The right guidance is an essential aspect of a human’s life, and without it, a person can end up getting lost in a world that is continually moving forward. India is a country that is going through a phase where the development is taking place at a fast pace, and people are trying their best to catch up with these changes. From new rules to new technology, India is on a path to go higher and higher on a global scale.
However, certain factors affect the growth of a country, and one such factor is not utilizing the workforce that we have in hand to their full potential. The workforce available in our country is massive, but their full potential is still not being used by employers. While no one was addressing this issue, Arjun Gupta decided to roll up his sleeves and fix what was wrong with the working sector of our country. After spending four years at Boston University, Boston, Arjun came back home, and he was shocked to notice that the massive size and potential of the workforce were not being utilized properly, and this hit him like a ton of bricks falling on him.
This epiphany motivated him to find out ways to take advantage of the workforce in hand and bring out the best in them. Constant brainstorming and the will to upskill the scale finally ended when Courseplay came to life. The development of the project began in 2014, and within a year they had their first client collaborating with them.
Life before Courseplay
In conversation with TimesNext, Arjun Gupta talks about his early days and his academics. Born and raised in Mumbai in a business family, Arjun has always been a businessman at heart. He belongs to a business family, and they used to operate the biggest trading houses in the country in the 80s and 90s. His passion for entrepreneurship could be seen since his childhood when he used to collect keychains and then sell them to his family members for some pocket money.
He completed his schooling from Bombay International School and further went to The International School, Bangalore, for International Baccalaureate Diploma, which ended in the year 2007. Then he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and International Relations from Boston University, where he spent four years to get educated to become an Economist. In the end, he turned into a techie by teaching himself everything about technology, and then he decided to start his own company in 2012- Courseplay by Firstventure Corporation.
Everything you need to know about Courseplay
Courseplay was launched to bridge the gap between what someone knows and what they need to know. It is a scalable learning technology solution that was launched for enterprises to deliver delightful learning content, automate workflows, measure the impact for the people, ad engage hard-working employees using any device. This is done by using performance data provided by the enterprises and then using AI technology, the performance shortfalls of a person are mapped, and then a course is recommended accordingly.
Apart from web pages and mobile apps, the data can also be integrated using tools like Excelity, Success Factor, and other HR platforms that already have stored data for them to work with. The platform allows the courses to be held here, making the platform a single stop for the courses as well as make it work as a training advisor. Vendors and customers can also take advantage of these courses provided they are ready to learn. Using the data, Courseplay can also check which training program worked best for the client and which is a total waste of money.
With the rumors of a recession hitting the market, companies need to work on their training investment programs, and Courseplay helps with this. They help the clients build a skill profile for their employees, and it can be used to make decisions about training investments, career planning, or succession planning.
The challenges in the course of Courseplay
When you are running a company on your own, problems are a part of the journey, and every day there are five new challenges or ten old challenges resurface. One challenge that never leaves is the recruitment of good quality candidates. Initially, the company was new, and there were no big clients, so even the candidates they hired wouldn’t last long with the company. However, things are getting easier as they have evolved in the past few years and learned many things.
Collaborations by Courseplay
Arjun mentioned that the first and foremost thing they consider is that every client they are working with is a partner for them, and the experience has been delightful for the company. Apart from this, they team up with content developers that offer one-stop solutions for the learning requirements of the clients. They are working with AWS and Google, and this has helped them understand scalable cloud technology.
The first milestone and growth of the company
The big break for the company was when they bagged the first aviation client in January 2016. The deal with them has been an achievement for them, and they are associated with the clients till this day. With Arjun’s fascination for the aviation sector, this was a special milestone for him personally.
Currently, the company is privately funded, and it’s earning decent profits with a growth of 30% each year. They held a “friends and family” funding round in 2019, and now they are looking to carry out the first round of seed funding in the next few months.
The big picture for Courseplay
Arjun sees his products and services as a sidekick to the millions of heroes that are present in the workplace environments. The ultimate goal of the firm is to help people achieve their performance targets or their career objectives. They wished to bring down the marginal cost of their tech, and they achieved this last year as the price reached INR 2.00 per month. The next goal is to impact and help over 10 million people by the year 2025.
