An exclusive interview with Dr. Nikhil Sikri, Co-founder & CEO, myXP.ai by Zolo

 

An exclusive interview with Dr. Nikhil Sikri, Co-founder & CEO, myXP.ai by Zolo

What was the inspiration behind establishing the startup myXP.ai job tech venture? Please share this journey with us.

The idea stemmed from the pandemic which has engulfed each aspect of our lives. When the pandemic hit India in early 2020, the entire Zolo family came together to help those among us that lost jobs and livelihoods. The pandemic has ensured that the reasons why we work or are excited about a job has changed forever. The education institutes also struggled to provide job contextuality and relevance. The placement season of 2020 and 2021 was a disaster. A significant number of people failed to get the job of their dreams. Others who want to shift streams found it even tougher.

At Zolo, the leadership team pulled together and invested a lot of time in helping Zolo-ites garner job ready skills. A degree obtained whether through online or an offline course will get you an interview. But to succeed in it and keep that job is a whole different thing.  It inspired us to create a platform which could bring a solution that bridges the last-mile gap for students and working professionals in securing the right job. 

The biggest learning the team garnered was that the last mile preparation for the job interview and role-specific knowledge makes a huge impact on the prospect of getting a job. myXP.ai aims to disrupt the underlying problem of what people learn through various programs and what employers expect from them while hiring.

With myXP.ai, we want the first experiences of people to be a win-win situation for job aspirants and employers who hire them through our platform.

What is the strength of your company?

Zolo is at heart a co-living brand with the aim of redefining living experiences of people by offering trusted and comfortable managed living solutions through ready-to-move-in rented rooms/beds that offer convenient amenities at affordable prices via an integrated app-based technology platform. Zolo pioneered the co-living and student housing space in 2015 and currently enjoys the market leader position as India’s largest co-living brand.

Over the years we have expanded into brand extensions that were inspired by the customer’s pain points. Our customer focused approach created relevant brands that come with the same Zolo credibility. 

With a team of corporate relationship manager, L&D experts and mentors, Customer Champions and placement officers, myxp.ai has over 500 employees. With over 100 registrations per week.

Is the company funded?

The parent company – Zolo, is backed by Investcorp, Nexus Ventures Partners, IDFC Alternatives, Trifecta Capital and Mirae Assets. 

Briefly explain about the business & revenue model?

We are a tech enabled, job tech platform that offers guaranteed job. Our motto in Get trained, Get certified and Get Hired. 

We enroll candidates based on their domain preferences, train them and align them to organisations for which there is a fee that candidates have to pay in equal intertest free instalments. 

How many corporates and students enrolled on the platform? 

Currently, in terms of candidates, we have 500+ students who have already registered with us in the last few months, and the predicted number for the next few months is around 1000.

In terms of corporates, we have 400+ distinct partners on board.

What are your future plans?

We will be launching MyXP Academy – a unique model in the first quarter. This will be a modern method of teaching delivered in a traditional manner for which enrolments are ongoing. Our first batch starts from April 2022. 

What is the USP of myXP.ai?

MyXP.ai has been specifically and uniquely designed to suit the needs of job seekers. The program is designed to enhance the skills of professionals looking for a job switch, and people looking for their first jobs.

The experience will take each candidate through a discovery session of their strengths and weaknesses, course planning that develops a 360-development program based on the mentor’s assessment, training sessions where they get one on one mentorship sessions, launchpad that preps them for real-world interviews, professional resumes, video profiles and, last-mile preparation for ‘THE’ interview. 

How has Covid19 affected your business and how do you cope with that?

At a co-living side there has been an impact and that’s across the category. However, January onwards there’s an upward trend and we are seeing leads increasing every day. By the second quarter of the next financial year we hope to be back to 90% occupancy.

How much have you raised in total over how many rounds?

Zolo, the parent company of myXP.ai, has raised three rounds – Series A, B and C. The company is backed by Investcorp, Nexus Ventures Partners, IDFC Alternatives, Trifecta Capital and Mirae Assets. In the last round of Series C funding in July 2020 the team raised $ 56 million making it a total of $90 million raised till date. 

Website - https://myxp.ai/