– By Vasudha Arabandi, National Initiatives and Communications Associate
Organisational culture often shapes the invisible architecture of impact, enabling teams to stay grounded in purpose while navigating scale, complexity, and change. At Rocket Learning, culture is not an afterthought but a driving force, anchored in trust, community, and an unwavering focus on the mission.
In this edition of our Drivers of ECCE series, we speak with Mr Utsav Kheria, Co-Founder of Rocket Learning, to understand how the organisation has built and protected a values-driven culture over the past five years. From investing early in mental health to upholding a strong ‘community first’ ethic across product and field teams, Utsav reflects on the people’s practices, leadership choices, and shared rituals that have sustained Rocket’s momentum. He shares his vision for the next chapter: one that balances scale with belonging, autonomy with alignment, and growth with a sense of groundedness.
Q: Over the last 5 years, what part of Rocket Learning’s culture are you most proud of having built and protected?
Utsav: I’ve personally been very proud of the culture we’ve built at Rocket Learning. One thing that stands out to me and something I’m most proud of is the culture of trust and flexibility. Both of these elements just allow any individual to be their best selves. These two values have allowed us to create a space where people can bring their most authentic selves to work, and I think that’s incredibly powerful and very special.
Q: What’s one Rocket value you see lived out daily?
Utsav: I’d say community first, closely followed by collaboration, but community first definitely trumps everything else. It’s essential always to remember who we’re doing this work for and who we’re serving. And I think that’s something we’ve kept intact, even as we’ve grown and scaled. Everyone across the team, whether they’re building product, tech, or working in the field, keeps the community front and centre in their thinking.
Q: Five years in, Rocket Learning is still deeply mission-first. How does that show up in your day-to-day work?
Utsav: It shows up in how we build. When considering how to enable children to learn more effectively or how to improve the effectiveness of Anganwadis, there are several approaches. For instance, we could be in a room, build a pilot, and see how it trickles down. We don’t sit in a room and create something just to pass down.
Our typical approach is to go to the field, understand the challenges they’re facing, gather feedback on what’s working and what’s not, and then build something. We go back, test it again, and iterate. The entire user journey is very community-centric. The journey begins in the community and returns to them. Whatever we build is rooted in their context.
Q: What kind of person thrives at Rocket Learning, and what type of culture are you working to build for the next 5 years?
Utsav: So two different questions! The next five years are going to be exciting. We’re already reaching 4 million children, making a substantial impact with a team of over 500 members — and I think we’ll be more than double across all those parameters. The effect will be more profound and its reach will be wider. However, alongside that, we want to hold onto what has made us strong, which is this culture of high trust and high autonomy.
The kind of person who thrives at Rocket is someone who truly embodies our values, prioritises the community, has a strong sense of right and wrong, is deeply self-driven, and is very strong on collaboration. These are the people who tend to do well here, and I think that’ll continue to be true in the years ahead.
Q: When hiring, what matters most to you? Skills, mindset, values, something else altogether?
Utsav: I think it’s always a balance between attitude and skill. All the values I just mentioned are very attitude-focused. However, for some specialist roles, such as monitoring and evaluation or policy, skills are crucial. That said, I typically don’t hire only on skill or only on attitude; I try to find a balance.
But if I had to choose between the two, I would pick attitude over everything else. The ability to learn becomes important. Someone might come in with fewer skills today, but if they’re hungry to learn and have the right attitude, they’ll likely be a better fit and succeed in the long run.
Q: If someone joins Rocket tomorrow, what’s the one thing you hope they feel in their first week?
Utsav: If in the first week they walk away with just these two thoughts and feelings, I’d be really happy. One, that they truly understand the mission of Rocket Learning and genuinely feel connected to it. And two, that they feel a sense of belonging and community here. I think those would be fantastic takeaways from the week.
Q: What’s one leadership decision around people or culture that you’re proud of?
Utsav: There are several things, but one that stands out to me happened very early on. I remember someone telling me they were struggling with mild depression and couldn’t afford therapy. That was a moment of realisation that many people probably felt this way.
Within our first six months, we made mental health support completely free for our team. It’s something that’s not only taboo but also often unaffordable, and we wanted to change that. I know it might directly benefit 10–15% of the team, but to me, it was a big step. It’s difficult to measure such an impact, but it normalised mental health conversations, made it okay to talk about, and hopefully helped people feel supported. It’s something I’m very proud of.
Q: What’s a tradition, ritual, or inside joke at Rocket that reflects the team’s spirit?
Utsav: So, it’s not precisely an inside joke, but something the founders often say is ‘#OTOD’, which stands for ‘One Team, One Dream.’ It captures our spirit. Of course, we don’t all agree on everything, but OTOD is about committing to the same mission. Even when there are disagreements, there’s a shared understanding that we’re all moving toward the same goal. It’s a reflection of larger Rocket Learning values and the commitment we’ve made together.