “As a brand, we try to be unique and do the unexpected, but at the same time be relatable and believable. The emotions one derives and the value that you add is what stays with the audience for a very long time. So it's very important to be relatable and believable. Having said that, it is also important to tread on different routes that meet the consumer at different touchpoints in their journey. So it's very important to latch on to a stronger human insight to build that consumer connect,” shared Mishra. For Unacademy, the goal is to engage with learners across the countries, be it in the metro cities or the smaller Tier II and III cities. Therefore, collaborating with platforms and creators who can help them reach out to a larger audience has been at the core of their associations with the popular TVF webseries. “Whatever we do is about becoming a part of our consumer’s life cycle, connecting with them by addressing a topic they can relate to. Our recent property Unacademy Unwind, which was all about music and unwinding hit a different chord altogether. Another campaign we did called Mistakes – the Greatest Teacher, did very well. The campaign said that Unacademy doesn’t just stand for clearing exams or being successful, it also stands for the journey you took. These are a few things that have helped us stand out,” she explained. Creating campaigns by listening to consumers Brands that are able to listen to their consumers, catch their pulse and create content pieces around those insights are usually the ones to woo them. Unacademy has been able to break the clutter through a lot of its recent campaigns. So what is their feedback mechanism that is helping them craft their communications? “Its not that we have figured it all out and know these are the secret ingredients that can make a piece of content work. It's a constant learning for us as well. But the benefits of these partnerships, initiatives, associations have been huge. They've helped us amplify the reach for the brand, build trust and penetrate deeper into the country. There were a lot of learnings from our associations like Kota Factory and Aspirants that we would like to better in the next property that we create. There have been a lot of pluses and we are learning at each step,” she added. Long-form vs short content While a lot of brands have been focusing on creating shorter, bite-sized content, Unacademy has associated with TVF and created highly talked-about webseries that have become a part of pop culture. Why did the brand choose long-form content over shorter content at a time when people are constantly talking about decreasing attention spans? “Understanding the psyche of the audience helped us. A strong story is something we mutually work on with our partners, but at the same time, from a brand standpoint, we have always ensured that the product integrations are so seamlessly weaved into the story into the content, that it doesn't actually disrupt the flow of the story and the audience can continue to enjoy and get entertained. So that is something which we are very conscious of. And that's why whoever we partner with also find the entire journey exciting,” said Mishra. Watch the full episode here: <div type="twitter" handle="admediainsider" handlename="Advertising and Media Insider India" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1281482517443305472/8RPcjmow_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2" retweetcount="2" status="LIVE | Join Sonal Mishra, Associate Vice President, Marketing at @unacademy in conversation with @AshwinRaghunath a… https://t.co/51eEJystug" createdat="1645443009000" id="1495722508720349184"></div>

Storyline: Where master storytellers tell us what goes behind crafting engaging stories that stand the test of time

