The case outlined the roller coaster ride of the startup, WhiteHat Jr, from its inception in November 2018 till February 2021. The edutech organization was founded in Mumbai in India and, within no time, accelerated its growth. The app developed by the company taught the kids falling in the age group of 6–18 years how to develop animations, commercial games, and online apps by applying the basics of coding. By October 2019, the company managed to grow substantially and had 500 teachers while achieving 100% student and revenue growth every next month. August 2020 saw the acquisition of WhiteHat Jr by Byju’s, and all was finalized in six weeks, and the papers were signed virtually. This was followed by an aggressive advertisement campaign, but it didn’t go well with users. The company started making efforts to improve its reputation, and by December 2020, it decided to stop the controversial ads. In an interview, the founder of WhiteHat Jr, Karan Bajaj, admitted that the company should not have emphasized employability for young kids in its advertisements. The challenge ahead for the company is to develop strategies for damage control, future growth, and expansion.

1. Arun Kumar, A. (2021). Research note on online learning in India – Issues and challenges. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 14(8), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2021/v14i8/165678
2. Bhalla, K. (2020, December 3). Amid lawsuits, WhiteHat Jr cuts down on controversial ads; but is it enough? Inc42. https://inc42.com/buzz/amid-lawsuits-whitehat-jr-cuts-down-on-controversial-ads-but-is-it-enough/
3. Bhatt, S. (2020, September 16). Social media users troll WhiteHat Jr ads for overexposure. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/internet/social-media-users-troll-whitehat-jr-ads-for-overexposure/articleshow/78149825.cms?from=mdr
4. Bhattacharya, A. (2020, November 25). Ever since its acquisition by Byju's, WhiteHat Jr has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Scroll.in. https://scroll.in/article/979338/ever-since-its-acquisition-by-byjus-whitehat-jr-has-been-in-the-news-for-all-the-wrong-reasons- problems after the takeover
5. Bhattacharya, A. (2021, February 10). What India's most controversial ed-tech entrepreneur would do differently next time. Quartz India. https://qz.com/india/1968727/founder-karan-bajaj-on-whitehat-jr-ads-toxic-work-culture-claims/
6. Dash, S. (2020, August 7). A WhatsApp message, six weeks of talks, and a $300 million deal – how Karan Bajaj sold his less than 18-month old startup White Hat Jr to Byju's. Business Insider India. https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/how-karan-bajaj-sold-his-less-than-18-month-old-startup-white-hat-jr-to-byjus/articleshow/77415329.cms
7. Edtech startup WhiteHat Jr to hire 13,000 teachers by year-end. (2020, September 2). Mint. https://www.livemint.com/education/news/edtech-startup-whitehat-jr-to-hire-13-000-teachers-by-year-end-11599052036411.html
8. George, A. (2020, November 7). WhiteHatJr's digital franchising: Could it end the claims? Timesnext. https://timesnext.com/whitehatjrs-digital-franchising-could-it-end-the-claims/
9. Ghosh, S. (2019, October 19). How this Mumbai startup achieved a 100 percent MoM revenue growth by teaching kids to code. YourStory. https://yourstory.com/2019/10/edtech-startup-mumbai-whitehatjr-kids-learn-coding
10. Hrithik, V. (2020, November 25). WhiteHat Jr. says Wolf Gupta Ad with 20 crore job package at Google was fake to High Court Delhi, India. TDH Publishing. https://thedigitalhacker.com/whitehatjr-admits-wolf-gupta-ad-was-fake/
11. Kadakia, P. M. (2020, October 22). WhiteHat Jr and the curious case of disappearing dissent. Forbes India. https://www.forbesindia.com/article/take-one-big-story-of-the-day/whitehat-jr-and-the-curious-case-of-disappearing-dissent/63627/1
12. National Education Policy 2020 unveiled; Coding mandatory from 6th class onwards. (2020, July 30). NFA POST. https://thenfapost.com/national-education-policy-2020-unveiled-coding-mandatory-from-6th-class-onwards-2/
13. Ranipeta, S. S. (2020, November 28). WhiteHat Jr's online crackdown: How the EdTech startup went after its critics. The News Minute. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/whitehat-jr-s-online-crackdown-how-edtech-startup-went-after-its-critics-138601
14. Sharma, S., & Goyal, D. P. (2020). Entrepreneurial marketing strategies for small businesses: An exploratory study of start-up companies in India. Indian Journal of Marketing, 50(8–9), 48–65. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2020/v50/i8-9/154691
15. Sindwani, P. (2020, May14). This edtech startup is looking to hire 1,500 teachers and 400 other staff immediately⁠— CEO says the business is doubling every month. Business Insider India. https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/jobs-at-whitehat-jr-edtech-startup-profile-experience-salary-and-other-details/articleshow/75687582.cms
16. Singh, R. (2020, October 27). Exclusive: Advertising body asks WhiteHat Jr to pull down ads. Forbes India. https://www.forbesindia.com/article/special/exclusive-advertising-body-asks-whitehat-jr-to-pull-down-ads/63767/1
17. Srivastava, M. (2021, January 14). Coding, campaign, and controversies: WhiteHat Jr's journey from highflyer to the eye of storm. KrASIA. https://kr-asia.com/coding-campaign-and-controversies-whitehat-jrs-journey-from-highflyer-to-the-eye-of-storm
18. Vishwanath, M. (2020, September 2). WhiteHat Jr on an expansion spree; onboarding 220 teachers a day. CNBC TV 18. https://www.cnbctv18.com/startup/whitehat-jr-on-an-expansion-spree-onboarding-220-teachers-a-day-6805071.htm
19. WhiteHat Jr (n.d.a). Owler. https://www.owler.com/company/whitehatjr
20. WhiteHat Jr (n.d.b). Live 1:1 online classes. https://www.whitehatjr.com/