PHYSICS WALLAH: The Inspiring Journey From Scratch to IPO

The story of Physics Wallah is not just about education. It is about faith—the unwavering belief in the power of knowledge and the conviction that every student, no matter their background, deserves access to learning. It is about grit—the relentless effort, long nights, and countless challenges that Alakh overcame while building the platform from scratch. It is about the courage to say “no” to money when values matter more—refusing crores in offers from big coaching institutes to ensure that education remained affordable and accessible for students across India.

It is a message to every young dreamer: that with passion, sincerity, and perseverance, it is possible to challenge giants, create meaningful impact, and build something that truly matters. Physics Wallah shows that success is not only measured in wealth or numbers but in the trust, hope, and lives you touch along the way.

Physics Wallah: FROM SCRATCH TO IPO – A STORY OF A TEACHERLong before anyone imagined an ed-tech revolution rising from a small room in Allahabad, long before the name Physics Wallah echoed in millions of households, there was just a boy who wouldn’t stop asking questions. His name was Alakh, and his world revolved around curiosity.

Even as a child, when others memorized formulae to pass exams, he dismantled them to understand the why behind them. Why did a ball fall down and not up? Why did currents flow? Why did gravity pull? His questions often earned him scoldings, sometimes admiration, but mostly—silence. No one around him had the time or patience to answer questions that didn’t matter in exams.

But they mattered to him.

They mattered so much that one day, they would change the face of Indian education.

A TEACHER IS BORN

The story of Physics Wallah did not begin with money, power, or any grand ambition. It started with something far simpler—a whiteboard, a marker, and a sincere desire in a teacher’s heart to make physics understandable for every student. Before the world knew the name Physics Wallah, he was teaching in coaching institutes, observing how the JEE and NEET market was dominated by giant, expensive coaching centers. These centers flaunted big banners and bigger promises, but their high fees snatched away the dream of quality education from many middle-class, rural, and struggling families.

This future creator of Physics Wallah saw heartbreaking scenes—the worried mother struggling to pay coaching installments, the father who mortgaged his land for fees, and the silent student who felt ashamed because he couldn’t afford books. These moments shaped his thinking and made him ask a powerful question that later became the soul of the Physics Wallah platform: “Is good education only for the rich?” His heart refused to accept such injustice.

Inside overcrowded classrooms with more than 150 students, he taught with unmatched passion, converting complex topics into simple stories and visuals. His teaching style—simple, humorous, and deeply empathetic—made physics feel alive. Students admired him and often whispered, “There’s a sir… he teaches like magic.” But long before the world appreciated Physics Wallah, big institutes failed to recognize this magic; they valued profits, not passion. He soon realized that teaching in a closed classroom limited how many students he could help, while his dream was much bigger.

Slowly, the idea of teaching online began to rise—an idea that would eventually evolve into the Physics Wallah revolution. At that time, online teaching wasn’t respected or trusted, and certainly not seen as profitable. But every revolution, including the rise of Physics Wallah, begins as an unlikely dream. With quiet courage and a burning purpose, he took the step that would later transform the entire landscape of Indian education.

THE FIRST VIDEO

ChatGPT said:

In 2016, on a chilly winter evening, Alakh recorded his first educational video. It wasn’t in a studio, nor with professional equipment—just a simple phone camera perched on a stack of books, a tiny whiteboard behind him, and a teacher who cared deeply.

There were no flashy animations, no sponsored ads, no paid promotions—only sincerity. He uploaded the video on YouTube under a name that felt homely, friendly, and almost accidental: Physics Wallah. He couldn’t have known then that this humble video would mark the beginning of a movement.

The first few days were quiet—50 views, 70 views, maybe 100. Most would have quit, but not Alakh. He kept uploading, every night after classes, every early morning before heading to work.

Slowly, comments began to appear:

“Sir, please explain this chapter,”

“Sir, can you make videos for NEET too?”

“Sir, we finally understand physics!”

Among them, one comment stood out: “Sir, you are not a YouTuber. You are a revolution for poor students.” That simple line ignited a fire in him that would never die.

THE CHANNEL THAT WON HEARTS

By 2018–19, Physics Wallah’s YouTube channel began growing at a pace no one had predicted. Students started relying on it not just for learning but for hope. His teaching style was honest, raw, and deeply human. There was no showmanship, no business plan, no millionaire mindset. What he offered was something priceless: clarity, care, and affordability. He spoke to students like a big brother, a guardian, a friend.

The comment sections filled with messages like, “Sir, I couldn’t afford coaching. You saved my dream,” “My father is a farmer. Thanks to you, I will become a doctor,” and “Sir, we are with you until the end.” Physics Wallah had become more than a channel—it had become a lifeline. But with popularity came attention, and with attention came competition. The big coaching giants noticed the buzz, and they didn’t like it.

THE MILLION-RUPEE OFFERS

When Physics Wallah crossed a million subscribers, the offers began to pour in. Powerful coaching institutes approached him with contracts worth crores—some offering 40 crore, some 75 crore, and some even hinting at 100 crore. All they wanted was for him to join them and make videos under their brand. But there was a condition: “Your videos on YouTube must stop.” Their biggest fear was that free education would continue challenging their expensive empire.

For any ordinary person, such an offer would have been irresistible. But Alakh was not ordinary. He remembered the young faces in rural India, the mothers who cried while paying fees, and the silent promise he had made—that his teaching would never become unreachable. So he refused every single offer. People called him foolish, friends said he had wasted the biggest opportunity of his life, and business experts claimed he didn’t understand the market. But he understood something far greater: education is a right, not a luxury.