<ul><li>Bengaluru-based <keyword id="1464841" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Edtech">edtech</keyword> startup <keyword id="6630114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy">Unacademy</keyword> has been riding high. With a successful association with TVF on its show Aspirants and standout <keyword id="6354312" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> campaigns, the startup is ready with its <keyword id="6354839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="marketing">marketing</keyword> plans for the IPL matches that resume in September.</li><li>We recently caught up with <keyword id="4878889" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karan-Shroff">Karan Shroff</keyword>, Chief Marketing Officer, Unacademy, to understand the brand’s marketing journey so far, how its strategies have worked to bring new users onto its platforms and how it is going about ensuring it becomes a household name in the next few years.</li></ul>The last one and a half years have been challenging for most businesses across the globe. However, India’s edtech sector has witnessed a boom. With students stuck at home, having to move to online classes, online learning became a way of life, and the Indian edtech ecosystem gained from this immensely. 2020 also made investors realize the opportunity in the segment and the year saw India’s edtech startups raise over $2.2 billion in funding. And it was during this otherwise difficult year that <keyword id="1727930" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaurav-Munjal">Gaurav Munjal</keyword>'s edtech startup Unacademy became a unicorn. The startup raised $150 million in a round led by SoftBank, valuing it at $1.45 billion, making it the second unicorn in the space, after BYJU’s. It also made six acquisitions through 2020. Unacademy currently boasts of over 50,000 educators and close to 49 million learners on its platform, a number that is steadily growing. Recently, they also released a film to thank both the learner and educator community for bringing them where they are today. The film said the platform has over 5 million monthly active users, learners from over 10,000 cities from across the country. The platform sees over 150,000 interactive classes conducted every month, in 14 different languages. Recently, it also revamped the app to make it more intuitive and interactive, adding features like hand raising, study groups and live mentorship. <div type="Youtube" id="0gjFof0m6ow" title="Unacademy Believe" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0gjFof0m6ow/mqdefault.jpg"></div> When it comes to its marketing strategies so far, the platform has tailored its approach keeping its learner ecosystem at its core. A lot of its recent campaigns have also been about grabbing eyeballs and reaching their target audience, where they are. While we saw Unacademy ‘hijack’ the IPL commentary box earlier this year, a novel idea, we also saw the brand partner with TVF’s widely popular show Aspirants. The aim has been to raise awareness about the platform and tell learners how it is different. We recently caught up with Karan Shroff, Chief Marketing Officer, Unacademy, to understand the brand’s journey so far, how its strategies have worked to bring new users onto its platforms and how it is going about ensuring it becomes a household name in the next few years. Unacademy’s marketing story The last one and a half years have been difficult for businesses the world over but Unacademy has been riding high. Most of its marketing strategies have worked in its favor too. Unacademy is the official partner for IPL for three seasons. In the first year, Unacademy’s film ‘Cracking the Game’, was well-received and won several awards. This year too, its campaign in the form of a commentary box highjack helped it differentiate itself. The IPL associating has also helped the platform gain the necessary eyeballs as it can be believed that a lot of its target audience watches the league. So is Unacademy looking at this year’s IPL postponement as a speed bump? “I don’t think it is a bump. Once IPL restarts, we will continue being present. In fact, I see it as a good thing because IPL is a highly engaging event that runs nonstop for 55-60 days. So this year, the break I feel gives us a second boost,” explained Shroff. The brand has a few more campaigns planned for the second half of the event that will go live once the matches resume. On why it chose to associate with IPL, he said, “It was a strategic call to be a part of the league. IPL is the biggest cricketing league in the world, one that is watched by almost all of our country. The thought behind the association was that the Indian youth is entirely invested in the property, they love the intensity and energy of the league. With around 60 days of the league, it becomes difficult to miss a brand that advertises during the matches. We wanted to create awareness and become a household name. IPL has worked as a catalyst for us. With millions of people watching the league, we could leverage the reach and get the eyeballs but also it helped us build awareness and top-of-mind for the brand.” Unacademy had also launched an inspirational film titled ‘The Greatest Lesson’, taking viewers through the ups and downs of Sachin Tendulkar’s career, a film that was very well-received. The aim behind capitalizing on sports, especially cricket, has helped the brand stand out for many young people, after all the sport is still a religion in India. <div type="Youtube" id="7nYLfqkI8ZA" title="Unacademy | The Greatest Lesson" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7nYLfqkI8ZA/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Its latest partnership with TVF for Aspirants, through which it tried to target UPSC aspirants, has also worked in the brand’s favor. Unacademy wanted to deep-dive into the segment, bring up real stories, and tell the stories through relatable characters. Shroff also revealed that it is going to be a multi-season association with TVF and there will be more seasons to the show. So did the last one year throw no curveballs, when it came to its marketing plans? “One of the things we did when we started working from home with restricted physical access to each other from an office space perspective, we started making multiple plans, be it a shoot, a campaign or a simple social media post, we always had multiple plans and options to fall back on. We did this because it was a pandemic and nobody really knew what was in store and what lay ahead of us. So having a Plan B and C really helped us. And that has been one of our biggest learnings in these past months,” said Shroff. On driving differentiation According to estimates by <keyword id="50041" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="KPMG">KPMG</keyword>, India today has over 3,500 edtech startups, so driving differentiation becomes critical ingredient in the recipe for success. On how Unacademy has been trying to differentiate itself, Shroff said, “Our thought-process is fairly simple, we keep the consumer or in our case, the learner, at the heart of everything we do. So everytime we build a campaign we sit back and think, why, when and how. Why is of course, always for the consumer. So if the ‘Why’ doesn't feel like its adding value to the learners, we usually don't go ahead with it. Everything that we do costs marketing dollars and as long as your focus is on learners and the consumers, they're at the heart of everything and you're sure that your communication is reaching them, its then just about crafting a good communication.” The vision for Unacademy Going ahead, Shroff wants to focus more on building the brand presence on various properties. On what his larger vision for the brand is, Shroff added, “It’s to become a household name, and while there is still some ground to cover, I think we are moving in that very direction. We want to build a legacy of sorts, the way brands like Colgate and Maggi have done. If you are known from a communication and awareness perspective, it makes it so much easier to become a part of the consumer’s life and that’s what we are aiming for.”

