Starting with a Phone and Tripod, a Pharmacist Scaled a YouTube Channel into a Rs. 12 Crore Turnover Edtech Company

Hailing from a humble farming family in Sahaswan, Budaun district, Uttar Pradesh, Akram Ahmad, who holds a doctorate in Pharmacy, never imagined that he would one day head a multi-crore turnover business.

Like many others in his village, his early aspirations were quite simple: he dreamt of opening a small pharmacy or get into a government job. But life had bigger plans for him.

Dr Akram Ahmad's Academically Global grew from a You Tube Channel started with Rs 50,000 (Photos: Special Arrangement)

After he travelled abroad for jobs and then for doctoral studies in Australia, he would be inspired to launch Academically Global, an edtech platform that empowers healthcare professionals to practise abroad by assisting them with licensing exams and registration processes.

What started as a YouTube channel with just Rs. 50,000 spent on a new phone and tripod has now evolved into a company with a turnover of Rs. 12 crore. The venture has grown to employ around 100 people and operates offices in Dehradun and Sydney.


Since its launch in 2022, the edtech platform has trained approximately 3,000 pharmacists, MBBS doctors, physiotherapists, dentists, and nurses in just two years.

Today, Academically Global offers courses to more than 3,000 students from over 70 countries.

"We guide healthcare professionals through licensing exams, registration, visa processes, and global job opportunities. We help students with 25 licensing exams, including OPRA, AMC, ADC, COE, PEBC, PSI, APC, NCLEX and IELTS,”

Reflecting on his own journey, Dr. Akram remembers that, as a student, he had no such guidance.

Dr Akram' aspired to get into a government job or start a pharmacy

"There was no one to tell me about the job opportunities abroad in the pharma industry. My only dream was to get a government job as a drug inspector or open a pharmacy," recalls Dr. Akram, who completed his BPharma at Allahabad Agricultural Institute (2007–2010).

“I was raised in a one-bedroom house alongside my five brothers. One of my brothers is also a pharmacist, and when he started working, our family’s financial situation improved. That encouraged me to pursue pharmacy as well,” says Dr. Akram.

“I still can’t forget that my mother had to sell a portion of our land to send me to Annamalai University to do my Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D).”

But fortunately, while pursuing his Pharm D at Annamalai University (2010-13) in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Akram had a conversation with a visiting speaker from the US, which became a turning point in his life.

“It opened my eyes to the vast opportunities available abroad for aspiring healthcare professionals, and it pushed me to explore international career prospects,” he says.

He got his first full-time job as a clinical pharmacy lecturer at UCSI University in Kuala Lumpur, where he worked from February 2014 to November 2017.

Over the next four years, he built a successful career and was content with his progress. However, another significant turning point came when he was offered a scholarship from the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney.

But Dr. Akram was initially hesitant to accept the scholarship because he didn’t want to leave his stable job in Kula Lumpur.

“One day, my professor in Malaysia advised me to take up the scholarship and pursue my PhD in Australia," he explains. "He encouraged me to seize the opportunity.”

Dr. Akram's life changed after he went to Australia

While pursuing his PhD at the University of Sydney, his thesis was on Indian migrants living with diabetes in Australia. He met healthcare professionals and their families who were stuck in menial jobs, because they were not aware of the licensing exams that would provide take to better-paying careers in the healthcare sector.

Determined to make a difference, Dr. Akram launched his YouTube channel in March 2018, and his first video focused on how to become a pharmacist in Australia.

“I decided to start the channel one fine day with just an iPhone and a tripod,” he says. “You can see my first video, where I stood in front of the university, talking about how to become a pharmacist in Australia. I had no idea what a thumbnail was or how to optimise a video.”

The next day, his video attracted around 226 views, and the comment section was filled with questions from viewers. That’s when Dr. Akram realised there was demand for such videos.

“They weren’t just Indian students, but students from other countries also had queries," he shares. Today, his channel has around 2.38 lakh subscribers.

In 2021, he met a man from Andhra Pradesh who had a degree in pharmacy and had spent Rs. 30 lakh on a Master’s in Public Health from Australia. In spite of his qualification, the man was working as a taxi driver, and his three friends were in similar situations.

Dr. Akram began creating videos that addressed the unexplored aspects of healthcare career opportunities that students raised in the comments. “My initial videos focused on passing exams like the KAPS exam for pharmacists in Australia. Later, I expanded to healthcare exams in the US, Canada, and Gulf countries,” he explains.

At one stage when Dr. Akram started making more videos, some colleagues began to criticise him saying he devoted too much time making videos instead of focusing on research as a scientist.

Dr Akram's wife Syed Asna, a software engineer, was a pillar of support during the initial challenging days

However, his wife, Syed Asna, a software engineer, whom he married in 2019, stood by him, encouraging him to follow his passion. In 2022, Dr Akram took the bold step of launching Academically Global by quitting his job that paid him Rs. 6 lakh per month.

“The first year was tough financially. But thanks to my wife’s job, and our savings, we managed the situation. She also helped the company in its initial phase, especially with the technical aspects,” Dr. Akram recalls.

In 2023, the company achieved a turnover of Rs. 12 crore. Currently, the they make around Rs. 2 crore every month.

His advice to healthcare professionals aspiring to study or work abroad is that they should follow their passion and not be chasing the trends. He says that every person should conduct thorough research to understand one’s strengths and weaknesses.

“For example, we often suggest applying to Gulf nations if English proficiency tests are a barrier, instead of targeting countries where such tests are compulsory,” he says.

Talking about his lifestyle, Dr. Akram shares, “I have the financial capacity to lead a more luxurious lifestyle - like owning a luxury car - but we choose to live a simple life, something my parents instilled in me.”

Dr Akram loves exploring new places

Acknowledging the demands of his growing company, Dr. Akram candidly admits, “As the founder of a company that’s not even three years old, I don’t have any work-life balance right now. But I foresee that changing in the future.”

Although he currently has little time for hobbies, Dr. Akram fondly remembers hiking when he lived in Malaysia.

“I did a lot of hiking there, exploring places like Bukit Gasing, Petaling Jaya, Bukit Sri Bintang, Kepong, and Chiling Waterfall. It was a wonderful way to connect with nature, and I hope I can get back to that soon.” - ©TWL