This bootstrapped Edtech start-up provides quality mentorship from industry experts
Mistakes are our greatest mentors, but why should one learn the hard way? Tapping into this premise is engineer-turned-entrepreneur Anapurna Monga, who has embarked upon providing quality and accessible mentorship to students, fresh graduates, and professionals through her new venture. The bootstrapped start-up, called Mentorbox, aims to connect mentees with professionals in the area of their interest through a variety of programs.
The idea of Mentorbox and its USP
Mentorbox is a fully-digital platform which brings mentors and mentees under one roof. However, it should not be confused with a conventional career counselling initiative since "each one of us is unique, and so are our needs." Anapurna says her company helps you choose and navigate the right career path by providing personalized, structured, and quality mentorship from experts across various industries.
How does Mentorbox recommend mentors?
When you sign-up with Mentorbox, the company performs a profile assessment test. Your inputs are evaluated by a proprietary AI-based knowledge model, which then recommends the best mentor for your professional goals. At present, Mentorbox has over 200 mentors who are basically accomplished industry professionals, subject-matter experts and industry leaders from various parts of the world.
What are the products on offer?
Mentorbox currently offers one-on-one and group sessions. The former costs around Rs. 2,000 per hour while the latter is priced at Rs. 400-500 for a group of 5-10 mentees. The company also provides special sessions to hone soft skills. Each session costs Rs. 3,000 for a one-one-one arrangement and Rs. 720 for the group.
Going forward, Mentorbox will also offer a subscription service
Further, Mentorbox has plans to offer a subscription service as well wherein mentees will have the option to pick sessions of their choice and pay on a monthly/yearly basis. For mentees belonging to the Economically Weaker Section, the company will provide sessions at subsidized rates. Notably, these plans are likely to be executed by year-end or early-2021.
New project: 'Understand your Human Potential - Through Learning'
Alongside its mentorship services, Mentorbox has also introduced a new project for school and college students, called "Understand your Human Potential - Through Learning." As part of the program, mentors will help an individual make informed career decisions based on interests and through performance in various tasks. Mentorbox will start this project in BITS Pilani from November.
About the founder
Anapurna Monga, founder of Mentorbox, is an alumna of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology and has experience working as a Software Engineer in domains like Healthcare, Digital Payments, and Logistics. But her skills and knowledge transcend to other fields as well. She is a motivational speaker, and an excellent anchor. You may soon see her in television serials as well as web series.
