Starting With Just Rs. 1 Lakh, this Entrepreneur Now Owns a Rs. 85 Crore Turnover School Franchise Network

Starting a computer centre in Rohini, Delhi, with just Rs. 1 lakh given by his grandfather in 1996, Ajay Gupta went on to achieve great success in the field of school education.

He launched his playschool chain, Bachpan, in 2004, followed by Academic Heights Public School a few years later. Together, these two schools now have a combined turnover of Rs. 85 crore.

Starting with a single play school in 2004, Ajay Gupta has built a franchise network of 1200 Bachpan play schools around the country (Photos: Special Arrangement)

The company operates 1200 playschools and 120 regular schools across India, all under a FOFO (Franchise Owned Franchise Operated) model. The entire network of 1320 schools consists of franchises, with no single school owned by the company. Currently, 1.75 lakh students are enrolled in these schools across India.

They have around 165 playschools in Uttar Pradesh, 130 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 17 in Rajasthan, and many more in Gujarat, Jammu, Madhya Pradesh, and other states.


The registered name of the company is S K Educations Pvt. Ltd., named after Ajay’s father's initials. The head office is located in Sarai Rohilla on the New Delhi-Rohtak road.

When Ajay started Bachpan 20 years ago in February 2004, he had just seven employees, including his father's friend Narendra Jain, who is now 73 and still with the company, serving as the CFO.

Ajay was born in Delhi in 1970, and his life took a difficult turn when he caught polio after a fever at just nine months old. The illness left him with a 78% locomotive disability, a condition that deeply affected his family.

"My grandfather loved me immensely, as I was the first child of the family,” says Ajay. “They became so emotional that my grandmother even went to the extent of saying - what wrong did we do to someone that God has given us this punishment."

Ajay's grandfather owned a sweet shop near Filmistan Cinema in Karol Bagh, New Delhi, where they sold a variety of sweets like rasgulla, ras malai, chena, and khoya.

Ajay was affected by polio when he was just nine months old

His father had his own business in brass hardware, dealing in items like locks, latches, hooks, and more, which he sourced from Jamnagar, Aligarh, and Moradabad, and then assembled and exported to Australia and Germany. He also owned a sanitary ware store at Chawri Bazaar in Delhi.

“As a child, I used to ride on the back of my uncle or helpers to my grandfather's sweet shop, where I spent a lot of time. We lived in a joint family of five paternal aunts and four paternal uncles who were all unmarried at that time,” recalls Ajay.

In 1978, when Ajay was around eight years, he was at his grandfather's shop when a government school headmaster, Master Bhagat Singh, asked Ajay's father, "Do you want to keep this child illiterate?"

The headmaster then suggested enrolling him in Govt. Boys Middle School, Model Basti, Delhi, where he was the headmaster. Ajay was directly admitted to Class three and studied there until Class eight.

Ajay recalls his school days, “In the initial years, the house help took me to and fro to school on his back. He came to school twice during the day to take me to the washroom.”

The house help would return in the evening to take Ajay back home. On days when he arrived late, it was difficult for Ajay. After the other children left, Ajay used to sit alone in a bench, and would be scared.

He would worry that the house help had forgotten to pick him up. He would watch buses pass by, fearing they might hit him. If a dog came closer, he would worry about what to do if it bit him.

“Till I was 17-18, my grandparents and parents were hopeful that polio could be reversed,” recounts Ajay.

Ajay was directly admitted in Class three on the advice of a government school headmaster

“They left no stone unturned and went to every Hakeem (a Unani physician), and Vaidh (desi-style doctor), did all the superstitious things that anyone told, rubbed pigeon blood on my limbs, tried for the surgery, went on pilgrimages and what not. They did everything suggested by anyone, except feeding me non-veg that was recommended by many.”

Ajay started using calipers to support his legs when he was in Class nine. He wore them up to his waist and used crutches for both hands. For nearly three months, he was trained to wear, lock, unlock, and move up and down stairs with calipers.

Dr. Banjare, who ran a physiotherapy center in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi, who trained him to walk with the calipers, encouraged him a lot.

“He told me, 'I can train you to wear the calipers and walk with them. I cannot prevent you from falling, but I can teach you how to protect yourself when you do. Falling is inevitable for you, and you must learn how to fall correctly. The only thing you need to remember is to fall forward and protect your face and teeth with your fists. You must try your best to fall forward rather than on your back or sides.”

