Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
IN CUELEARN PVT. LTD., BANGALORE
(175SM024)
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
November 2018
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the Report of the P.G. Project Work entitled
material contained in this Report has not been submitted to any University
School of Management
record of the work carried out by him/her, is accepted as the P.G. Project
Chairman - DPGC
(Signature with Date and Seal)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
v
ABSTRACT
In India, where education is quite expensive and competition is inevitable, almost every parent
wants his or her child to become either an engineer or a doctor. Due to grading system, where
less than 99 percentile sometimes means exit from the tough competition, importance of
However, there is a gap between scorecard what students get in school and their understanding
of subjects. This gap is targeted by Google funded CueMath which is a product of Ed-tech
startup, CueLearn Private Limited. On one hand, it is provided a unique way of learning to kids
of K-8 segment and on the other, they are empowering homemakers in form of work from
home and entrepreneurship. In this project report, I conducted a study of understanding how
CueMath on demand side of business improves number of students for the new and existing
CueMath teachers. Objective of study evolves around the various operations activities, which
facilitates CueMath teachers to conduct interactive learning sessions for kids. How logistics,
material handling, transportation plays an important role on timely, efficiently and effectively
delivering the required support material to CueMath teachers, students and CueMath office. I
was mainly working in project management department for doing a pilot test of a C-Level
vi
Index
CHAPTER 1 1
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 2 4
LITERATURE REVIEW 4
CHAPTER 3 7
CHAPTER 4 8
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 8
SWOT Analysis 9
PEST Analysis 10
CHAPTER 5 15
BUSINESS MODEL 15
CHAPTER 6 20
BUSINESS PROCESS 20
CHAPTER 7 27
CONCLUSION 27
REFERENCES 28
vii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
improvement of logical and creative reasoning of kids from LKG to standard eight.
CueMath aims to solve the problem of poor math learning in schools, tuitions and other
math programs. The exposure of most kids to math is superficial. Kids tend to think of
math as a disparate collection of facts and formulas, and hence become indifferent or even
averse to the subject. CueMath’s learning-by-doing system is designed to make kids see
math as a beautiful and logically interconnected subject, and as a result, to make them fall
The CueMath program is offered through home-based centers via trained and certified
CueMath Teachers. Each student has to attend three sessions a week. In every session, the
student will learn math using a multi-format learning system, which includes workbooks,
tab activities and puzzle cards. The learning trajectory of each student is personalized to
that student, and thus every student can learn and progress at his or her own pace. CueMath
started in 2013 from the Delhi region. As of March 2016, it had more than 1000 centers
across India.
1
Vision:
CueMath is a math mastery program with a powerful vision: to make every child great at
math.
Mission:
CueMath aims to transform the way kids across the globe experience math. Operating from
The primary objectives are making a child great at math can be one of the surest ways to
lead the child towards a successful academic, professional and personal future. By building
a learning system focused on fundamentals, CueMath’s vision is to make every child great
at math.
2
3
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Solanki (2017) stated the various methods to facilitate CueMath teachers to improve their
student teacher ratio (STR). In addition, started CueMath Teacher’s Lunch Events,
CueMath Carnival, and launched digital marketing campaign for the company, including
social marketing. He also analyzed market and event organisation for the newly tapped
market. Solanki’s objectives was to enhance student teacher ratios via Marketing, Event
learning sessions between CueMath Teachers and CueMath students and suggest
improvements and to achieve best possible efficiency and effectiveness in delivery lead-
The report provided an abstract information on operations, processes and projects but very
Hammond (2010) explored the efforts to improve and professionalize teaching throughout
the past, and has made major changes including licensing of teachers, new types of
The report provided an abstract information on the rationale for teaching modifications and
licensing the teachers after updating their skills. The written instruments for assessing the
teacher competence and skill cannot capture fully the complexities of teaching knowledge.
Moreover, because the acquisition of teaching skill depends more on developing judgement
4
in complex non-routine situations, skill-sets can not be fairly assessed until the teacher has
the opportunity to encounter and work through many practical problems through teaching.
Erickson (2012) stated the view of learning to teach in the Elementary Teacher Preparation
Program is that learning to teach is a life-long process. Collaborating teachers and field
instructors to help in the internship and final report for each intern with whom they work.