We want to become a household name and are already moving in the right direction: Karan Shroff, Unacademy

Meta-owned messaging platform <keyword id="790242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp" source="Orion">WhatsApp</keyword> has announced that it is rolling out a new feature that will let users react to messages with any emoji of their choice. Currently, the platform gives several users the ability to react with a limited number of just six <keyword id="1613398" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Emojis" source="Orion">emojis</keyword>. "We are rolling out the ability to use any emoji as a reaction on WhatsApp," <keyword id="399907" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword> founder and CEO <keyword id="6354630" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="mark-zuckerberg" source="Orion">Mark Zuckerberg</keyword>, wrote in a Facebook post on late Monday. <keyword id="353568" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="zuckerberg" source="Orion">Zuckerberg</keyword> also mentioned some of the emojis like a robot, french fries, surfing in the sea, etc. WhatsApp is also working on a feature that will give iOS users the ability to hide their online status from everyone. As of now, users can choose to display their "Last Seen" information to contacts, some people, or no one. For a future version of the app, WhatsApp will let users follow a similar approach to the online toggle. This new privacy feature is being developed at the same time WhatsApp is also readying another important function - the ability to edit a message. In the recent past, the platform has released several features for group voice calls, like muting and messaging participants along with banner notifications while in a group call. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/hdfc-life-invests-in-tech-fund-to-support-digital-entrepreneurs-in-india/articleshow/92795458.cms">HDFC Life invests in tech fund to support digital entrepreneurs in India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/unacademy-shuts-down-global-test-prep-business-ceo-opts-for-a-pay-cut/articleshow/92806222.cms">Even with ₹2,800 crore in bank, we are not efficient at all: Unacademy’s Gaurav Munjal</a>

WhatsApp allow users to react with  more Emojis

New Delhi, May 7 () Facebook-funded education technology firm Unacademy's data comprising over 20 million accounts has been hacked by cybercriminals and put up for sale in the dark web, according to cybersecurity firm Cyble. The hackers have claimed that they have access to the complete database of Unacademy and decided to leak only users' accounts at this point of time, Cyble said. The cyber intelligence firm added that further leaks are expected in the near future. "On May 3, 2020, Cyble Inc discovered that a threat actor had begun to sell an Unacademy user database containing 20 million accounts for USD 2,000. Unacademy is India's largest online learning platform. This data breach apparently took place in January 2020," Cyble claimed. When contacted, Unacademy co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Hemesh Singh said the company has been closely monitoring the situation and claimed that no sensitive information such as financial data or location has been breached. "As per our internal investigations, e-mail data of around 11 million users has been compromised as against 22 million stated in reports. This is on account of only around 11 million e-mail data of users available on the Unacademy platform," Singh said. He said the company is following stringent encryption methods and making it highly implausible for anyone to decrypt passwords. "We also follow an OTP-based login system that provides an additional layer of security to our users. We are doing a complete background check and will be addressing any potential security loophole to further bolster our efforts of ensuring a far more robust security mechanism. We are in communication with our users to keep them updated on the progress," Singh said. Facebook, General Atlantic, Sequoia India, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and Nexus Venture Partners have invested in the company. According to Cyble, this breach can have an impact on security of other companies as well. "Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for such breaches and utilise them for credential stuffing attacks. We have seen accounts/records with domain names from Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, Reliance Industries, HDFC, Accenture, ICICI, SBI, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and several other large organisations," Cyble said. PRS HRS