The physical disability that Ajay has is called locomotive disability in medical science, and he has been given a disability certificate for it.

After finishing middle school, Ajay joined Ramjas School No-4 in Paharganj, Delhi, where he studied until Class 12. He wanted to attend a regular college, but due to his mobility challenges, he opted for a BA correspondence course from The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). However, he dropped out in the second year and never completed his degree.

At 19, Ajay joined his father's sanitary and hardware business in Chawri Bazaar but soon realised it wasn’t scalable. He then tried becoming a sub-broker and even started a travel company, but neither venture succeeded. His family would joke that if a business needed to be shut down, they should give it to him.

In the early 90s, as computers gained popularity, Ajay took a franchise of IEC computer education but exited the business since he did not like the syllabus they offered. Ajay then started his own institute, Heights Institute of Computer Education and Fashion Designing, affiliated with Barkatullah University, Bhopal, in 1996.

“We offered courses in both computer education and fashion designing," says Ajay. He started the business with Rs 1 lakh that his grandfather gave him.

Ajay started Heights Institute of Computer Education and Fashion Designing in 1996

Ajay used 60% of the money to purchase five TVS computers and a printer, and the remaining 40% was invested in furniture. Despite his family’s concerns, including his father who thought he should choose an easier path that required less physical effort, Ajay was determined to build something on his own.

Heights offered various computer courses, including basics like MS Office, accounts, DOS, and Excel, along with a 6-month course and an 18-month detailed program. Ajay ran the centre from a 2000 sq ft rented space in Model Basti, close to his home.

For 5-6 years, he expanded the business to 100 centres across India. But by 2001, as universities began offering BCA and MCA degrees, fewer people turned to private institutes, forcing Ajay to close his franchise.

In 1994, Ajay's family began searching for a bride for him. After considering several proposals, he chose Deepshikha, a postgraduate five years older than him who also had polio. They married in November 1994 and soon had a daughter and a son.

Around 2003-04, when his children joined playschools, Ajay noticed a lack of proper curriculum for both students and teachers. Seeing this gap, he decided to start his own playschool with a structured curriculum and teaching materials.

The first Bachpan School was established in Nayagaon, a suburb of Chandigarh. The first franchise was taken by Preet Mohinder Singh in April 2004 for Rs. 30,000, and the school started with just six students. Singh ran the school for a few years before moving to the UK, marking the beginning of Bachpan’s franchise model.

In the first year, Ajay was able to sell 10 franchises, which grew to 100 within three years and reached 300 in seven years. By the time COVID-19 hit, Bachpan had around 1100 schools.

The pandemic was a major setback for the business, with many franchise owners struggling to maintain operations in rented accommodations during lockdowns.

Ajay with his wife,Deepshikha, and children, Dr. Akanksha Gupta and Akash Gupta

Bachpan lost around 40% of its business, with its turnover dropping from Rs. 68 crore in 2019-20 to just Rs. 6 crore in 2020-21. It recovered to Rs. 9 crore in 2021-22 and reached Rs. 85 crore in 2023-24.

Ajay explains that, on an average, 50 schools close each year, but they also sell 50 new franchises, so the total number of schools constantly changes.

Bachpan offers two franchise models: one for Rs. 2.5 lakh in tier-three cities and another for Rs. 4 lakh in tier-one cities. Before COVID-19, they charged a royalty on profits, but now they have added a 10% lump sum to the franchise fee and waived the royalty.

In the early years, Ajay’s wife, Deepshikha, took care of their children while Ajay travelled frequently for work.

Now, she has joined the company and manages the academic side of Bachpan. Ajay is the founder and CEO, while his younger brother, Tijay Gupta, serves as COO, handling operations and expansion.

Ajay and Deepshikha have two children. Their daughter, Dr. Akanksha Gupta, is an MBBS graduate and later completed her management studies at IIM Kolkata. Their son, Akash Gupta, 27, is a lawyer.

Ajay admits to being a workaholic, working 16 hours a day along with one hour of physiotherapy. He speaks highly of his wife, saying, "She has always been a mentor to me and took great care of our children. She has been my lifeguard, and we have been together through thick and thin."

Ajay, his parents, and his brother’s family live together in Pitam Pura, Delhi. In his free time, Ajay enjoys cooking, spending time with family, and watching movies at the cinema. A passionate movie lover, he says, “When I die, I want people to say that a good businessman has died.”