-By Chandan Anand, Group Editor, ArdorComm Media
November 25, 2022
“In over next five years and backed with our investors and backed with our strong team I think I’m very confident of achieving the same,” says Sushil Mundada, Co-Founder, ExtraaEdge in an interview with Chandan Anand, Group Editor, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘ArdorComm New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2022’ #ELSAGujarat #ELSAAhmedabad
What’s the extra and what’s the edge in this?
So, thank you again for asking this question again a lot of people have been asking us, so ExtraaEdge we are an edtech startup based out of Pune working with higher education, coaching and schools for six years now. Primarily their entire admission processes we automate, we ensure that the new age marketing technologies like WhatsApp or automation can reach to them and institutes and universities can get more and better students that’s the focus area we have and we have been helping around 300 plus institutes now happy to share in around six years now we’ve been working with them and helping these institutes to grow year on year.
Can you focus and highlight some of your products and services under ExtraaEdge?
Yeah so primarily we have four products the first one is on the CRM and marketing automation that’s like our core product which is there institutes can manage their leads and nurture their leads via the product. The second product which we have is on WhatsApp automation so students today are much more heavily focused on WhatsApp so that’s the product which we have so ensure consent and receive WhatsApp in an automated or a direct way via the product and then we also have products like chatbot and live chat again to interact with the students. The Institute can use this and the last product which we have is an application management and a tracking system so especially in universities and higher education when institutes want the student to get attracted to them and apply to them in a seamless manner they can potentially use this product and all these four products work hand in hand with each other to increase the number of applicants and students which Institutes can acquire.
So, Sushil how has been these six years journey and what’s the five years plan?
Yeah so again happy to share that six years ago when we started we did not understand the market as much neither the market understood this technology. We were the first to coined this term called education marketing technology and some introduced this so we created a category around this so in six years we’ve been able to completely create a category, reach out to a lot of institutes now in India I think almost every city and town we are present, we have always also expanded our horizons outside of India now present in Middle East and some customers in UK and US as well. So, that’s going to be the plan, continue to build more products in India solve the problems on the ground like what exactly in admission what exactly problems an Institute faces so solve them and then make India proud by going outside and have more customers outside of India as well that’s plan. In over next five years and backed with our investors and backed with our strong team I think I’m very confident of achieving the same.
Yours is a startup and you have been funded by many of the organizations a very nice questions I would like to ask if you want to answer it, what does an investor look for before investing in edtech?
Okay so again a very tricky question in edtech so I think by default every investor looks for a returns I think that is unfed at the rule but I think investors also look at what’s an impact which is happening right when it comes to education and edtech a lot of investors potentially also looked at what’s an eventual impact which is happening on the industry as a whole and of course the country and overall economy as a whole so that’s like a very macro level view. Every investor potentially wants to ensure that technology I’m talking about technology investors right so technology comes to education and doesn’t reach only to tier one and tier two only to a metro level town but even tier two and tier three towns and cities and institutes right. So, I think a lot of investors they ask us, even happy to share that today we don’t just work with just metro cities like Pune and Mumbai right so we have got customers right from Jammu and North to around the lowest part in Tamil Nadu today and some customers in Kerala, Gujarat, smaller coaching institutes larger universities so I think that’s what investor looks at the impact on the overall ecosystem as a whole.
So, the event name over here is New Normal Education Leadership Summit and Awards according to you how would you define on your own words New Normal?
Yeah so, I think thankfully all of us have passed covid that’s what I can say personally I have been looking forward to this new normal. I can meet people like you and so many people, I can meet now but most importantly I think as far as pre-covid and post-covid is concerned everybody’s understood that we cannot do away with the technology but most importantly we cannot do away with the personal human touch as well. So, we need to kind of have a hybrid whether it’s a learning side, whether it’s on the business side, whether it is on any kind of a communication which is to be there right. So, if I have an option of meeting online I should but that cannot be replaced completely by face to face meeting so even for as far as our team is concerned we have followed hybrid model where most of the teams works out of office but then people want to work from their home for few days they are welcome to do so. I think post covid the New Normal is a hybrid where we use technology when we want to but we continue to kind of go back to our roots and face to face and human touch as far as learning is concerned, meeting is concerned, doing business concerned in the face-to-face world. So, it’s a mix of a best of both worlds I can say.
So, inspired by the edtech or the startups like you, it has been a successful existence of one and a half years of existence we recently celebrated our anniversary any message would you like to give for ArdorComm Media Group?
Yeah so Chandan and Ashish again I’ve known you for quite long now, I think yesterday I was discussing with Ashish that earlier when we were a team of 5 or 6 I used to personally interact with you guys so happy to see your journey from team members to entrepreneurs and congratulations to the team I think I’ve seen people doing events and media overall like as a partner for long. I think one of the good things which I like about ArdorComm and both of you is the trust and effort which you put in every action which you do. So, please continue to do so we would love to continue to partner with you in terms of future of your endeavours. It’s very important to kind of look for return on investment for yourself and for us as well as partners. So, please continue to do so and we wish you all the best to the team, the team has been very helpful and on their toes for last couple of days so happy to see an energetic team, happy to see both of you grow as entrepreneurs. I have experienced my journey it’s a tough journey I know to move from where you were to starting but all the best please continue to do well and we look forward to continue to partner and seek each other’s support forever.