Four IIT Roorkee Alumni set out to start something of their own and gave life to schoolsearch.in. This site aims to bring all the stakeholders of the Indian education system on one page.
Priyanka Talreja, interviews Nishant Gauttam (24), one of the initiators to find out what exactly goes into the
making of such a site.


How did the idea of schoolsearch.in come along?
It all started when we noticed the pain points that parents face before admitting their child into a school. Even in metro cities, it is very difficult for people to look for a school that serves all the needs of the child and parents as well. Apart from this, there are other problems also in the Indian education system.
It has many flaws, in terms of the methodology, the content and there a communication gaps. This is an attempt to bridge this gap.

Tell us about the core team?
Our core team comprises for four people. Saket Namdeo - Head of Operations, Nishant Gauttam - Head Technical Affairs, Divye Tela - Head of Marketing and Ayush Khandelwal - Head Business Strategy.

How much time did the website take to set up?
It took us six to seven months to set up the site. And it has been put into operation since January 2010.

How is school search different from Google?
A Google search, might not give the parents the exact information they are looking for.
While at schoolsearch.in, a parent can compare all the different schools and weigh their pros and cons.
Besides this, the parents can...

also start discussions and forums regarding any queries that they have, these will be answered on a daily basis the team. We are also different because our information can be authenticated by the parents or students. They can freely comment on the articles that have been posted.

Who gives the reviews for these schools?
Just like Wikipedia, independent visitors can come and write/edit any article. This article is then backed by feedbacks and comments by
other users.

How does becoming a member for schoolsearch.in help?
Before becoming a member you have to specify whether you want to join as a student teacher or a parent. And once you have registered, you will be given regular alerts pertaining to your interests.
For instance, the parents will get alerts on school admissions and so on. We have 500 to 600 registered users. And we get 1000 to 1600 requests for admissions per month.

What advice would you give to the youth who want to start an independent site like schoolsearch.in?
Being a young entrepreneur myself, I am learning a lot of things. But it was the feeling to own something of my own that pushed me to start schoolsearch.in. An entrepreneur must first start off with market research. They should then validate their business idea, only then should it be taken forward.
Also, keep in mind that there should be a problem that your idea is trying to solve. Lastly, a strong business model should be monetary beneficial as well.