Why I love the EdTech space.

Waris Hussain
4 min readJun 20, 2022

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One of my favourite movies is Taare Zameen Par(Like Stars on Earth).

It’s a story of an 8-year-old child, who was regarded as “mentally unstable” by his school, thus, by his parents. He failed and had to repeat class just in grade 3! He couldn’t differentiate between the letter “d” and “b”, and didn’t know why “6” and “9” are so similar.
When he sat in exams and had the question “3 x 6=?”; he created an entire movie in his mind where he was the hero, in a spaceship, moving the planet number 3, and smashing it into 6, which is bigger in size, so planet 3 got destroyed and 6 remains. So the answer to “3 x 6” is 6!
Is he an idiot? I think what he did with “3 x 6” is a creative genius.
He just didn’t have the right set of teachers, the right set of instruction medium, and the right education.

The movie goes on with the protagonist Amir Khan coming into his life as his Art teacher, and teaches him how to think, how to learn, hence, transforming his life!

I Love this movie, just like you might love a different movie. But I didn’t know there was a bigger reason behind WHY I loved this particular movie.

Discovering Praxis

When I joined Praxis, I was asked by the CEO Cameron Sorsby “What do you like most about Praxis?

My response was “I Love the community, and I love the way you go through teaching things, your curriculum and methods.”

That was an honest response. And when I moved into placements, I followed my mentor’s advice:

“Don’t do stuff you hate, but don’t look out for your dream job at the start of your career. Just say yes to anything that might get your feet into the door.”

I followed that and applied to all sorts of companies, even had interviews with some. There were real estate companies, fintech companies (I was especially passionate about blockchain ones), marketing agencies, tech startups, etc. But the ones I made the best pitches were EdTech startups. I made those pitches only because I was more passionate about these companies, and the pitches automatically became better than my average pitch. I was more passionate about getting into the EdTech space, teaching and learning, revolutionizing the way we learn today and the way our system is right now.

I surely do talk about why you might be better off on your own, and not through college. But I’m not one of those who’s bullshitting on college for no reason (Yep..one of those “dropouts drive Lamborghinis brooo”)

I even say some might just go to college, maybe this carve-your-own path isn’t for everyone.

But I do believe, you must stop and question if you do want to get into such institutions, and evaluate all the options.

I’m passionate about EdTech

Me loving that movie from the start, joining Praxis, always talking with my friends about things related to learning things, creating better pitches for EdTech startups, etc.
All these point to a same conclusion: I Love the EdTech Space. Be it companies, communities, resources, or conversations.

I’m big on being more mindful of your education and learning. Take charge of your own education, What you’re learning, what skills you’re teaching to yourself, and what are you most passionate about. Because these things eventually decide what you end up doing for the rest of your life.

And, I’m big on EdTech startups. Companies that are working on a better way to educate millions. I’m currently working at Career Hackers, which is more about Career Acceleration, than learning. But it sure is about educating yourself and taking charge in your hands. My friend Kovid is also working at a great startup in this space. He’s also a great one to talk to about EdTech!

And, I always try to keep an eye on the best Bootcamps, Communities, Guides, and more.

You can browse some of them from the links above. And maybe consider being more intentional and mindful when it comes to your education!

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Waris Hussain
Waris Hussain

Written by Waris Hussain

I'm a User Experience Designer, a curious soul always keen to learn as much as possible. Here to share what I've learnt and get better at life.