Behind every fast-growing EdTech brand is usually a founder story worth knowing, and Next Toppers is no exception. Unlike many large online learning companies backed primarily by venture capital and corporate leadership, Next Toppers was built by educators who were already teaching students directly on YouTube before turning that experience into a structured business.
The Three Founders
Next Toppers was founded by three individuals: Digraj Singh Rajput, who serves as CEO, along with co-founders Prashant Kirad and Shobhit Nirwan. The platform was launched in November 2023 under the registered company SPD Eduventures Private Limited, based in Shahdara, Delhi. Each founder brought a distinct teaching specialty and existing student following to the venture, which helped the platform gain traction quickly after launch.
Digraj Singh Rajput: CEO and Social Science Educator
Digraj Singh Rajput hails from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and began his career as a social science teacher. He built a large YouTube following by teaching history and social science in a clear, exam-focused style that resonated with CBSE students. As CEO, he now oversees the platform’s overall strategy, operations, and growth, while continuing to teach on the platform himself.
Prashant Kirad: Co-Founder and Mentor
Prashant Kirad holds a B.Tech background and runs the popular YouTube channel ExpHub, where he shares study techniques and strategies aimed particularly at students preparing for competitive exams like JEE and NEET. At Next Toppers, he focuses on mentorship, course structuring, and technology integration, helping shape how content is organized within the app.
Shobhit Nirwan: Co-Founder and Math Educator
Shobhit Nirwan is known for making complex mathematics concepts approachable for school students. Beyond teaching, he is also a motivational speaker and the author of the book ‘Unbarbaad.’ His role at Next Toppers blends subject teaching with motivational content aimed at keeping students engaged and confident through their board exam preparation.
How the Founders Built the Platform Together
Rather than starting from scratch with an unfamiliar audience, the three founders combined their existing YouTube communities into a single platform offering live classes, recorded lessons, structured notes, and mock tests. This meant Next Toppers launched with an audience that already trusted its educators, which is one of the key reasons the app crossed one million downloads within a relatively short period after launch.
Growth and Recognition
Since its founding, Next Toppers has expanded from its original Class 9 and 10 focus to cover Class 11 and 12, State Board content, and CUET preparation. The company has grown its team to dozens of employees dedicated to content creation and student support, and its leadership has received industry recognition for contributions to India’s digital education space.
Final Thoughts
The story of Next Toppers’ founders reflects a broader trend in Indian EdTech: individual educators with strong teaching reputations building trusted, community-first platforms rather than relying solely on marketing budgets. For students, this founder-led model often translates into content that feels more personal, consistent, and genuinely focused on exam results rather than just platform growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Next Toppers founded? The platform was founded in November 2023 by Digraj Singh Rajput, Prashant Kirad, and Shobhit Nirwan, under the registered company SPD Eduventures Private Limited.
Did the founders have teaching experience before starting Next Toppers? Yes, all three founders had already built individual YouTube followings as educators, teaching subjects like social science, mathematics, and exam strategy, before combining their efforts into a single platform.
Is Next Toppers backed by outside investors? Publicly available information primarily highlights the founder-led structure of the company; as with many growing startups, specific funding details may evolve over time, so checking recent company profile sources is recommended for the most current status.
Where is Next Toppers headquartered? The company is registered and based in Shahdara, Delhi, operating primarily as a digital-first platform reaching students across India through its app and website.
Lessons From How the Founders Built the Company
The founding story of Next Toppers offers a useful lesson for understanding why the platform resonates with students: it wasn’t built by outsiders guessing what students needed, but by educators who had already spent years directly teaching and listening to student feedback on YouTube. This closeness to the actual classroom experience is reflected in how the platform continues to prioritize live, interactive teaching and affordable pricing over purely automated or generic content delivery.
A Quick Summary
In short, Next Toppers was founded by three educators rather than a single individual: Digraj Singh Rajput as CEO, alongside co-founders Prashant Kirad and Shobhit Nirwan. Each brought an established teaching reputation and student following from YouTube, which combined to give the platform a strong, trusted starting point when it launched in November 2023. This founder-led, educator-first structure remains one of the clearest reasons students continue to describe the platform as feeling more personal than many larger, more corporate EdTech competitors.