Jennifer (2013) stated that a teacher collaboration is the highest leverage strategy for school
cultural norms to school leaders and teachers committed to working together. Teachers
articulated feeling far more “isolated” in some schools in which they taught, and describe
their current pedagogical practice as being defined by the daily routines of “learning things
from other teachers.” Teachers universally point to the impact of teacher collaboration on
student learning by improving classroom practice, promoting data use, increasing academic
Johnston and Tiffany (2018) examined there is a lot of research suggesting that peer
capacity to support student learning. There is abundant evidence that the work of teachers
teacher capacity.
5
Berry (2009) found that over the last decade, it was seen that not all schools have equal
access to the most effective teachers. High schools that serve large proportions of
economically disadvantaged and minority students are more likely to have difficulty
recruiting and retaining teachers, particularly in high-demand subjects like math and
science. As a result, there is a large effective teaching gap. To fill this gap, new startups in
education is rising in the world where students can get desired education for a lesser price
sitting at home.
Burton (2015) explored the impact that teacher collaboration has on teacher learning and
Carolina. Three common themes were identified and explored for their relation to teacher
learning and development. The findings of this qualitative study demonstrated that
efficacy, and positive interdependence of teachers. Other related themes emerged, such as
effective collaborative practices that enhances the learning environment. This study also
reveals how the role of school leadership is needed to encourage and monitor teacher
6
CHAPTER 3
learning sessions between CueMath Teachers and CueMath students and suggest
improvement.
Scope of study:
Collaborate with New Partners: Help these CueMath teachers to start their home-based
business by facilitating them in attracting new CueMath kids to join the program by
providing them Marketing collaterals, Study materials, Math games, Math box and
other materials.
7
CHAPTER 4
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
A competitive analysis is the analysis of the competitors of the firm and how the business
process is being compared within the same industry. It is a critical part of the company's
business plan. By evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the firm's competition, the
firm can begin to formulate how to give itself an advantage. Such an assessment is usually
part of a company’s business or marketing plan, and provides context for growth plans.
Porter‘s Five Forces model is a simple yet powerful tool for understanding where power
lies in a business situation. Thus useful, as it helps to understand both the strength of firm’s
current competitive position and the strength of a position firm is considering moving into.
CueMath has its own strategic and operational factors to follow upon some of which have
been explored through SWOT analysis and value chain analysis for the organization.
8
SWOT Analysis –
POSITIVES NEGATIVES
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
Advantages of the organization. Activities that can be determined as your
weakness in the market.
Activities of the company better than
competitors. Factors that can reduce the sales.
INTERNAL
Unique resources and low cost resources Competitor’s activities that can be seen
company has. as your weakness.
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Interesting trends of industry. Activities of competitors.
Local events.
9
PEST Analysis –
A PEST analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment that affects all firms.
factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors usually are beyond the
POLITICAL:
Strong and powerful political person, his point of view on business policies and their
ECONOMIC:
10
Considerations on other economic factors.
SOCIO-CULTURAL:
Change in population growth rate and age factors, and its impacts on organization.
Employment patterns, job market trend and attitude towards work according to
Social attitudes and social trends change in socio culture and its effects.
TECHNOLOGICAL:
Any new technology in market that could affect the work, organization or industry.
Access of competitors to the new technologies and its impact on their product
development/better services.
Research areas of government and education institutes in which the company can make
any efforts.
11
PORTER’S Five Forces Model –
Porter's Five Forces Model is an important tool for understanding the forces that shape
competition within an industry. It is also useful for helping the firm to adjust it's strategy
to suit the competitive environment, and to improve it's potential profit. It works by looking
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: the ability of suppliers to drive up the prices of the
inputs.
Bargaining Power of Buyers: the strength of the customers to drive down the prices.
Threat of Substitutes: the extent to which different products and services can be used
Threat of New Entrants: the ease with which new competitors can enter the market if
As the industry has high profits, many new entrants will try to enter into the market.
However, the new entrants will eventually cause decrease in overall industry profits.
Therefore, it is necessary to block the new entrants in the industry. Following factors
12
Switching cost.
Access to suppliers and distributions.
Customer loyalty to established brands.
