Life is lived through experiences. While the conventional method of learning gives you the foundations in life, real-world experiences give you wings to fly and help you discover what you want to be. It is this ‘doing over knowing’ methodology that is much needed for the teenagers of today. How can teenagers implement this methodology and gain real-world experiences?
Uable is on a bold mission to redefine the future for millions of teenagers around the world through its online life-skills development platform. At Uable, teenagers can immerse themselves in real-world experiences to explore their interests and passions and discover what they truly want to do. This platform focuses on project-based learning as an efficient approach for gaining knowledge and skills through engaging projects.
Uable was founded in 2020 by Saurabh Saxena, ex-co-founder, Vedantu. The startup commenced with a mission to bring real-world learning to young children through role play and creativity. But along the way, while working with 13+ year-olds who are about to make critical career choices in their life, the startup realized that this category needed more focus from their side. So, they pivoted to cater to their new audience: teenagers. If you notice their logo, it is based on the Japanese concept Ikigai (“a reason for being”), which resonates with their vision of empowering every young learner to discover and live their Ikigai.
“At Uable, we are challenging the status quo of education, where for decades and possibly centuries, the notion that securing the highest marks, grades, and degrees alone determined one’s future and chances of success. However, we are here to change that notion and bring a paradigm shift in education. The way we are differentiated is that we are not about ‘test prep’ or ‘course prep’ but about ‘life prep’. We believe through the right guidance, mentorship, inspiration, and information, teenagers can discover that their passion can find a career path. We are excited to have on-board our new investors who are aligned with this vision of ours.”
– Saurabh Saxena, Founder
On the Uable app, you can first explore then dive deep into fields that interest you and start creating micro projects. You can discover and design your own career paths in the 21st century future of work domains including, but not limited to AI, Climate Change, Gig Economy, Space Tech, and Robotics. The startup offers the opportunity for teenagers to join it as a young learner and change the education landscape as a Uable Co-Creator or a Community Manager. As part of its mission of taking real-world learning global, the startup hosts Quest, a one of its kind event for high school learners to gain insights from best industry experts.
Uable has recently raised $3.5 million in pre-series A round led by JAFCO Asia and Chiratae Ventures. Existing investor 3one4 Capital also participated in the round. With this round, Supriya Singh, Director of South Asia investments, JAFCO Asia, has joined the Uable board. The startup intends to utilize the funds to build a global team, scale the product globally, and add more real-world domains for teenagers to explore.
According to UNICEF, over half of Indian students will not have skills for 21st century jobs. This glaring industry-academia gap offers an immense opportunity for models like Uable to bring early-intervention. The startup is determined to march forward on its purpose to building a whole new generation to learn the skills of the future.