Derek O'Brien & Associates

What Derek O'Brien & Associates does

Derek O'Brien & Associates (DOBA) is a 30-year-old, founder-owned educational content and live knowledge-events company headquartered in Kolkata, India. Its business rests on three pillars: (1) published educational books — most notably the 'Know and Grow with Derek' series for classes 1-8 published in partnership with Pearson, plus quiz, elocution, and civics titles such as 'Who Cares About Parliament,' 'Challenge Your Mind,' and the Bournvita Quiz Contest books; (2) live GK & Current Affairs sessions delivered directly into schools; and (3) branded corporate quiz competitions for clients such as TATA Mutual Fund and Brand Equity. At the core is the founder, Derek O'Brien, India's most popular quizmaster and a sitting Rajya Sabha MP (Trinamool Congress), whose personal brand is the company's primary asset.

The commercial model is a mix of one-time book licensing (sold through Amazon and Pearson's distribution), professional-services fees for in-school sessions, and professional-services fees for corporate quiz events. Customer segments are schools (K-12, primary), corporate enterprises seeking branded engagement, and colleges/universities for campus sessions. DOBA's School Relationship Outreach Programme claims to engage 5,000+ schools across 100 cities in India, the Gulf, and Asia, reaching roughly 15 lakh+ (1.5M+) students annually.

The company is privately held with 11-50 employees, no disclosed external funding, and no parent company. There is no evidence of proprietary technology, APIs, or AI capabilities — the offering is content-led and reliant on in-person delivery and traditional publishing channels. Awards include the 2022 Lokmat Parliamentary Awards (Best Parliamentarian of the Year, Rajya Sabha), reflecting the founder's public profile rather than the corporate entity.

Name

Derek O'Brien & Associates

Legal name

Derek O'Brien & Associates

Website

https://derek.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Derek O'Brien & Associates is a Kolkata-based, founder-owned educational content and live knowledge-events company that publishes school books (via Pearson), runs GK & Current Affairs sessions in 5,000+ schools across India, the Gulf, and Asia, and delivers branded corporate quiz competitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Services

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Curriculum, Lesson Planning & Instructional Content Platforms (EDAJAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Activity & Practice Books (Workbooks, Puzzles, Handwriting) (EDAGAIAE), Study Skills & Academic Success Guides (Students) (EDAGAIAJ), Formative & Benchmark Assessment Content (K–12) (EDAGADAH)

Keywords

• Educational publishing
• Corporate quiz events
• School knowledge sessions
• Quiz competition services
• Educational outreach programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Kolkata

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational Publications: Sale of educational books including Know and Grow with Derek series, Who Cares About Parliament, Challenge Your Mind, and quiz books through Amazon and retail channels
2. Corporate Quiz Events: Conducting branded quiz competitions for corporate clients such as Brand Equity Quiz and TATA Mutual Fund Simply Finance Quiz
3. School Knowledge Sessions: GK & Current Affairs sessions conducted in schools as part of outreach program reaching students annually

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Derek O'Brien & Associates delivers educational content and knowledge experiences to schools and corporations. It operates a school outreach programme running GK & Current Affairs sessions in over 5,000 schools across 100 cities, and conducts branded corporate quiz competitions for clients such as TATA Mutual Fund and Brand Equity. The company also publishes educational and quiz books, including the Know and Grow with Derek series in partnership with Pearson, targeted at students of classes 1-8.

Product overview

Derek O'Brien & Associates is a 30-year-old educational publishing and knowledge services company that offers a portfolio of quiz books and educational publications through its partnership with Pearson, along with knowledge sessions and quiz events for schools and corporations. The company operates primarily in the educational content space with its core 'Know and Grow with Derek' book series for students, quiz competition materials, and general knowledge publications. The company also provides GK & Current Affairs sessions to schools and organizes corporate quiz events. The product portfolio includes book series for classes 1-8 published with Pearson, recreational quiz books, elocution guides, and parliamentary knowledge books, all focused on making knowledge engaging for students and educators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Know and Grow with Derek: Educational book series for students of classes 1 to 8, published in partnership with Pearson.
• Bournvita Quiz Contest
• Who Cares About Parliament
• Challenge Your Mind
• The Essential BQC Quiz Book

Products and services

• Know and Grow with Derek An educational book series published in partnership with Pearson for students of classes 1 to 8, designed to make knowledge interesting and help students grow.
• Who Cares About Parliament A book explaining how Parliament has been undermined, narrating how rules, precedents and conventions have been bypassed, and discussing the legislative procedures of Indian democracy.
• Challenge Your Mind: The Very Best of Derek O'Brien A quiz book compilation featuring the best puzzles and challenges from Derek O'Brien's collection.
• Best Quizzes Of Derek O'Brien: Volume 1 The first volume in a series of quiz books containing the best quiz content from Derek O'Brien.
• The Essential BQC Quiz Book

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PearsoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDerek O'Brien & Associates has a partnership with Pearson (the No. 1 education publisher worldwide) for publishing two book series for students of classes 1 to 8: the Know and Grow with Derek series and recreational quiz books. This partnership provides distribution through Pearson's global publishing network.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• QuizWorks: Indian quiz and corporate engagement company that runs corporate quiz events and school programs, competing for the same corporate events and school quiz budgets as DOBA.

Broad incumbents

• Britannica India: Indian arm of a global reference and learning content brand; overlaps with DOBA's encyclopedic GK and current affairs content aimed at K-12 students.
• BYJU'S: Dominant Indian K-12 edtech incumbent offering supplemental learning content at scale — represents the digital-native competitive context that DOBA's physical GK sessions operate against.
• Pearson India: Existing publishing partner and the world's largest education publisher — operates broadly across K-12, higher ed, and assessment in India, with overlapping content categories to DOBA's K-8 series.

Others

• Pratham Books: India-focused children's book publisher with deep school and NGO distribution; adjacent to DOBA's publishing model as a peer in building supplemental K-8 reading content at scale in India.

Direct peers

• S Chand Publishing: Major Indian educational publisher covering K-12 and competitive exam content, overlapping with DOBA's student publishing portfolio and school relationships.
• Navneet Education: Indian educational publisher with strong school-channel distribution for K-12 workbooks, guides, and supplementary content — directly comparable to DOBA's Know and Grow series and school outreach model.
• Frank Educational Aids: Indian educational content and activity book publisher serving schools and the retail channel — comparable product mix to DOBA's recreational quiz and activity titles.
• Educational Initiatives: India-based K-12 assessment and learning content provider with school network reach, comparable in combining school-channel delivery with assessment-style content akin to DOBA's quiz methodology.
• Ratna Sagar: Long-standing Indian K-12 textbook and supplementary publisher with deep school penetration, comparable in product type and Indian school-channel go-to-market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/168969106457972
• Xx.com/dobnassociates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Derek O'Brien & Associates