How “Finfluencers” Are Breaking Down Complex Financial Matters Into Simple Language

“Finfluencers” are breaking down complex financial matters into simple language and are reaping rich dividends

- Nachiket Kelkar

THE FIRST LECTURE RACHANA RANADE UPLOADED ON YOUTUBE WAS OVER 90 MINUTES. YET, IT HAS OVER 10 MILLION VIEWS.

Pune-based Rachana Ranade always wanted to be a teacher. She cleared her chartered accountancy exam in 2008 and declined high-profile job offers from multinational corporations to start teaching. As recently as 2019, she was teaching MBA and CA students. At one point, she was a visiting faculty in as many as seven colleges. Today, Ranade is a YouTube star, dishing out information on all things finance—from basics of the stock market to futures and options trading for beginners and analysis of initial public offerings.

“Other than CA and MBA, the stock market was one area I loved,” she said. “I have been investing in stocks since 2006. My husband and brother also used to always talk about stocks. So, that is what got me interested and I slowly started learning. Once a group of CA students approached me to take a class on stock markets. While conducting a class for a small batch, I realised that the stock market was a subject that could be taught.”

As more students got interested in her lectures on stock markets, people started demanding recorded lectures. The first lecture that Ranade uploaded on YouTube was a lengthy 90 minutes. It still got 25,000 views in three months. That proved to be a game changer, she said. The lecture has since received over 10 million views and Ranade has left teaching to become a full-time financial influencer.