Edtech Startup Mindler Raises Funds To Expand SaaS-Led Career Guidance Model

New Delhi-based career assessment startup Mindler today raised $1 Mn in pre-Series A funding led by Inflection Point Ventures. Apart from Inflection Point Ventures, the company said that it is in talks with a few HNIs. It is also backed by other investors in the edtech space, including Taxmann Group and CIIE IIM Ahmedabad. 

Mindler, in a press statement, said it will be utilising the fund to expand its user base by partnering with institutions and mentors, alongside accelerating the growth of its alumni pool of over 10K certified career coaches across the globe, eyeing to add 1.5 Mn career coaches in India. Besides this, the company also offers a SaaS platform to educators and edtech partners to create their own career guidance ecosystem. It allows counsellors to set up a career coaching business and manage their pipeline of students through this system. 

Founded by Prateek Bhargava in 2015, Mindler is comprehensive career guidance and mapping solutions to students as well as career coaches and counsellors. In 2020, the company claims to have seen a 90% client retention for its in-school career guidance programmes, alongside witnessing 400% increase for its international certification programme. 

In the coming months, the company is also looking at creating and certifying career coaches through a multi-level credentialing programme in partnership with the National Career Development Association (USA) and Career Development Alliance (USA). 

Inflection Point Ventures’ cofounder Mitesh Shah said that Mindler is solving a genuine problem and has penetrated really well among career aspirants. “With our vast investor base of CXOs from diverse industries, including edtech, we will help Mindler access a large unexplored market base and expand its network exponentially while enhancing the tech capabilities,” he added. 

Besides Mindler, other career assessments and counselling startups include Leverage Edu, Accio Jobs, CollegeKhabri, ProBano, iSchoolConnect, studyportals, MyMBACircle.com, and Gradschoolmatch among others. 

Last year, edtech startup upGrad on an acquisition spree had acquired recruitment and staffing solutions company Rekrut India, thereby providing end-to-end career counselling and placement opportunities for its users. 

In 2020, edtech startups witnessed massive growth in terms of users, funding and scale. While test prep and certification startups received the most number of funding last year, career assessment and counselling platforms are also gaining traction from investors and entrepreneurs alike. According to Inc42 Plus, edtech segment last year received $1.4 Bn in funding, compared to 443.64 Mn in funding the previous year. 

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