From the meticulous world of finance to the soulful strains of Carnatic music, Vidya Subramanian’s journey has been anything but conventional. A Chartered Accountant with an MBA in Finance from Boston College and a CFA charter to her name, Vidya has seamlessly blended her love for music with entrepreneurship, creating a global platform for traditional Indian arts. Today, as the founder of the Vidya Subramanian Academy (VSA) and a recently named Vital Voices Visionaries Fellow, her work stands as a testament to the power of passion, purpose, and perseverance.
“I must say this twin journey in arts and entrepreneurship has happened organically over a period of nearly two decades,” she reflects. Having trained under maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman from the age of 12, music was always a central part of her life; her initiation was at the age of three. However, it was motherhood in 2004 that gave her the unexpected opportunity to pause her corporate career and focus on teaching Carnatic music, both in-person and online.
The idea for VSA was born out of necessity and vision. “When I started receiving more queries than I could handle as a stand-alone music teacher, my scientist husband and I brainstormed on how this need for high quality, customised online Carnatic music lessons could be the seed for a social enterprise,” she explains. But this wasn’t about profit maximisation. “I strongly felt that a corporate style venture with the goal of pure profit maximisation was not the right approach and decided to focus my energies on building a social enterprise which created opportunities for artistes and teachers (especially women) to work from home while providing a student-focused learning platform to a diverse body of learners.”
At its core, VSA is about empowerment and accessibility. With over 120 artistes and teachers, many of whom are women, the academy offers courses in Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, Hindustani music, slokas, konnakkol, and even Vedic Maths. “There are numerous highly talented artistes who struggle economically and are unable to find avenues to share their knowledge and monetise their talent. VSA has provided a platform to such artistes through a rigorous teacher selection and training set up,” she says. The result? A thriving global community of nearly 2,000 students across 30+ countries, with zero paid marketing and 100% organic growth.
Of course, building this online institution wasn’t without its challenges. “The initial challenge in the early 2000s was that both teachers and students were often skeptical of the effectiveness of online music learning,” she recalls. But Vidya’s background in both music and finance equipped her to navigate these hurdles. “My background as a CA-MBA has been immensely helpful in giving me a strong grounding in how a venture is conceptualised, and how it grows and adapts over time to the changing dynamics of the environment.”
The COVID-19 pandemic was a pivotal moment. As the world shifted online, VSA saw an unprecedented boom in student enrollments. But post-pandemic, increased competition in the ed-tech space has kept Vidya and her team on their toes. “It has been a journey of constant learning for my team and myself as we strive to adapt to ever-changing technology as well as student expectations.”
This commitment to growth and innovation has not gone unnoticed. Vidya’s accolades include the prestigious Kalaimamani Award, the Women Transforming India Award, and The Devi Award from TNIE Group in 2023. But her most recent recognition, the Vital Voices Visionaries Fellowship, holds special significance. “I am honoured and delighted to be one of 20 women leaders from across the world to have been selected,” she shares. The fellowship, co-founded by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, recognises women leaders tackling some of the world’s greatest challenges. For Vidya, it’s an opportunity to scale her impact. “The Visionaries Summit is perfectly timed to help me stretch my boundaries and broaden my exposure as I position VSA for significant growth over the next decade.”
Looking ahead, Vidya envisions further expanding VSA’s offerings and deepening its impact. “As VSA’s brand grows, we hope to be able to create opportunities for several more talented artistes and reach more students. These efforts, I hope, will facilitate our goal of scale up over the next decade while being able to financially empower more teachers, especially women.”
From balancing ledgers to teaching ragas, Vidya Subramanian’s story is a symphony of art, entrepreneurship, and empowerment — one that resonates far beyond borders.