THE BIRTH OF THE COMPANY

In June 2020, during the pandemic, when the entire world was locked inside their homes, students were more anxious than ever. Exams were uncertain, coaching centers were closed, and doubts were rising. This was the moment Physics Wallah stepped into its next avatar.

With the help of a small team—hardly 5–6 people working day and night—Alakh launched the Physics Wallah app. It didn’t have the most beautiful interface, thousands of features, or a glamorous marketing campaign. But it had something far more valuable: courses priced at ₹500, ₹1000, ₹2000—prices that shook the entire coaching market.

Within days, lakhs of students downloaded the app. Servers crashed repeatedly, and the team worked through nights, sweating in tiny rooms, fixing issues on laptops that overheated too quickly. There was no fancy office, no high-tech infrastructure—just passion. But passion can build empires. Physics Wallah became a company, yet its soul remained a classroom.

THE REVOLUTION BEGINS

Between 2020 and 2022, Physics Wallah grew at a speed never seen before in Indian ed-tech. Millions of students joined the platform, dozens of teachers came onboard, new channels were launched, and offline centers began opening. PW expanded into UPSC, SSC, banking, and more. But the biggest achievement wasn’t the numbers—it was the trust.

PW wasn’t popular because it was cheap; it was popular because it was honest. Parents trusted it, students adored it, and teachers respected it. In an industry notorious for cut-throat competition and greed, PW was like a breath of fresh air. Yet, every success story has a turning point—the moment when the world finally acknowledges what you’ve built. For Physics Wallah, that moment arrived in 2022.

THE UNICORN

In June 2022, something extraordinary happened. Physics Wallah became India’s 101st unicorn, crossing a valuation of $1 billion. A company built from a small room, with minimal resources, and started with a single phone camera had become one of the fastest-growing ed-tech startups in the country.

When news channels asked him how he felt, Alakh’s answer was simple: “The unicorn status is not my achievement. It belongs to every student who trusted me.” It wasn’t just a victory; it was a message—a message that sincerity can challenge giants, that humanity can beat marketing, and that passion can outshine investment. And yet, the journey wasn’t over. For many, becoming a unicorn is the peak. For Physics Wallah, it was only a milestone.

THE ROAD TO IPO

An IPO—Initial Public Offering.
The moment a company goes public.
The moment it invites millions of people to become shareholders, partners, believers.

The idea of a PW IPO felt like a dream.
A dream where students who once learned from free YouTube videos could now own a piece of the company that shaped their lives.

By 2023–24, discussions began.

But for Alakh, this was more than finance.
He wanted the IPO to symbolize something greater:

“This IPO should be the people’s IPO—
the students’, the parents’, the teachers’, the dreamers’ IPO.”

But going public isn’t easy.

There were challenges:

• ensuring consistent revenue
• expanding offline centers responsibly
• managing teacher teams
• maintaining low prices
• keeping the original mission intact

For many, these would be obstacles.
For PW, they were reminders of why it started.

With every passing month, PW strengthened its systems:

• new educational verticals
• scholarship programs
• hybrid learning models
• AI-assisted study tools
• expansion into Tier-3 and rural India

The goal was not just to grow…
but to grow with purpose.

As the financial world began discussing a potential Physics Wallah IPO, students were more excited than investors.

They said:

“Sir, we will buy the first share.”
“PW’s IPO will be emotional for us.”
“We want to support the platform that supported us.”

The journey from a simple YouTube channel to IPO discussions was nothing short of historic.

THE HEART OF THE JOURNEY

Behind the numbers, funding, valuations, and business models, the true essence of PW remained unchanged:

A teacher explaining concepts.
A team working tirelessly.
A notebook filled with formulas.
A student studying late at night.

Even during IPO planning, Alakh would walk into classrooms, take live sessions, teach for hours.
Because at the core of it all, he was—and would always be—a teacher.

He often said:

“Company chale na chale, padhana nahi rukega.”
(“Whether the company succeeds or not, teaching will never stop.”)

And that is why PW continued to inspire millions.

THE LEGACY & THE FUTURE

If the Physics Wallah IPO becomes reality, it will not be just a financial event.
It will be a story.

A story of:

• one teacher
• one whiteboard
• one dream
• one YouTube channel
• and millions of students who believed

It will prove that India’s next generation of entrepreneurs doesn’t need fancy suits or Silicon Valley funds.

Sometimes, all you need is a marker, a camera, and a purpose.

Physics Wallah’s journey captures the essence of modern India—
that talent can rise from any lane, any village, any background.

And that one person’s honesty can change the lives of millions.

EPILOGUE: A MESSAGE TO EVERY DREAMER

The story of Physics Wallah is not just about education. It is about faith—the unwavering belief in the power of knowledge and the conviction that every student, no matter their background, deserves access to learning. It is about grit—the relentless effort, long nights, and countless challenges that Alakh overcame while building the platform from scratch. It is about the courage to say “no” to money when values matter more—refusing crores in offers from big coaching institutes to ensure that education remained affordable and accessible for students across India.

It is a message to every young dreamer: that with passion, sincerity, and perseverance, it is possible to challenge giants, create meaningful impact, and build something that truly matters. Physics Wallah shows that success is not only measured in wealth or numbers but in the trust, hope, and lives you touch along the way.