Nithin Kamath and Kunal Shah-backed Stoa shuts down

Stoa School, which offered an MBA boot camp program, has shut down its services after operating for more than four years.

In an interaction with Entrackr in June, Raj Kunkolienkar mentioned that the firm had “hit the pause button” on its operations and was re-evaluating its future course of action. However, the firm has now made the final decision to discontinue operations.

“It has been our privilege to serve over a thousand individuals who have gone on to achieve amazing things across industries and geographies. This was a gut-wrenching and tough decision to make, especially since people expect an education brand to endure,” as per Kunkolienkar’s LinkedIn post.

Launched in October 2020, Stoa used to offer a six-month, part-time MBA program focused on the startup ecosystem. Unlike traditional MBA degrees that come with high costs, Stoa charged approximately Rs 2.5 lakh. Its curriculum includes strategy and models, general management, branding, economics, and analytical thinking.

Stoa raised seed funding from the likes of Nithin Kamath, Kunal Shah, Gagan Biyani and AngelList in November 2021.

“...Post-pandemic, there was a noticeable decline in interest for online live-learning due to changing consumer preferences. Despite having built a strong brand, we decided against going offline because the economics of that move would have led us to a place we stood against,” the post added.

While edtech is going through a revival in terms of funding, several startups in the sector have been absorbed by larger companies, and some have paused their operations. In July, the social learning platform Bluelearn halted its services despite having raised $4 million.