How Taran Singh An Ex-IITian helps aspiring engineering students prepare better

Up until grade 7 my teachers believed that I would not do anything substantial in my life," says Taran Singh, Founder and CEO of Melvano, a free app that is based on an Artificial Intelligence(AI)-driven adaptive learning platform where aspirants can practice, discuss and search for questions for entrance exams like JEE Mains, JEE Advanced and CBSE Boards.

Born and brought up in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Taran describes his upbringing as "modest" and says that his life was "terribly normal." What he was most interested in was tinkering around with electronics and even made a television set once.

Change of heart in Grade 9
It was when Taran was in Grade 9 that he started showing an interest in academics.

"I was a below-average student, and I couldn't sustain any interest in Math and Science," he says. When asked what changed, Taran says that he was often pulled up by the teachers and cited as an example of how not to be, and it was this constant hauling up and being made an example of what not to be is what changed him.

"I worked extremely hard and even pushed my parents to enroll me in various classes to help me academically. I did not want to be a negative example any more."

From being called 'dumb' to making it to IIT Madras
There was no looking back for Taran after that, his hard work and determination culminated into a wonderful accomplishment in 2014- getting into IIT Madras.

He attributes a lot of his success to the wonderful set of teachers he had in his higher grades. "My interest and love for Math grew only because of the teachers. Thanks to them, from being called 'dumb,' I managed to secure the highest score in Math in my city during the JEE Advanced examination," he says.

It was in his second year at IIT Madras that Taran started taking an interest in teaching and started designing an app, which could help students learn.

"I was studying under complete scholarship, and even for the hostel and other expenses, I wanted to manage on my own and not trouble my parents. That is how I started my teaching journey."