Want to bat like Suresh Raina or sing like Neha Kakkar? Here’s an option

Sitting at home, what if you could learn to write and present jokes from standup comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath. Or master batting techniques with cricketer Suresh Raina. Or, if you are a budding musician, maybe take some tips from singer Neha Kakkar?

One-month-old skilling platform FrontRow aims to help its users do just that. On payment of a fee, users can learn tricks and tips from experts on how to excel in fields such as music, rap, comedy and cricket, among others.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Ishaan Preet Singh, Co-Founder of FrontRow, said that the idea was that learners get access to the best. “Interacting with college students, we realised that there is no proper content or guidance available for creative fields. We wanted to make it available at scale and are able to provide more inputs through online classes,” he added.

Twenty-​eight-year-old Singh is an IIT Delhi computer science graduate who has worked with firms such as McKinsey in the past. He was also part of Lightspeed Ventures’ early-stage investing team, where he looked at the social content marketplace and edtech areas.

“The pandemic is not the reason that these courses are online, it was always meant to be digital,” he added.

FrontRow had in November raised $3.2 million in seed funding from Elevation (SAIF Partners), Lightspeed and Deepika Padukone.

How does it work?

Once a learner downloads the FrontRow application, there are courses ranging from comedy to cricket to singing that he/she can choose from.

Each course is divided into different segments with multiple lessons so that the content is easily broken down for learners.

For example, a singing course by Neha Kakkar costs Rs 500 and includes 17 lessons in total. These include details on voice preparation, sur, taal and scales to adding emotions as well as looking at music as a career.

Similarly, when it comes to cricket, individuals can buy a combo course covering batting and bowling from Suresh Raina, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Rs 1,200.  If one only wants to separately learn the art of spin bowling from Chahal, batting from Raina or fast bowling from Kumar, he/she can buy it for Rs 500 each.

FrontRow’s Singh explained that the courses are shot such that someone sitting at home can understand the basic concepts well. For each course sold, the instructor gets a commission, though Singh did not divulge the exact revenue share or fee paid to these experts.

“When it comes to cricket, we have shot the videos from multiple angles with multiple cameras. There are also graphics provided that let the learner understand the concepts well. He/she can then practice it at their professional academies,” he added.

In cricket, the lessons not only include the fundamentals of batting and bowling, but also touch on areas such as teamwork and mental strength.

There is also a community on the application where users can learn with like-minded peers and also get feedback from others. Online workshops are also conducted as part of the community for learners to hone their skills.

FrontRow works with the content creators to produce content for the application. “Our expertise is in structuring the course into a curriculum that is easy to learn. The instructors bring their own skills and practical work experience and learnings,” said Singh.

 The pandemic is not the reason that these courses are online, it was always meant to be digital

- Ishaan Preet Singh

A chance to interact with the experts

Singh said that the idea is to have a multiple format learning module for students as part of their expansion plan.

This would include the basic lessons as well as live lessons and one-on-one digital learning sessions with the experts. Singh said that the platform could hold competitions and winners could get a chance to interact with the experts virtually.

“Physical classes may not be feasible. Hence, we are bringing their expertise online,” he explained.

Over the next five years, Singh said that the idea is to make FrontRow a one-stop shop for skilling in creative fields across India. He said the initial response has been positive from students but refused to disclose the number of learners on board so far.

Is this model sustainable?

Delhi-based skilling consultant Saksham Tripathi said that the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed more learners towards digital learning.

Tripathi said the FrontRow learning modules would be beneficial for learners who are just starting out, and haven’t been able to make the cut professionally.

“It is almost impossible to take cricket lessons from Suresh Raina for an aspiring cricketer in say Kohima or Kanchipuram. Hence, getting insights online would be useful. However, learning digitally to become a successful cricketer or singer may not work and he/she would need a lot of physical handholding as well,” he added.

Tripathi said the FrontRow model is interesting because online learning platforms available in India tend to focus only on test-preparation courses or workplace-led upskilling programmes in areas such as technology, data analytics, sales or marketing.