Manit Kaushal- Co-Founder of UPI Study on Pioneering Education Entrepreneurship and Bolstering Access to Learning!

The story of a founder in his twenties who finds its roots in his family lineage. Born in a family closely tied to the education sector, Manit calls himself a fourth-generation educator. “My great-grandfather established schools in India, and my grandmother continued his legacy by founding her own. Later, my father joined her, and together, they expanded their ventures into a network of schools and colleges across India, Singapore, the U.S., and Canada.” He recalls his upbringing steeped in the ethos of learning and empowerment. According to him, the most substantiating impact came around when his father, originally a doctor, transitioned from medicine toward the education sector. “I was inspired by my father’s and overall our family’s ability to influence and improve lives, particularly through schools that serve thousands of children from rural areas in India.”

Manit moved to the US to attend high school and later attended Purdue University to graduate in Computer Science. During high school, Manit crystallized his first initiative as a non-profit entity named Book Aid India to provide students with access to books. He says, “We successfully reached about 2 million students across India, distributing over 2 million books and establishing library banks. Due to its expansive scale, the organization was later taken over by other entities.” Owing to his entrepreneurial spirit, he consecutively launched his first start-up Stardust Innovations at the early age of sixteen. It was a social networking website designed to help individuals achieve their dreams and goals collectively. This platform quickly grew to 26,000 users before being acquired.

Upon enrolling at Purdue as an undergraduate student, Manit’s zeal to explore new dimensions was growing exponentially. In light of the same, he founded Blowout.us, an event management company that served college students and their local businesses to flourish. “The venture was doing great until the COVID-19 pandemic hit and affected the functioning adversely. After two successful acquisitions, it was my first failure and undoubtedly, it took me some time to come to terms with the debacle,” says Manit. Collecting viable takeaways from the episode, Manit associated me with Purdue’s Anvil Accelerator and developed several promising projects, like Unimart, which had the potential to evolve into substantial startup ideas. It was around this time that the UPI Study was conceptualized. “I was actively brainstorming ideas holding capacity for unprecedented growth, and being on Purdue’s campus proved to be of utmost benefit. Purdue has an unmatched diverse body of students, and communicating with them about their respective educational journeys made me realize the vast gap between facilities available to local and international students.”

Manit explained how students in the US and other Western countries have access to AP courses, IB-accredited schools, and community colleges, helping them to cover ample college-level courses before officially starting their undergraduate degree. These students avail an unsaid advantage in profile building while also saving substantial amounts of money and time by completing their bachelor’s degree faster. On the other hand, in countries like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, or any other Asian country at large, institutions like these are not readily available. A very limited percentage of the population has access to these resources, which makes it mandatory for an international student to complete four years of undergrad education on campus, making it both time-consuming and expensive. According to Manit, “To illustrate, while an in-state student might pay around $7,000 to $8,000 annually, international students could be charged up to $40,000 per year at the same institution. Without the ability to transfer credits, these students often faced four years of high tuition costs without the opportunity to graduate early and save money. Hence, UPI targets this underserved market of international students” Speaking of their foundation’s overarching goal, UPI Study is a beacon of hope for those who aspire to study abroad but are hindered by financial constraints, as well as those already studying abroad who are struggling with the high costs.

When asked about the overall nature of his voyage this far, Manit discussed how it has been a tumultuous ride with considerable highs and lows. “The challenges and how we have addressed them offer a broad panorama of adversity and achievement. Initially, our primary hurdle was accreditation. We began with a UK partner, ATHE, and later acquired Aspire College in Canada to secure Canadian accreditation. We also introduced the Pathway Model, which allows students to split their studies between their home country and abroad—a popular concept, yet it initially did not attract as many students as we hoped.”

“To truly revolutionize access to education akin to AP and IB credits, we pursued U.S. college credit approval—a lengthy process that only came to fruition in 2024. Since achieving this milestone, we have seen a significant uptick in enrollment owing to the unique opportunities we offer.” Walking us through the company’s policy to keep up with unvarying growth, Manit lays paramount emphasis on maintaining a strong reputation in the industry. “I ardently place my trust in sourcing positive outcomes through customer satisfaction. The customer truly is king. The relationships we nurture and the reputation we uphold are crucial, as they directly influence our performance year after year.”

Outlining UPI’s future path, Manit says that “innovation” is his go-to mantra. He wants to build a platform that has innovation ingrained in its DNA. UPI Study’s focus is to also leverage technology, particularly AI, to make education more accessible, especially in underserved areas. He calls their approach straightforward: integrate new tech to overcome immediate educational hurdles.  Through a fully asynchronous online platform and cutting-edge AI integration, UPI Study is already revolutionizing the learning experience. The platform’s AI tutors are available for round-the-clock assistance, while analytics customize educational content to individual learning preferences to ensure optimal learning outcomes. “As UPI Study continues to expand globally, our team remains steadfast in its commitment to making education more accessible and adaptable to diverse educational stratas worldwide.”

Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, Manit currently is committed to fostering the next generation of startups, he mentors accelerators such as EForAll, Gener8tor, and VMS (Venture Mentoring Service) in Rhode Island, among others. For aspiring entrepreneurs in the education sector, Manit offers sage advice—start small, start now. “By focusing on a specific market and beginning immediately, entrepreneurs can lay the groundwork for impactful and sustainable growth, driving positive change in the education sector.”