Physics Wallah

When Alakh proposes to his elder sister that he is dropping out of engineering college because he didnt want to get into that sterotyped coding job, she tells him her salary and how difficult it is to her to manage the job

Important lesson - "i took the road less travelled and that is what made all the difference. You cannot do generic stuff and expect extraordinary results"

He stumbles upon a teaching opportunity at a reputed Physics coaching centre, even without prior experience , only to realise that teaching Physics well is not the same thing as knowing it well. He fumbles and messes it up at his first class - only to be relegated to the doubt solving sessions

Then his student and future-to-be wife Shivani told that one day he would be a good teacher - he asks why and she says - because he desperately wants to !!

Important lesson - we get things in life when we want to. Wanting is really important

What follows is his relentless pursuit of excellence -- taking feedback from scores of people as to what exactly they like in their teacher.Eventually stumbling upon the idea that his classes also have to be well-rehearsed, like a stage performance.

Important lesson - I remember those ICAI GMCS classes where I goofed up initially. And then went around asking students where I lacked - takes a lot of "swallowing of pride" to take feedback. But its important.

What follows is a stupendous class - which makes the HOD of Physics jealous /insecure and leads to his ouster from the centre. When he started his own centre, the students are clearly warned - if they join him for Physics, they will be denied coaching in Chemistry and Maths

Important lesson - People can be really cruel. Thats how the world works. So typical of any commercial transaction

Passionate teaching wins him student's love and affection - but he is stuck up foregoing 50% of revenues to the Centre owner , who is least interested in growing the business. The reason Alask sticks around is that he is scared to provide the entire suite of service offerings - Biology, Chemistry, Maths.

Important lesson - Sometimes the customer wants full suite, even if you are not an expert at it. You have to be an aggregator. So often I take the pain of arranging Land & Building or Plant & Machinery valuation to clients - even though thats not my core. You have to provide 'one-roof' solutions

Resultant that his partner whom he was cajoling for long to invest in teaching infrastructure buys a Mercedes car instead, Alakh is crestfallen

Important lesson -Often we are stuck up with wrong people. And one day, we have to call it quits

Shaken by current events and unsure about his future, Alakh goes?into the mountains seeking the purpose of his life?. After his bag fell down the hills, and it led to one event after the other, he accidentally meets the legendary Physics Prof H C Verma , he realises how the dots connect , leading us to our purpose of life - Prof Verma tells him that we are an insignificant speck in the entire universe and our purpose is to impact others, impart knowledge to students

Important lesson - Life is about serendipity . When you look back, everything happens for a reason

After teaching that young and curious student in the mountains, he asks his parents to send their son to Allahabad. They resist. And Alakh stumbles upon the concept of teaching through the Internet as he sees Lily practising Yoga infront of the mobile phone. When he returns home and proposes that he teach on YouTube and that number of views will determine his fortune, Alakh's father chides him - asks him to go back to the 45-50 students classworld- so that tangible cash comes. He struggles for 6 months before his video got viral.

Important lesson - Novel business ideas are often rebuked. Thats how it is. I also remember that when I told my father that I wanted to earn from YouTube, he was /shell shocked. After I got that 100$ cheque, he encouraged me to make more videos :)

And a corollary - my IIMA mock interview which got a million views was a turning point in that channel's history. You have to wait patiently for that turning point

When he offers his student Shivani a job at Physicswallah, he didnt have a clue of how he will afford her salary. But it was a leap of faith. He even sacrificed his limited resources for her mother's treatment

Important lesson -Getting good team members requires massive leap of faith and great sacrifices

He fails to sell notes at Rs 50. The app maker after being rebuked for offering to faciliate live teaching on app instead of YouTube, gives him a parting thought. Price your notes at Rs 200. If you dont value your work, no one else will. people take cheap things to be inferior things. He ends up selling 7000 copies of the notes.

Important lesson - Never sell cheap. Customers wont value you

When he is about to take the first class on the app, Alakh asks Shivani , how /much students are there - 5/7/9/12 -- she hesitates initially but eventually tells him that 30,000 students have enrolled. He is shell-shocked. Eventually the app crashes because of the traffic.

Important lesson - You cannot even imagine how big success can be if you stay on the pitch, keep batting and dont quit

The imbroglio with "The Youth Academy" takes a toll. Things get messy. Alakh's dependence on the teachers makes him vulnerable when they quit for greener pastures . Eventually he realises that he had to do business with or without those teachers. He is reminded that why did he start all this in the first place

Important lesson - You cannot depend on Mr X/ Ms Y - the show must go on

Whenever you want to quit, ask yourself, why you started it in the first place

Overall, I throughly enjoyed and learnt a lot from this web series

Would love to hear your thoughts