One of the biggest debates in the world undoubtedly is, “whether the glass is half full or half empty?” But at the end of the day, it completely depends on the viewer’s perception. This pandemic of Covid-19 is somewhat similar. For some it may come across as an obstacle in their career, whereas for others, it might be a chance at trying something new, or excelling at something they are good at!
We are all now quite familiar with the Industry and the Global economy. There are many who have lost their jobs, while at the same time, several industries are facing a lack of workforce because of the huge migration challenges.
Now that the unlock process has started across the nation, all the businesses are restarting their processes, in an attempt to get the economy back on track. And this process calls for new amends, change in policies, and also change in the workforce.
And as said by the famous Roman poet, Horace, “Carpe Diem!”. The time is ripe for the talented people out there to bag that perfect job; and for the industries to get such people on boardand excel in the right direction.
The Inception of InterviewAir
I could either watch it happen or be a part of it.
Elon Musk
It often happens that Candidates who get shortlisted for jobs to different cities are not reimbursed their travelling costs, and sometimes they even have to bear the cost of lodging and boarding. Understanding these pain points in the recruitment process, Ridhima Gauba, along with Rohit Taneja co-founded InterviewAir.
InterviewAir is an AI based Asynchronous Video Profiling technology marketplace, which assists Corporate HRs for Talent Acquisition in India, making sure that job seekers from remote areas (Tier 2/3&4) get an opportunity for employment.
So, when the companies register with InterviewAir, after shortlisting the candidates, the interviews are simply done on their Video Platform. This process turns out to be beneficial for both; the recruiters and the candidates, saving both time and cost. Once these major Interviewing process obstacles are eradicated, it only increases the efficiency and quality of work.
InterviewAir’s cloud-based interviewing platform is designed as an interface between Job Seekers, Colleges, Vocational Institutions, Corporates, Consultants & Trainers, and it brings together the Candidates looking for jobs to the Corporates without being physically present for the multiple rounds of job interviews (both technical and non-technical).
Taking innovation to the table
As much as circa 65%of the workforce in India abides in the remote areas and the jobs they are looking for are located in specific areas (bigger cities, circa 22 Indian cities), giving the candidates in those specific areas have an undue advantage, for job hunting. And we can all agree on the fact that interviews are no joke, which already brings nervousness. Add to that a new city, new people and the never-ending bills. The process gets tedious by the day for candidates from tier 2/3&4.
Disrupting the interviewing process, the backbone for any job opening, InterviewAir has been successfully able to help candidates from small towns get the right job with less hassle. InterviewAir has connected more than 43,500 job seekers with over 400 brands so far.
“Many job seekers, from Tier 2/3&4 have been recruited at their desired companies through our platform.”
The key factors behind their long-standing success
Many companies across the globe are into “Video Interviewing”, most of them are invitation based and expensive, along with a negligible number of companies concentrating on “college campus hiring” space and with no one trying to develop a marketplace, all integrated with Job listings, InterviewAir stands out.
Using AI to provide interviewing feedbacks, proposing appropriate career paths through counseling, suggesting courses for higher education, and recommending job industries to potential job seekers, are the key parameters assisting InterviewAir in shaping up the next 5 years of change in the human behavioral cycle.
An underserved and unexplored element of the recruitment market is Interviewing. Traditional recruiters conduct in-person interviews and build the database of the candidates. Disrupting this process with their innovative solution, InterviewAir is primarily focused on Video Interviewing and Real Time Video Analytics. And since the company is SaaS based, it has helped them gain high margins due to its scalability.
Another factor that adds to their efficiency is that rather than being an invitation-based platform, it is a marketplace, which helps create a digital network that can be monetized in countless ways.
Some other factors that distinguish InterviewAir from others include-
- Lower Acquisition Cost.
- Sticky revenue.
In house technology – Video Profiling, Analytics, AI and ML.
The Products and Services
“Interviewing is nothing but a tussle between a Smart Person & a Wise Person”
InterviewAir caters to a large audience, from large Corporates to HR Consultants and Colleges. Their services are used by-
Corporates/Companies/SMEs/MSMEs/Startups:
For the talent acquisition team of every industry, interviews are imperative. With InterviewAir’s Video Profiling and Real Time Analytics, organizations can select the right candidate.
Colleges / Universities:
Colleges, from rural areas (60% of 45K in India), who are unable to showcase their brand and their talent pool (because of the geographical constraints) can create a digital video interview repository and share a URL to multiple companies from the comfort of their college cabin.
Consultants:
Prior to InterviewAir, HR Consultants/Agencies use to supply tons of CVs in the inbox of the Companies for candidate selection (entitling them for commission). Now, consultants can share video interviews of their potential candidates, bringing higher efficiency, revenues, and huge savings in Time and Cost.
Candidates:
Candidates with InterviewAir can now give asynchronous interviews from the comfort of their home without spending any money.
Trainers:
Trainers can digitally connect to multiple colleges in one go and provide “study material & feedback”, increasing their business horizon. This helps the candidates who have negligible experience in interviews learn and grow.
The Key Features of Their Services Includes
- Asynchronous Video Interviewing Technology.
- Bespoke asynchronous multiple rounds of Video Interviews.