Facebook-funded Unacademy data hacked, claims cybersecurity firm

<ul><li>Unacademy will now conduct live sessions by prominent personalities like former diplomat <keyword id="42749" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shashi-Tharoor">Shashi Tharoor</keyword>, retired IPS Officer <keyword id="6354361" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kiran-Bedi">Kiran Bedi</keyword> and star couple <keyword id="6354486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> and <keyword id="6357860" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="anushka-sharma">Anushka Sharma</keyword>. </li><li>The leaders will impart knowledge on topics like international relations (IR), crisis management and inspirational lectures on hard work, determination and motivation. </li><li>These 40 minutes live sessions are free for the 13 million learners on the platform. </li><li>In March, the edtech platform kicked off the series with sessions by cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, who talked on mental fitness. </li></ul>Unacademy’s online classes just got a little more interesting thanks to their charismatic teachers. Now, you can learn international relations from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and also gain excellent vocabulary while doing so. If that is not what you are looking for, then you can choose to learn crisis management from former top cop Kiran Bedi. For something even lighter, you can pick star couple Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma who can teach the art of chasing dreams in 40 minute sessions, which is now free for all its 13 million users. This is a part of the second edition of the startup’s ‘‘Legends on Unacademy’ series. “These interactive classes will not only equip our learners with academic knowledge, but also empower them with extraordinary life skills, and help them hone their ability to overcome various challenges,” said Karan Shroff, Vice President, Marketing at Unacademy. Schedule for live sessions: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Educator </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Date </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Time </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Topic </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Shashi Tharoor </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">April 13 - 17, 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4 pm </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">International Relations </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Kiran Bedi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">April 17, 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8:30 pm </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Crisis Management </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Virat and Anushka </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">April 21, 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6 pm </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Dreams, hard work, determination and motivation </td></tr></tbody></table> Shashi Tharoor, a former international diplomat has been delivering live classes on international relations and a bit on the United Nations, starting April 13. His next sessions will be live today (April 16) and tomorrow at 4 pm. During the session, he will also answer questions related to the topic. His first session received views from over 30,000 learners, where he spoke about the formation of the United Nations and the need for it, its operations and India’s relations with other nations. In March, the edtech platform kicked off the series with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/sachin-tendulkar-brian-lara-and-other-cricketing-legends-will-be-taking-live-classes-on-unacademy/articleshow/74458803.cms">live sessions by cricketers</a> like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Bret Lee and Jonty Rhodes who communicated on the less talked about topics like mental health and fitness. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/mukesh-ambani-and-mark-zuckerberg-are-looking-to-create-a-wechat-like-super-app-says-report/articleshow/75174322.cms">Mukesh Ambani and Mark Zuckerberg are looking to create a WeChat like super-app says report</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/lockdown-watchlist-want-to-binge-watch-a-show-that-lasts-a-week-try-these-long-running-shows-on-netflix-amazon-prime-disney-hotstar-and-others/articleshow/75173116.cms">Lockdown Watchlist: Want to binge-watch a show that lasts a week? Try these long-running shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar and others</a>

You Searched For "unacademy users" and got 9 results

Unacademy lays off 12% of workforce in its latest round of job cuts

IANS

11 million Unacademy user accounts were hacked in January — and they are now up for sale on Dark Web

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Unacademy founder Gaurav Munjal says its job hiring platform will see no layoffs

IANS

'Jamtara Global': Indian WhatsApp users flooded with spam calls

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We want to become a household name and are already moving in the right direction: Karan Shroff, Unacademy

Samarpita Banerjee

WhatsApp allow users to react with more Emojis

IANS

Facebook-funded Unacademy data hacked, claims cybersecurity firm

PTI

Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Shashi Tharoor and Kiran Bedi to deliver live lectures on Unacademy

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