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES:
This describes the threat to company. If the goods and services are not up to the standard,
consumers can use substitutes and alternatives that do not need any extra effort and do not
make a major difference. The potential factors that made customer shift to substitutes are
as follows:
The lesser the money and resources required to enter into any industry, the higher chances
there will be of new competitors and be an effective competitor. It will also weaken the
company’s position. Following are the potential factors that will influence the company’s
competition:
Competitive advantage.
Continuous innovation.
Sustainable position in competitive advantage.
Level of advertising.
Competitive strategy.
13
BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS:
It deals with the ability of customers to take down the prices. It mainly consists of the
importance of a customer and the level of cost if a customer will switch from one product
to another. The buyer power is high if there are too many alternatives available.
Correspondingly, the buyer power is low if there are lesser options of alternatives and
Bargaining advantage.
Switching cost of a buyer.
Buyer price sensitivity.
Competitive advantage of company’s product.
This refers to the supplier’s ability of increasing and decreasing prices. If there are few
alternatives of supplier available, this will threaten the company and it would have to
purchase its raw material in supplier’s terms. However, if there are many suppliers’
alternatives, suppliers have low bargaining power and company does not have to face high
switching cost. The potential factors that effects bargaining power of suppliers are the
following:
Input differentiation.
Impact of cost on differentiation.
Strength of distribution centers.
Input substitute’s availability.
14
CHAPTER 5
BUSINESS MODEL
CueMath has set up a network of home-based centers run by well-educated, trained and
certified CueMath teachers. CueMath believes that a strong math foundation can have a
transformative impact on a child’s future and hence building it is imperative. The following
Teachers run a home-based center for math excellence, using CueMath’s tech-enabled
multi-format learning system (workbooks and learning aids, tab, and puzzle cards), With
15
CueMath center for math excellence in every nook and corner of the country, and
Product:
CueMath’s after-school program is open for children from KG to 8th grade. The program
necessitates only three one-hour sessions in a week, leaving children with the time every
child deserves, to play and to have other skills. To build a high math proficiency in children
within these one-hour sessions, ensuring that the student is engaged with the subject is the
key. CueMath achieves this with the help of its multi-format learning system, which
include:
16
Supply Side: Partners
CueMath Teacher Partners are typically well-educated women in the age group of 30 - 48,
Enjoy their free time on working with kids and creating impact.
Some offline techniques (eg. recruitment events) have also been tried to recruit partners,
but with limited success. Most partners are women who gave up their full-time careers once
they got married or had children. Partners run their CueMath centers from their own homes;
17
CueMath students studying at CueMath Teacher’s place
A partner earns through a revenue sharing arrangement. Suppose that each child pays a
monthly fee of INR 2000, and a partner has 20 students. She will be generating INR 40,000
in monthly revenue, of which she will retain 60% or INR 24,000 per month. This will
CueMath retains 40% of the generated revenue. As of today, the average earning of a
CueMath teacher who has been in the system for 6 months would be about INR 8,000 per
month. This is because there’s a certain ramp-up to capacity (a partner may take 9 months
to reach 20 students).
18
Demand Side: Customers & Consumers
For CueMath, the (real) consumer is the student (who learns through the CueMath learning
system), whereas the customer (the one who pays) is the parent.
Since their target group is students of grades KG to eight, parents are the primary decision-
makers. However, the decision of the customer (parent) to buy (enroll) relies significantly
How well the child is doing on school math exams due to the program.
In the CueMath model, partners generally do most of the customer acquisition. Thus, the
actual sale to a customer happens between the partner and the customer, and not between
CueMath and the customer. This means that the “last-mile” experience of a customer is
Across India, the average monthly fee for a CueMath student is about INR 1600 per
month.
Each student gets 3 classes per week, or 12 classes per month, and each class is an hour
long.
19
CHAPTER 6
BUSINESS PROCESS
A business process is a collection of linked tasks, which find their end in the delivery of a
service or product to a client. A business process has also been defined as a set of activities
Business Objectives
To achieve the following key objectives by next academic year, CueMath intends to have:
To achieve the above growth the company intends to go deeper into the six “core” cities
for CueMath: Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, and eight “other”
cities: Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Nashik, Vizag, Goa and Chandigarh.
2. Teacher Quality: with the objective of establishing a CueMath Teacher as the best math
educator in a locality.
