Yesterday we reported how and why the Indian Angel Network has lowered the minimum amount it invests (to Rs 75 Lakh now) as angel funding in startups. Now, the IAN is in news again as a startup incubated by it IndiaCollegeSearch.com has raised Rs 5.8 Million (58 Lakh) from seed funding firm VAS Capital.
So What is IndiaCollegeSearch.com?
IndiaCollegeSearch.com is a web portal which assists students find out more about colleges. The college search is currently aimed at engineering colleges only. A prospective student can use the site to filter out colleges on the basis of location, course, examination name (AIEEE, JEE, CEE, etc.), fees and the type of college (public, private or both). The site boasts of more than 1000 colleges being listed on it right now.
Although Pluggdin (they broke the story) mentioned that the startup has done a lot of SEO, the keywords I searched for did not bring out the site in the results. Nevertheless, the funding will surely be used to improve he site’s search rankings as well as to add other features to it.
The co-founder Anirudh Motwani has certain plans for the site:
- Having all colleges and courses in India listed at once place. The current site is only a prototype and we’d soon see an improved site by December.
- More info about each college such as placement, infrastructure, faculty, etc. is lacking as of now. The team will be working on those aspects
Our Take
Frankly speaking – it is the first time I have seen a site of IndiaCollegeSearch’s niche raise a funding round. It certainly means that the team behind it is a good one and has some impressive plans ahead for the site.
I’ve only one question for the team and that is – the revenue model comprising of advertisements might not be enough to get a lot of revenue and something more could be done here. What do you guys think?
Also, I’d like to see some power features added to the site like – I should be able to see a video of the whole college. Kind of a college tour. Hope they’d think of more such power features. If implemented properly, the site will be a winner in its niche. And yeah, who wouldn’t love to see what happens behind the gates of far-flung colleges.
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