How do you price something that changes people?
Oh, where do I even start? I should probably sit down, take a deep breath, sip some water, maybe even take a walk. But I can’t. The last 24 hours have been that kind of storm. The good kind. The "you’re in it now, don’t stop" kind. Things moved fast. Like really fast. And somewhere between barely sleeping and writing emails at 2 AM, I realised — this isn’t just about building a school anymore. The school is building me.
Let’s start with the big win. I finally cracked the pricing model. The one question that kept haunting me — how do we make this school affordable for everyone and still profitable enough to sustain? Because let’s be honest: community is not charity. If you want to keep your promises — the lights, the speakers, the structure — you need money in the system. Only a government with positive cash flow can build roads and deliver development. It’s the same for communities. So I sat down and built a model I’m proud of. But more on that in a bit.
Then came the to-do list. Until yesterday, “build a school” felt like a vibe. You know — say it with enough confidence and it becomes real. But once we put it down on paper, broke it into actual tasks, reality punched back. That paper kept rolling. I used Trello. Simple tool. The list is long. But now I know what to do, and when.
[ Dream ] → [ Decision ] → [ Deadlines ] → [ Doing ] → [ DNA Weekend School ]
Now, here’s the next part. One of our earliest milestones was to onboard five professors. A decent goal, right? In the last 24 hours, we onboarded six. Yes. Six. Let me introduce them because this line-up is no joke.
Utsav Patel — co-founder of SuperGrow, scaled a SaaS product to $200K ARR with just two people.
Vikra Vardhan — the guy behind Dr. Pal’s viral newsletter, now building newsletters-as-a-service.
Arun Prakash — founder of GUVI, my friend, who’s built a full-fledged edtech platform with millions of users.
Karthik Manikonda — founder in the mental health space, raised funds on a live TV show, Startup Singam.
Ayush — indiehacker, SaaS builder, and a quiet storm in the world of indiepreneurship.
And more coming. I’m literally onboarding a new professor every two hours now. No, that’s not an exaggeration.
I slept at 2 AM, woke up at 8, and started scouting again. The energy is crazy. It’s like the universe decided, “Okay, he’s serious — send in the people.”
Also, we got Razorpay approved. Yep — we can now officially collect payments. It may not sound glamorous, but trust me, there’s something about seeing a “₹0.00 collected” dashboard that makes your dream feel real.
And now, the pricing model. I had one rule: make it simple, flexible, and no BS. Here’s what we came up with:
₹1999/month – Starter Plan
Attend any 2 out of 4 weekend sessions. For the curious ones.
₹2999/month – Regular Plan
All 4 sessions. For the committed learners.
₹4999/month – Premium Plan
All sessions + Private Dinner with the speakers and guests. Yes, we’re breaking bread too.
₹9999/month – Patreon Plan
Bring a friend, get your name and company mentioned in our welcome note, and receive an exclusive e-book every month.
And it all begins in June.
Whatever happens next, I’m proud of this moment. Because we’re not just building a school. We’re building the reason people believe in learning again.
And right now, the school is building me.
—Deepak
The Community Man
Unlicensed school builder, professional overthinker