Get All Access for $5/mo

The Skill Enablers Nishant Chandra & Siddharth Maheshwari, 30, Co-founders, Newton School

By Punita Sabharwal

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Nishant Chandra & Siddharth Maheshwari, Co-founders, Newton School

Nishant Chandra completed his B.Tech from IIT Roorkee and then went on to do an MBA from IIM Calcutta. He has always been passionate about entrepreneurship, which found momentum when he was the Secretary of the Entrepreneurship Development Cell and also founded two ed-tech startups while studying at IIT Roorkee. After his stint at Unacademy (an edtech unicorn) having experienced the dynamics of ed-tech in India, Nishant co-founded Bolo, a video-based mentorship startup with Siddharth Maheshwari, his current co-founder, and college friend from IIT Roorkee.

During this time, the duo identified a large demand for mentors from students of Tier 2 and 3 colleges. Upon evaluating this further, Nishant and Siddharth discovered that these students lacked the necessary industry skills to get good jobs. Furthermore, they also observed that many students who received personal mentorship sessions were able to secure jobs with 3X-5X more salaries than what their colleges could offer. Nishant and Siddharth came to understand that while these students had potential, the education system was not providing them with the skills they needed to succeed in the tech industry. It was from this realization that they decided to create Newton School, a full-fledged learning platform. The goal of Newton School is to cater to students from all backgrounds and provide them with the opportunity to develop the skills required for getting jobs in the tech industry. By reverse-engineering the demands of the industry, Newton School has created a model with a comprehensive curriculum and industry-experienced mentors. Newton School is an online neo-university that is focused on outcome-oriented tech education for working professionals and freshers looking to make a bright career in tech.

Talking about the venture, the duo says, "What we are trying to solve is the problem of upskilling as per what the industry demands. We have built our entire curriculum and learning pedagogy in collaboration with software engineers, developers, and data scientists from the top companies of the world. All the instructors, mentors, interviewers, and other resource professionals are currently working as software developers or data scientists in Fortune 500 companies. We have a combination of instructors, mentors, interviewers, content developers, and competitive coders to teach and guide the students through live classes, mentorship sessions, mock interviews, and dynamic projects, as well as fun competitive coding contests. We use AI and machine learning technologies to aid our students' learning journey and analyze industry trends so that we can prepare our students for job market fluctuations."

Newton School has built the careers of more than 2500 students to this date, from all over the country. They partnered with over 2000+ companies including Google, Flipkart, Zomato, Xiaomi, Genpact, Dream11, Airtel, Byju's, PolicyBazaar, Meesho, Lenskart, Target, Thoughtworks, and Deloitte, among many others. Newton School also partnered with the Government of Goa to train 10,000 Goans to become Software Developers. They also launched a recruitment portal for startups and corporates aspiring to hire our tech graduates. The portal creates a seamless talent acquisition experience for companies and onboarded over 800 companies in just a few months since the portal's launch. The startup plans to increase its employee headcount to 600 by 2023 and generate $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 2023.

Factsheet

· Year of inception of the company: 2019

· Number of employees: 304

. Investors: Steadview Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, and RTP Global

Punita Sabharwal

Entrepreneur Staff

Managing Editor, Entrepreneur India

Side Hustle

'Hustling Every Day': These Friends Started a Side Hustle With $2,500 Each — It 'Snowballed' to Over $500,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins had a 2020 brainstorm session that led to a lucrative business.

Leadership

How to Master the Art of Delegation — Lessons From Andrew Carnegie's Legacy

Here's what Andrew Carnegie can teach today's entrepreneurs about leadership, teamwork and effective delegation.

News and Trends

Talent, Digital Infra, Policy, and Startups Driving India's GCC Ecosystem

By leveraging its demographic dividend and evolving policies, India is uniquely positioned to become the preferred choice for global enterprises seeking scalability, resilience, and a future-ready operational base.

News and Trends

Key Cybersecurity Trends to Track as Threats Evolve

India has lost INR 11,333 crore to cyber fraud in just the first nine months of 2024. Nevertheless, with increasing cyber threats and public awareness, companies are taking proactive steps to safeguard their networks and devices

Leadership

Should I Stay or Should I Go? 8 Key Points to Navigate the Founder's Dilemma

Here are eight key signs that help founders determine whether to persevere or let go.

News and Trends

Digital Fear: How Stock Trading Scams, Investment Frauds, Digital Arrest and Threats From Foreign Lands are Crippling

Since 2021, CFCFRMS has recorded a staggering 30.05 lakh complaints, resulting in losses of INR 27,914 crore