For edtech unicorn Physics Wallah, the real test comes now

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Editor's note: Physics Wallah has got a lot of attention lately. Most of it is on two counts: the edtech startup’s maverick founder, and its organic and profitable growth over the past two years. Alakh Pandey, who started Physics Wallah as a YouTube channel in 2014 from his home, stands out in the crowd of edtech entrepreneurs, with a distinctive focus on making quality test preparation accessible at relatively low prices.  While serendipity played a significant role in the genesis of other edtech companies, in Physics Wallah’s case, it was one man’s doggedness. Pandey, 31, has been teaching since he was a teenager. And while his ambitions kept changing—he wanted to be an engineer, then an actor—he has never stopped being a teacher for nearly two decades now. Pandey even dropped out of engineering school to become an educator. His teaching style is part street-smart tricks, part offering life lessons through witty one-liners, a unique strategy that has made him a household name across India’s Hindi heartland. And it has served him, and the company, well.  In the 2021-22 financial year, the …