Ed-tech CollegeDekho hires ex-McKinsey exec Nikunj Bhatter

Girnar Software-owned CollegeDekho, an online platform that connects students with colleges and universities, has appointed former McKinsey executive Nikunj Bhatter as its head of product and engineering.

Bhatter’s new role at the startup will be focused on expanding both the product and engineering teams, with a goal of scaling current offerings and product development for new business verticals, it said in a statement.

In his most recent role, Bhatter worked with school and competitive entrance test tutoring platform Aakash Digital as an assistant vice president of product and innovation, where he led their product team to scale Aakash Educations’ digital division, both in terms of revenue and active users, the statement said. 

“I am thrilled to join the CollegeDekho team. The concept is new and is trying to solve a grassroot issue that students are facing in India. There is a huge latent need for institutionalised education counselling. At the core level, the problem of not finding the right career exists with both masses and classes. With CollegeDekho’s proposition, students across SEC categories are going to benefit,” Bhatter said.

CollegeDekho.com lets students compare colleges, find out score cut-offs for admission, provides information on admission process, entrance exams and scholarships, and helps students pick careers based on their strengths.

The main offerings in its B2C model includes providing end-to-end admission solutions to students, whereas the B2B model includes offering digital marketing solutions to clients. It has over 36,000 colleges on its database.

In July, the ed-tech platform acquired Scholarship Facilitation Services, a Delhi-based education consulting services company. In May, it raised $8 million in a Series B funding from its parent holding GirnarSoft and Man Capital, a London-based global investment arm of Mansour Group, an Egyptian conglomerate.

CollegeDekho was founded on April 2015. Other business subsidiaries of its parent entity include the likes of new and used vehicles, consumer products, consumer technology marketplaces such as CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com, BikeDekho.com, Zigwheels.com, CarBay.com and PriceDekho.com. Girnar Software also launched specialised portals like TyreDekho.com and TrucksDekho.com recently.

Jaipur-based Girnarsoft saw its revenue rise nearly 62.5% to $37.5 million for the financial year through 31 March 2019. In its annual report for 2018-19, Girnarsoft said that growth in its used car and new car businesses led to the increase.