Vocational & Recreational Skills Training Startup SkillKindle Raises Seed Funding From i3 Consulting

Delhi-based startup SkillKindle, which positions itself as an online marketplace for people to learn skills (both professional and recreational) offline, has raised seed funding from Noida-based i3 consulting, a business consulting firm that works with organisations to improve their performance on a sustainable basis.

SkillKindle offers offline workshops for anyone looking to learn anything -- be it salsa, cooking, origami or professional courses like digital marketing. The workshops are priced between Rs 500-1500 per head. It claims to have featured 65-75 workshops in the past four months.

SkillKindle, which went live last November, is founded by Tanuj Choudhry, an alumnus of INSEAD and St Stephens, Delhi. Prior to starting SkillKindle, Choudhry was with McKinsey & Company.

Talking to Techcircle.in, Choudhry said, "Apart from funding, i3 Consulting will also help us manage our work as it is a consulting firm."

The funds will be used for team-building, increasing the marketing outreach and ramping up the technology front. Choudhry said, "Right now, we are a five-member team, and intend to hit 10 by the end of July. We would also scale up our operations in other cities like Mumbai and Bangalore."

Additionally, the startup would also like to establish contacts with more teachers and students to increase the user base. "Apart from doing direct and social media marketing, we would like to do quality workshops for promotion via word of mouth," Choudhry added.

The money raised is expected to last for the next 6-12 months. After that, the company would go for series A funding.

According to Choudhry, "The online marketplace for offline experience will start hosting content for online courses by the end of this year."