Lighten to enlighten: Hyderabad-based girl wins Youth Entrepreneur Award

Passion for law and love of sharing knowledge made 21-year-old Vennela Krishna, the talk of the town. Vennela, a fourth year student of NALSAR has been recognised with the Youth Entrepreneur Award for India 2016 at the national level competition for young entrepreneurs. She won the award for her educational start up — Law School 101.

The competition was conducted in India for the first time by Child and Youth Finance International, a global organisation headquartered in Netherlands.
The finalists were chosen through an online video pitching round. Vennela was the only one from Hyderabad to get shortlisted, and also the youngest amongst all the finalists. She will be representing India at the Global Awards Ceremony to be held at Sweden in November.

Law School 101 is Vennela’s brain child and she began working on it in 2014. It is a platform which brings college students to mentor high school students and bridge the gap in between.

“It’s almost like a coaching class but with a difference. We not only teach textbook content but also arrange various activities like public speaking and debates. The most interesting part of Law School 101 is that the teachers are still studying at law schools,” she says.

According to her, proper guidance is required if anyone wants to crack law entrance examination and who else other than existing students can be of help. “I had enjoyed sharing my knowledge and after conducting some demo classes, I knew that teaching was my calling,” shares Vennela, who believes that law is for everyone, and wants to inspire the younger generation to take up law.

Social media helped people know about her initiative. “At the competition, even the judges had enquired about how much investment would be needed and I had politely declined. My initiative is self-sustaining; the fees that I get from students are used to maintain the basics. But again, it is a nominal amount and students who are underprivileged or are disabled get to study for free. For me, the passion for learning law is more important than anything else,” says Vennela.

So wouldn’t she be practicing? “I will practice law and also continue to teach part time on weekends. Until now, I have successfully managed to juggle both with the support of my parents,” signs off Vennela.