With the 500 Startups push, SchoolAdmissions intensifies efforts and moves into the product space
Puja and Raj Arora had a tough time looking out for a school for their kid back in 2007 and that is when they came up with SchoolAdmissions (earlier NurseryAdmissions). Based out of New Delhi, the firm aims to help parents with their decision-making process while selecting a school. The company has been incubated at the IAN incubator and recently got through to the 6th batch of 500 Startups.
An example of tenacity and a peek into the portal
Puja and Rajan have been persistent over the years and stuck to the idea. Vikram Upadhyay, who is the mentor (from IAN) of the company says,
It is an incredible story in entrepreneurship space from India. Their selection for 500 Startups not only sets a great example for young entrepreneurs in India but also endorses the saying, 'try and try again, you will definitely succeed'. Puja and Raj are true entrepreneurs and they have proved my theory where husband and wife can be good team members in professional life too.
The duo banks of the quality of the data and have ensured that the information available on the portal is accurate.The forum on the site for parents is what has got them a lot of traction and credibility in the circles.
SchoolAdmissions is a useful proposition but the way the site is laid out at the moment isn't something that'll blow you away. Navigation is a bit of a problem and a better control over the tabs in which the information opens will go a long way in improving the usability.
SchoolAdmissions has more than 4,000 schools, 4,000 playschools and 2000 creches listed with information regarding them.
Generating revenues via ads and featured listings, the aim is to consolidate their presence in NCR and move more aggressively to other regions (they are already present in some). "We recently partnered with Airtel to launch India's first School Admissions Helpline on Mobile which too received a great response from the parents community," says Puja about the branding they've been able to build.
The product
Currently in the US for the accelerator program, thorough plans for the product are in place. SchoolAdmissions is building an integrated online platform that will help parents to easily manage the various steps of school admissions process through a bouquet of tools from a single control panel and network with other parents.
The eventual revenue model might shift towards a subscription based model but the current focus in on building a team, keeping the quality of data in check and rolling out the product. There are other portals that have blossomed in the area (MyTopTeacher can have an interesting play) but Raj believes that competition is for the features and they've had an early start advantage. 500 Startups will also bring in a lot of global intelligence and help out the company on setting up the product roadmap to scale up.
Website: SchoolAdmissions