The Genesis of Sivana

Our Story

Vik and Ben go all the way back to the seventh grade where they were neighbors, classmates, and friends. Their partnership on Sivana formed from a trusting friendship and mutual passion for making the world a better place through education. They found an online tutoring landscape saturated with K-12 and college-level academics. From their perspective, this area of education tapped into a very small segment of all human knowledge and expertise that could be taught. Great teachers aren’t great because they have degrees. Great teachers are great because of their ability and desire to communicate their knowledge to others. 

With Sivana, Vik and Ben sought to create more than a tutoring site. They imagined learners bringing diverse areas of expertise to the table from lived experience. They envisioned an online community where people teach people what they know while learning from different people in one place. Vik and Ben recognized that people have practical obligations that prevent them from teaching their skills full time. So, it was important to them that anyone could become a teacher, set their own terms, and create income for themselves by sharing that knowledge. Over time, Vik and Ben hope that Sivana will enrich learning experiences and increase social mobility by allowing knowledge to flow more freely amongst people.

Who Are We?

Vik

Vik’s background is in business and finance. After studying Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, he decided to switch gears to study Finance and Strategy at Columbia Business School.

With Sivana, Vik thought about his mother’s amazing cooking skills when it comes to Indian cuisine, having inherited a long lineage of tradition. He wanted to create a platform where natural experts like her could find eager students.

Vik enjoys intellectual conversations with friends, meditation, movies, and solving complex problems. Learn Investing Basics from Vik at Sivana!

Ben

Ben has worked in technology design and implementation. He studied Geography and Chinese at Vassar College before pursuing a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning at Harvard University.

Ben thinks of Sivana as an Airbnb model, or an open platform, where human beings can come together to learn without red tape.

He likes camping and bicycling in his free time. His current cycling goal is to visit every neighborhood throughout New York City. Learn Camping Skills and Software Product Management from Ben at Sivana!