Rajendran Dandapani on the success of Zoho schools, getting a second chance at life, unschooling his child [#9]

Best in Class with Harish Narayanan

Rajendran Dandapani is the President of Zoho Schools (Zoho's meaningful alternative to conventional education, producing ~15% of Zoho's talent today). His is a life like none other; he dropped out of IIT, started his journey in Zoho 25 years ago, and has helped to transform the opportunities available in Tier-2 towns and villages in India. He also talks about his personal journey and redemption after hitting rock bottom, his experience unschooling his child (his son, who is now working at Zoho!). He has been a lifelong experimenter, optimist, and a clear orator; I hope you learn as much as I did from this conversation.

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Timestamps:

• 1:11 Introduction.
• 3:28 The model of Zoho Schools and what makes them work. (Learning by osmosis).
• 11:31 Genesis of the ZS model, initial years. (Scaling by experimentation).
• 23:46 Stepping off the beaten path. Scaling the model.
• 29:19 Learning to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty.
• 36:11 Dropping out of IIT, finding himself, finding redemption, getting into Zoho.
• 46:49 Unschooling his son.

Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.