Founded in 2007 by Kopal Maheshwari and Vinit Srivastava, the brand Little Einsteins has a presence in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Finland, South Africa, Nepal, and the Philippines, bringing its preschool curriculum to learners across multiple countries .
- One lakh children taught.
- Seven countries.
- Over one hundred centres.
- Seventeen years of operating history.
- Zero royalty charged to franchise partners.
Kopal Maheshwari recently discussed the brand’s vision and expansion strategy on The Success Playbook, a business podcast hosted by Jatin Solanki, Co-founder of Expertrons and Scale100x.ai.
For years, India’s preschool market has been dominated by imported learning philosophies — Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and increasingly “Finnish-inspired” curriculum models labelled as global standards.
Little Einsteins built itself around exporting one.Its curriculum — based on STEAM learning, creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking — was developed in India and is now used across seven countries, including Finland.
{{/usCountry}}Little Einsteins built itself around exporting one.Its curriculum — based on STEAM learning, creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking — was developed in India and is now used across seven countries, including Finland.
{{/usCountry}}India’s preschool and childcare market is estimated at nearly ₹45,000 crore, but only 15–20 percent of the sector currently operates through organised systems or networks.
At the same time, rising dual-income households and NEP 2020 are increasing demand for structured early-learning environments.
For Kopal Maheshwari, the category is built on trust.
A former corporate professional, Kopal entered the preschool sector after struggling to find good early-education options for her own child. She launched the first Little Einsteins centre in Hyderabad with 30 students. The following year, admissions crossed 100 largely through word-of-mouth referrals.
“In a preschool, parents are not buying a service,” Kopal said during the conversation. “They are handing over the most important thing in their lives — their child.”
This helped shape the company’s operating model.
The founders built systems around curriculum design, teacher training, parent communication, classroom observation, and operational consistency across centres.
“If colourful walls could build a preschool brand,” Kopal said, “then every paint company would be running the best preschool in the country.”
The business model was also structured differently from traditional preschool franchises.
Each Little Einsteins centre operates with additional programs including daycare, after-school learning, summer camps, online learning, and optional Grade 1 and Grade 2 extensions.
The founders observed that preschool infrastructure in India often has scope for greater utilisation during the day. These additional programs help franchise partners make broader use of their centres while fostering continued engagement with families.
The company also operates on a zero-royalty franchise model.
Internally, the operating approach is called MIMS — Minimum Interference, Maximum Support.
Under this model, franchise partners focus on local operations and parent relationships, while the company manages curriculum frameworks, teacher training, admissions support, technology, and backend processes.
“We give partners the systems, training, curriculum, and support,” Kopal said. “But we do not try to control them every five minutes.”
Today, Little Einsteins operates more than 100 centres globally and has connected over one lakh students.
The company is continuing its expansion across Indian cities through a partner-led model, with centres planned based on defined catchment areas.
The founders say the long-term goal is not simply to open more centres, but to build a large-scale child-development ecosystem originating from India.