Startup Originals Team
What began with uncertainty, sacrifice, and just 23 subscribers has grown into one of India’s most influential knowledge platforms. Think School has crossed 5 million subscribers, a milestone that reflects not viral hype, but years of discipline, belief, and consistency by its founders, Ganesh Prasad and Parsh Kothari.
Choosing Uncertainty Over Comfort
The journey began long before the numbers. In 2019, Parsh Kothari made a difficult decision to leave his job, stepping into uncertainty with the intent of building something meaningful. It was not a calculated move backed by funding or safety nets, but a leap driven by conviction.
By April 2021, the reality was harsh. Ganesh and Parsh had ₹3,000 each in their bank accounts, no stable income, and no clear timeline for success. The platform they were building showed promise in effort, but not yet in results.
Surviving While Building
To sustain themselves, the founders took up teaching assignments at colleges. By day, they taught. By night, they researched, scripted, edited, and published content—often questioning whether anyone was listening.
There were long stretches of silence. High-quality videos were uploaded into the void, accompanied by self-doubt and financial pressure. Yet, they continued. Not because the algorithm rewarded them, but because they believed the work mattered.
The First Signs of Hope
The audience arrived slowly, then suddenly. In April 2021, the channel crossed 100,000 subscribers. A month later, it reached 300,000. These early milestones did not signal overnight success, but they proved something critical: there was demand for substance in a noisy digital world.
What started with 23 subscribers, mostly friends who believed before anyone else did, was becoming a community.
Building India’s Largest Business Channel
By 2025, Think School had evolved into India’s largest business-focused YouTube channel, reaching 24 million views every month. Its content stood out for depth, clarity, and storytelling—breaking down geopolitics, business strategy, and economic decisions in a way that was accessible but never simplistic.
The growth was not driven by trends, controversy, or shortcuts. It was the outcome of five years of relentless execution, following two years of uncertainty, overthinking, and saving every rupee just to buy basic equipment like a laptop.
Impact Over Metrics
Crossing 5 million subscribers was never the original goal. The focus was always impact—helping viewers understand how the world of business and power really works. The numbers followed only because the trust came first.
This milestone belongs not to algorithms or charts, but to the audience that stayed, shared, and chose long-form thinking over short-term distraction.
Still Day One
Seven years in, the story is far from complete. The founders see this moment not as a finish line, but as a foundation. With 2026 ahead, Think School’s journey is entering its next phase—built on the same principles it started with: clarity, consistency, and respect for the audience’s intelligence.
From ₹3,000 in the bank to 5 million subscribers, this is not just a growth story.
It is proof that substance scales, even when it starts small.