3. Teacher Success: with the goal of twenty-four plus enrolled students for every
CueMath Teacher.
4. Marketing Objective:
Focus for the year on increasing supply (teachers) so CueMath end with a pan-India
20
21
CueMath Teacher Selection Process
An applicant will be considered if she meets all the below mentioned criteria:
Should be a married woman from one of the below mentioned six core cities:
Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune or 8 “other” cities includes
Investment Involved:
1. INR 1000/- + INR 7000/- (for existing teachers in T1 stage or in the system)
- INR 7000 is for the Math Box, which is refundable when the teacher will reach active
- INR 500/- is the application fees which the leads will have to pay before appearing for
in-person evaluation.
- Micro-finance options will be available for setup cost (depending on the teacher cohort)
Teacher Cohort:
1. Teacher has Tab of required specifications; and she just needs to pay for setup cost of
2. Teacher pays setup cost for Math Box and Tab upfront, in one transaction (amount to
22
3. Teacher pays setup cost for Math Box and Tab using micro-finance option (amount to
Payment Options:
Payment of INR 20,500 in full can be made on the CueTeacher app (CueMath’s app
interface for its teachers) and will be paid directly to the vendor. EMI options are available
In this case, the tablet cost of INR 8,850 will be waived off. She will still be required to
invest in the remaining hardware, learning aids and marketing materials at an upfront cost
of INR 11,650. There is currently no personal financing available for this option.
CueMath charges a non-refundable application fee of INR 500 when an eligible applicant
accepts the initial offer of attending the in-person/video call evaluation and subsequent
screening.
In order to successfully get the CueMath center started, a CueMath Teacher also needs to
1. Tablet + Headphones
2. Learning aids
3. Marketing Kit
23
The initial setup cost of the above three is INR 20,500. To assist her with this investment,
CueMath has also collaborated with hardware vendors and financial institutions to avail
Math-Box:
Math box came into picture in April 2017. The CueMath learning system, which include a
fully functional state-of-the-art Math Box. This box has 17 physical learning aids and 4
24
The box has manipulatives useful for students from KG, right up to grade eight. Younger
students can now actually see concepts like place values, skip counting and fractions. For
older kids, concepts like HCF, LCM and algebra will be tangible. A manipulative can be
In addition, this box comes with four math games covering syllabi from KG to grade eight
and can be played by 2 to 6 players. This will form an integral part of CueMath experience.
Very few schools integrate math manipulatives the way CueMath is planning to. No other
math program uses such a wide range of math manipulatives. Therefore, while the learning
outcomes of such a kit are well documented in educational research, this will also be a huge
shot in the arm for CueMath Teacher to make the center successful.
25
FUNDING
CapitalG (formerly known as Google Capital), the growth equity investment fund of
Alphabet (Google’s parent company), led this round of funding. When asked about the
rationale behind this investment, Kaushik Anand, CapitalG’s Head of India Investments,
said, “We believe technology can help solve the strong desire and need for quality
education. In addition, CueMath has scaled with great unit economics and capital
efficiency. We are happy to be supporting CueMath on the quest of transforming the way
Founded in 2013, there are over 2,000 centers educating more than 10,000 students across
the country. By March 2018, CueMath aims to establish 5,000 centers and enroll 40,000
children in the program. The funds raised will be utilized towards making the learning
system more powerful and expanding to more cities across the country.
26
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
In startups like CueLearn Pvt. Ltd., where there is a lot of scope for improvement of
operations, processes and projects, there is huge opportunity to learn and implement. Every
day one can find out problems and work on that such as failure to meet customer needs and
numerous scopes for improvising that helps to provide creative solutions using innovative
last mile delivery, and reverse logistics about which the startup for the time being is
ignorant as they are more focused on sales and expansion. The way by which teachers once
out of the system can return all these materials back to CueMath still needs to be explored
since there is lot of wastage and copyright issues in different cities if material is not
27
REFERENCES
Company Profile and Business Process Data from CueMath, CueLearn Pvt.
Ltd.
Erickson H (2012). A report on Collaborating Teachers & Field Instructors,
https://www.cuemath.com/
https://www.cuemath.com/blog/google-capitalg-partners-cuemath/
https://web.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-052711-
122422/unrestricted/BMurray_North_SWOT_v2.pdf
CueMath Pune.
28