E-Paper
Startup Mantra: Guiding youngsters to choose right career path
Founder quits successful job as professor to support students in making informed decisions based on their strengths and opt for the apt career path
Pratima Sheorey, PhD, was a director at one of the institutes run by Symbiosis International (deemed-to-be university) and was in the midst of doing research on student employability when her family life gave her the biggest lesson that probably the research could not have.
“My son in 2017-2018 was studying in Class 12 and was a fairly bright student. He had scored 90% in his Class 10 and was planning to take the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for engineering courses. But then his preliminary exam in October of that year gave us a huge shock! This student, who scored 90% on his board exam, scored only three marks in maths!!! And nine out of 100 in chemistry! It was unbelievable!”
Pratima put aside her research work for a bit and focused all her energies on trying to get a grip on her son’s inexplicable poor performance.
She said, “After mentally absorbing the shock, I took my son for an assessment by a psychologist. I also had him tested for IQ besides seeing what he was best suited to do. It turned out that he would be better at architecture, city planning and similar professions. Engineering and medicine were most certainly not for him. Understanding the issue, we got my son to shift gears and change his career path. He appeared for the JEE exams (for architecture) and passed with flying colours! He got a scholarship and is now working in Canada. More than that, he is happy with his work!”
Her personal story ended on a happy note. However, as a professional working with students for over two decades, she realised that a mismatch between a person’s preference, skills, and choice of a career path may be one of the reasons she had spent her time researching.
In 2021, Pratima founded the eVyaas Learning Private Limited, a one-stop shop for advice and guidance related to careers and study options.
“With my personal experience and research, I developed a scale to test a student’s personality, interest and aptitude to enable them to take a decision regarding their career. With a triangulation of these three, I developed a tool for testing students,” she said.
Then Covid hit India.
“I then thought instead of publishing my study, why don’t I commercialise it?”
The initial phase
“I quit my job in 2022. This was a huge leap of faith for me. No one in our family had ever been in business. Thus far I have had a powerful position at work and was successful, but this issue was simply something I could not ignore. Despite all the frills of a great job, I think I was at a stage where fulfilment was more important than financial security, position and so on,” she said.
What Pratima had come to understand were four things.
“The career and job landscape in our country are marked by four issues. One, there’s rising anxiety and depression in the youth. The young in our country have huge pressure to perform well academically, secure a stable job and meet societal expectations. This causes a lot of stress and anxiety for our youngsters. A UNICEF Report states that 14% of people between the ages of 14 and 25 have serious concerns about their future.
“Two is the changing nature of work. According to the World Economic Forum, 85% of today’s students will work in jobs that do not yet exist. This statistic reflects the rapid pace of change in the job market, driven by technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, automation, and digital transformation. While these advancements create new opportunities, they also make it challenging for students to envision their future careers. The traditional career paths that previous generations relied upon are becoming obsolete, and new roles are emerging at an unprecedented pace. This dynamic environment makes it difficult for young individuals to plan their careers effectively. They are required to continuously adapt and learn new skills, which, without proper guidance, can be overwhelming.
“This then causes a Catch-22 situation that has severe mental health implications. Uncertainty about their future careers along with constant pressure to adapt leads to increased anxiety, depression, and overall dissatisfaction in the youth. Prolonged anxiety and depression can affect cognitive function, academic performance, and overall well-being. Students who struggle with mental health issues are less likely to engage fully in their educational pursuits, potentially leading to lower academic achievements and therefore reduced career opportunities. This highlights the importance of early intervention and continuous support to ensure that young people can navigate their career journeys without compromising their mental health.
“The consequences of career uncertainty extend beyond individual mental health to the broader economy. Millions of students miss out on fulfilling careers due to a lack of guidance and support which translates into lost potential in productivity and innovation. The economy suffers when talented individuals are unable to contribute effectively due to their struggles with career-related anxiety and depression.
“A workforce that is uncertain about its future is less likely to be motivated, engaged, and productive. This lack of engagement can lead to higher turnover rates, lower job satisfaction, and decreased innovation. In a country like India, which has a burgeoning youth population, harnessing the potential of young talent is crucial for economic growth and development,” she said.
The solution
Understanding the situation, it was a no-brainer for Pratima that the solution lay in counselling students to help them make better choices regarding their careers.
“Psychologically speaking, the elements of this counselling were personality, interests and skill of a young student. And while I did counsel many students (more than 5,000) I knew that I could reach only that far with this method. I needed technology to help me,” she said.
Luckily, internet access had reached far, wide and deep.
“More than 75% of youth in India have access to the internet and about 68% of those are in rural India. To reach far and wide and help our students, I knew I had to build an app as well as have web-based applications along with counsellors.”
To do this, Pratima hired a team of software developers, UX/UI designers, career counselors, and mental health professionals.
“Our goal was to create a seamless and user-friendly platform that combined scientifically validated assessments with personalised career counselling. We integrated data analytics and AI (artificial intelligence) features to continuously enhance the user experience,” she said.
With ₹25 lakh investment, the core platform was ready.
“We tested our MVP (minimum viable product) with 1,000 students and more than 150 teachers and principals as well as parents. In 2023, our product that was refined on this feedback was ready,” she said.
To get to the market
We developed a two-fold GTM (go to market) strategy. One was to get into partnerships with schools, colleges, and NGOs. We collaborated with educational institutions to integrate career guidance and employability services into their curriculum. We also worked with NGOs and social organisations to reach underrepresented communities.
The second was direct-to-consumer (D2C) via digital marketing. We ran campaigns on social media platforms, offering free webinars, blog content, and career counselling sessions to attract students and parents to our platform. This helped us build trust and engagement.
e-Vyaas charges ₹1,799 for a career assessment with a 30-minute session of personalised guidance.
“For bulk buyers like schools and colleges, we give a 10-20% discount, depending on the total number of assessments,” she said.
The roadmap
Pratima states that she fully opened up commercially only “six months back”. “So far, we have had revenues of ₹10.3 lakh,” she said. And the reach so far has been rather commendable.
“Thus far we have impacted 20,000+ youth, completed 9,000+ assessments since inception, conducted 37+ open career counselling sessions with various schools like Army Public Schools, Dastur Group of Schools, Fr Agnel’s Vidyankur High School, Sinhgad Group of Schools etc. We have also conducted 800+ specialised multilingual (Hindi, English, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Telugu) career insight assessments for various social organisations like Thermax Foundation, Lok Bharti Education Society and others. We are currently working with DesignTech Systems Ltd for pre-hire screening through an assessment called employability quotient for freshers (EmpQ-Fresher) and have completed 1,000+ assessments with them,” she said.
It started as a research study that got hit by a personal crisis and ended up helping students and young professionals choose a better career path. While technology, time, money and effort play their role, at the core of e-Vyaas is the desire to help people live more productive and happy lives.