- Interviews can be recorded/answered using 4G / 3G technology.
- AI based interview feedback mechanism.
- AI-based Video Analytics – providing various Psychometric Traits.
- Conducting Digital Campus placements.
- Connecting multiple vendors/agencies by providing a unique code to track their submitted candidate’s Interview status.
- ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
- Interview invite – an email invitation for Video Interview(s) (providing secrecy) for Sr Management level hiring.
- The interviews can be recorded/answered in 9 different regional languages.
- Interview profile sharing with multiple teams along with individual feedbacks for quicker and better assessments.
- Training & Placement officers of colleges can provide “interview feedbacks and training” to their students, asynchronously.
- Trainers can digitally connect to multiple colleges in one go and provide “study material & feedback”, increasing their business horizon.
The magical Business Model
InterviewAir’s business model revolves around a simple annual SaaS-based subscription model from Corporates, Colleges, Institutes, and Consultants (B2B). The pricing is kept low, keeping in mind it’s a technological platform, bringing a new dimension to the Hiring Process. Also, they have plans to collect direct revenue from job seekers (B2C) by providing value-added services like Interview feedback, proposing appropriate career paths through counseling, suggesting courses for higher education, and recommending job industries to potential job seekers.
By becoming a facilitator, we have positioned ourselves as marketplace technology disruptors.
InterviewAir is a one of its kind company with novel services. Their services have gained a lot of appreciation and credibility from their customers, from various industries. By following absolute agile methods for developing technology and by staying connected with their subscribed members, InterviewAir has been adept to the market volatility and has helped them stay ahead of the curve.
The Road Ahead
Growth is a factor inevitable, and is something that keeps pushing the team forward. To strive for something, to push the boundaries, set new ones and expand, all in the faith of the customers and their success.
InterviewAir is currently working on the following frontiers to take the organization a step further:
Corporates: Providing access to a diverse pool of job seekers by connecting them to Colleges and Laterals from tier 2/3&4 cities & streamlining their multiple rounds of job interviews, saving Cost & Time.
Franchise Model: Establishing multiple interviewing booths in tier 2/3&4 cities.
Digital Job Fairs: Eliminating Walk-ins, thus saving Time & Cost.
International expansion in next 24 months across EMEA
In Next 5 years we seek capturing 200M users with 7000 customerbase and a revenue of $200M
“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”
The Work Culture
A happy work environment helps to boost up productivity. At InterviewAir, everyone works with a 100% ownership and an agile approach to product development. Every team member knows his freedom as much as their responsibilities. At InterviewAir they believe in taking risks, fail fast, and keep learning to grow. For every business, customer is the king, and to stay ahead, a customer-centric approach is what is necessary. At InterviewAir, they have built their teams with these core values. Their customer-first approach has added strength to the organization’s growth.
Transparency is a core factor that always plays a vital role in the growth of any organization. At InterviewAir they maintain 100% transparency to avoid issues and keep the processes easier. InterviewAir’s team always makes data-driven decisions so they can add speed to their growth. Smart and humble people at the company make the company’s environment happier and productive.
If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
Henry Ford
An unmatched leadership
“A leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. Innovation distinguishes between a Leader and a Follower”
- Ms. Ridhima Gauba is the CEO of the company and has a background in Commerce and has completed her MBA (Finance). She was selected for a course in one of the prestigious Indian universities – IIM Bangalore. She has a background in portfolio management and has been into banking and finance since day one. She takes care of Operations / Sales / HR & Admin / Investor relations.
- Mr. Rohit Taneja is the COO of the company and has a background in Engineering. He has completed his MSc in Data Communications and pursued MBA (Marketing), all from London, UK. He takes care of Tech & Business Development.
- Mr. RiteshChandnani is the CTO of the company and has a background in Computer Engineering. He has completed his BE from Mumbai University. He takes care of Tech and R&D.
- Mr. Chandrashekhar Bhide is an IIT Bombay (CS) and IIM Ahmedabad and is the key protagonist in shaping the Video Tech and Strategic Alliances.
Awards and Recognitions
- MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge Asia: Won 2nd place & $5000 cash prize in Technology Access innovation category, out of 25 participating Asian countries & 179 applications.
- Winner of emPower Women Tech Entrepreneur Award 2018, a Govt of India and Govt of Canada initiative (Won Rs 500,000).
- Leading Start-up Award – BMA (chaired by Mr. Mohandas Pai): One of the top 5 leading startups in Digital Space
- Winner: Marathwada Innovation Challenge MAGIC Aurangabad – Jury Award
- mBillionth Award – Learning & Education (Biggest Award in South Asia, Delhi)
- Top 15 Women Tech Entrepreneur Award (Grace Hopper WEQ 2018)
- Top 15 India Tech Women Entrepreneur – Qualcomm Technologies (USA)
- Next Big Idea: One of the top 50 Startups out of 1000 applicants PAN India
- Top 20 Women Entrepreneurs – Facebook (SheLeadsTech)
- Top 7 promising HR Tech Award by JITO
- The Leaders Globe Award – The 10 Most Innovative HR Management Companies, India
- Covered in CNBC / Economic Times / YourStory and host of local newspapers.
The woman who follows the crowd will usually get lost in the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.
Albert Einstein
