One thing 37-year-old Ankit Aggarwal was sure of was that he had a ‘bug’ that pushed him to become an entrepreneur and build something of his own. He said that even though he was a student sitting in the hostel room, he was busy brainstorming startup ideas when most of the students started running to get placements.
Today, Ankit is the founder of Unstop, a Delhi-based startup talent engagement and hiring platform, which has over five million users and generated $2.5 million in revenue this year.
The company recently received the highest offer of 5 crores in SAARC Tank, which they rejected.
From a blog to a multi-million company
The idea of Unstop evolved from a blog that was born in a hostel room and ended up as a full-fledged multi-million dollar startup.
“I was doing my MBA at IMT and wanted to participate in various events and competitions organized by various colleges, universities and companies. However, information about these incidents does not reach us in time,” she recalls. “This is when I started a blog where I would post information as I got it. This was back in 2010.”
While working on his blog, Ankit entered Harvard Business School for a scholarship program. “I saw a similar trend at Harvard as well. Students wanted to explore more opportunities and find out what industry they fit for, get CV scores and finally get a placement. Getting placements and the right industry exposure is all students need. So, While at Harvard, I realized that there could be a monetary value to this idea,” he shared.
Ankit’s first big breakthrough was when Aditya Birla Group and Reliance approached him.
“It was the big push I needed. In consecutive months I was approached by two big giants. They asked me if I could reach out to students and start an employer brand. Then I decided it was the right time to convert the blog into a website,” he said. says
So, in 2017, Ankit decided to give his full attention to creating his blog and making it big. “When I started in 2019, the company was very restricted. We have collaborated with some schools. Gradually we started building it up and included different fields being offered in colleges like engineering, arts and commerce in 2020. Then, in 2021, we became just a listing platform. And now, users can create web pages on our platform, make and receive payments, do coding, and even do assessments,” he says.
Explaining how the platform works, Ankit says, “We see Onstop as an early talent engagement and hiring platform. It is like a combination of assessment platforms like Naukri.com, LinkedIn and Mettl. In short, whether you’re a working professional or a student, we can boost your talent journey by helping you learn new skills, demonstrate those skills to new employers, gain CV points, and ultimately, reap rewards in recruitment.”
“Ultimately, that’s the goal – to get hired. Today, we have 5 million users, 10,000 colleges, and over 1,000 companies listing their opportunities on OnStop,” he informed.
The Endless Journey to Success
While Ankit always had an eye for business, his journey was anything but easy.
“Unstop was not my first attempt at business. I have tried my hand at various startups and failed. They all came with their own problems and learnings,” he says, “The hardest part was getting over the fear of going it alone. In my earlier gigs, I think I was too dependent on my co-founders.
He shares an example from when he was working on his first business idea. “The idea was to make an app where people could book shows. We were working on it, and then just three months later, ‘Book My Show’ was launched!
While Ankit was convinced it was a good idea, he couldn’t convince his co-founders to go ahead with it. “I knew there was a market for a platform like this, but I wasn’t quick enough. I let it go, and the only reason for that was because I wasn’t brave enough to take that leap and go it alone,” he says, adding that it was an internal obstacle he faced. had to pass
The entrepreneur recently appeared in Shark Tank Season 2, where the ‘Shark’ offered his team Rs 5 crore, the biggest offer in the history of Shark Tank, which they turned down.
“Seeing all the sharks and answering their questions, it was an amazing experience,” he says. At first, it might be a bit scary, but then I was ready with all the numbers. It was surreal to see the sparkle in their eyes as I shared about my startup and plans ahead. “
“We got an offer from Amit Jain, but we did not accept due to some commercial reasons. The most important takeaway from all this is that the ‘Sharks’ see a lot of potential in the business and that is really motivating,” he adds.
Ankit also has no plans to stop as the name of his startup goes.
Sharing future plans, he says, “For now, we are looking at sustainable development. We want to create a community of students and employers. A person can build tech overnight, but you can’t build LinkedIn overnight. We are looking to grow our 5 million users to 10, 20 and so on. We are not looking at the revenue side of the company but the community side for now. “
Edited by Pranita Bhat