BAGYOURJOB CAPTURES THE LUCRATIVE MARKET OF CAMPUS PLACEMENT
Text: Anish Shankar Photos: Bagyourjob
Bagyourjob.com might seem like a spinoff job portal among the many other also-rans. But Verbico Labs’ latest venture has identified and captured a unique market segment, the lucrative campus placement market. We talk to ‘bagyourjob.com’ founder, Midhun V Sankar on his experiences in entrepreneurship and the journey of his latest start-up.
Spotting Gold
Business value is created when companies are able to spot gaps in the market and capitalize on the opportunity presented. One market presenting great value is the campus placement market, a large and lucrative market that is mostly unorganised. Bagyourjob.com has positioned itself in the market as an interface between the companies and potential candidates through their college campuses. The genesis of bagyourjob.com was to address the local problem startups in Kochi were facing. Startups in Kochi knew specifically from which colleges they wanted their candidates, such as the Model Engineering College or CUSAT, and so on. Existing job portals did not provide relevant information. The information was available but was scattered across databases. Bagyourjob.com found a solution to addre ss this issue by converting a part of the college website, through a widget, into a job portal, whereby companies could directly post vacancies and search candidates. Their first project was undertaken for SCMS College. After a couple of failed prototypes, they were able to successfully launch the portal. Since then, a number of colleges across Kerala have sought their software service to develop their own job portals.
‘We don’t charge …’
Bagyourjob.com is more than just a widget. It’s where social media meets job listings. Their site is an interface where job seekers can create free profiles and the same can be accessed by companies for free. Each user has a list of jobs on his home page, can receive updates from the company as well as from other users. In the last two months alone, over 70 students have been placed through the portal with the highest salary being paid came close to INR 14 lakh. Several companies including Cabot Technologies, Commvault, ClaySys,and EY have used their website to find and hire candidates across functional areas. Based on the freemium model, bagyourjob.com does not charge either the company or the student. Instead, it seeks to earn revenue from colleges by installing their widgets. At the same time, they are also looking to develop solutions that extend their reach to corporate career pages.
Beating the Competition
Bagyourjob.com looks to beat its competition by identifying loopholes in their business proposition and catering to unmet user needs. In the campus placement segment, it was noted that certain companies preferred candidates with experience as opposed to fresher’s. Using the widget, colleges could keep in touch with their alumni and notify them about jobs relevant to them. The alumni get the unique opportunity to be placed again. While other competitors have a larger database of resumes, bagyourjob.com has access to verified databases which come directly from colleges. With such USPs, bagyourjob.com is confident that once users register with them, they will not change in the future.
Money Matters
As the job portal is free for all, the revenue directly comes from charging colleges for use and maintenance of the technology. They work with colleges on a case to case basis, catering to their specific needs and fees is charged accordingly. Their profitability and potential ability to earn greater revenue have caught the attention of the investor network. They have been approached by multiple investors for a capital infusion, which they turned down initially.A chance meeting with Manoj Verghese, who occupied top positions in Facebook and Google, led to the sale of 10% equity stake to him. He also brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge to help the company grow. As the chief mentor, he is assisting the team in areas such as increasing sales and enhancing user experience.
Behind the Scenes
Bagyourjob.com is currently a team of six, with Midhun looking into sales and marketing. His co-founder Nakul is in charge of coding and looks after the technical aspects of the products. The other members of the team are focussed on improving the quality and user experience of the products and services.
Looking Ahead
With a strong team and an able mentor, bagyourjob.com is looking to grow leaps and bounds. The key focus is to target the employment needs of the technology sector which are currently concentrated in Southern India. Accordingly, they are looking to spread the use of their software across colleges in South India in the next two years. There are plans for sourcing additional funding through a VC for about INR 1.2 Crores, the details of which are yet to be finalized.
The Entrepreneur
Behind bagyourjog.com is the man with the idea, Midhun. A B Tech graduate from Model Engineering College, he worked in the IT industry for a few years before deciding to start his own venture. His first company was called examvoice.com and was launched during the initial phases of Startup Village. While the startup was able to generate users, it could not earn sufficient revenue to keep the company afloat and it failed. Far from being disappointed, Midhun used the experience gained from his first venture as well as taking feedback from his peers at Startup Village regarding their problems of hiring the right candidate, decided to launch his second venture, bagyourjob.com. From quitting his job to become an entrepreneur to providing jobs, quite literally, for many. For him, it’s all in a day’s work.