Scaling Education Across Borders
Karan Jalali
Director, PW Gulf
PhysicsWallah Gulf
Scaling Education Across Borders
Karan Jalali
Director, PW Gulf
PhysicsWallah Gulf
At a time when India’s EdTech sector was growing rapidly without a clear playbook, Karan Jalali stepped into the fray with focus and audacity. Joining Unacademy in 2020, he faced a volatile, attention-driven ecosystem, where turning fleeting YouTube clicks into meaningful learning outcomes required trust, experimentation and relentless adaptation. His subsequent stint at BYJU’S deepened his operational rigour and sharpened his ability to scale content, optimise systems, and keep student impact central to growth decisions. The defining chapter of his journey began with PhysicsWallah (PW) Gulf. Relocating to Dubai, Karan built multi-country operations from the ground up across six Gulf countries, with full P&L ownership. The mandate was uncompromising: scale quickly, remain profitable, and ensure academic outcomes in a market still discovering structured EdTech. This phase marked a shift in his leadership, from personal hustle to orchestrating teams, processes, and systems capable of delivering consistent, repeatable growth. Today, as Director at PW Gulf, Karan leads strategy, operations, and expansion across physical and digital learning platforms. His approach is deeply data-driven, increasingly powered by automation and agentic AI to drive efficiency and sustainability. Backed by a B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication Engineering, he blends technical understanding with operational depth to build scalable education businesses in complex markets. Speaking with TradeFlock, Karan shares the anecdotes behind his success.
Looking back, what subtle decisions made the biggest impact on growth at BYJU’S, Unacademy, and PW?
My biggest turning points have been quiet ones. While YouTube was already a go-to platform for lectures, at Unacademy we chose a different path. We launched a non-academic series where teachers engaged with students about mindset and exam stress. Those interactions built genuine relationships that drove conversions. At BYJU’S, we were operating in a much larger category with a far bigger team. The key call was to simplify, which needed shifting to high-impact video nuggets and a consistent, human brand voice instead of long, forgettable content. At PW Gulf, the shift was from hustle to systems. We moved from sheets to CRMs and dashboards, automated attendance and marks, and deployed AI agents for routine queries. While these decisions are invisible on a growth chart, they freed massive bandwidth and made scaling sustainable.
What’s next for education in the Gulf, and how are you preparing for it?
I see the future as systems plus humans, not online versus offline. AI will handle assessment, revision, doubt-solving and pacing, while teachers focus on explanation and mentoring. A well-equipped teacher will be able to personalise learning for an entire class, rather than deliver generic lectures. We are positioning PW Gulf as a system-builder and deep-tech partner, investing in data, experimentation, AI and a strong second line of leaders. Personally, I treat my own learning like a project, with early-morning workouts, focused podcasts and reading, and staying hands-on with AI and coding systems to stay close to the machinery. Looking ahead, school partnerships will be central as families seek strong CBSE outcomes, entrance clarity, and global admissions guidance. The gap between school and coaching will narrow through integrated models where schools and specialists like PW work in sync.
Given the Gulf’s unique market, how have you adapted working culture, and what innovations drove results?
The Gulf forced us to unlearn the Indian playbook. In India, scale often comes from larger batches and collective learning. In the Gulf, however, cohorts of around 40 students expect intense personal attention. With low awareness of JEE/NEET, DASA/CIWG, and Indian highereducation pathways among our Gulf TG, we built an offline seminar ecosystem across the region, educating families first and selling later. On the systems side, we introduced instant attendance and marks apps, live Student–Parent Dashboards, PTMs even for online batches and School Integrated Programmes, then layered AI-driven practice tools and virtual counsellors on top. This shift from lead-chasing to value-driven nurturing turned word-of-mouth into our strongest growth engine.
How do you reset and stay grounded during hypergrowth?
As a working professional, what impacts me the most is drifting away from my routines. When workouts slip or sleep is compromised, everything else feels heavier. My reset is to return to basics. I protect my morning workout like a board meeting, eat clean as often as possible, and prioritise adequate sleep. Commutes become time for long-form conversations and podcasts that stretch my thinking, and I make it a habit to read a few pages of a good book every day. With the team, I’m honest about bandwidth. We reprioritise, delegate deliberately, and let systems, not heroics, carry the menial workload. Over the last year, we’ve tried to balance professional success with personal well-being. My non-negotiable is simple: I will not build a business that ‘wins’ at the cost of the humans building it. Instead, we aim for mutual growth and learning in an environment that remains supportive and sustainable.
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