Studentink, an EdTech startup that aims to bridge the gap created between physical and virtual learning, has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding led by early-stage startup investment platform We Founder Circle (WFC).
WFC has partnered with several strategic angels to assist the startup in solidifying its operational effectiveness in addition to participating in the investment round. The funds were facilitated through EvolveX, a global accelerator programme by We Founder Circle.
Studentink, a corporate entity of JaynikEduserve Private Limited, is an educational networking platform that facilitates the all-round development of students beyond the four walls of the school. Started by NiharSheth, Jayraj Jadeja, and Kevin Ritter, the startup has onboarded 300+ schools, 6000+ educators, and more than 160,000 users, with an average engagement time of 22 minutes being spent by students located across 14 states in India. By incorporating the knowledge and student understanding with the help of schools and educators across the globe, Student Ink has curated 600+ courses in the B2C segment, helping educators in saving 1M+ hours of their manual work.
At Studentink, students can access curated content from various educators including videos, notes, and reference material. They also earn reward points through various gamified events. Using the platform, educators can gain recognition in their targeted audience at a national level and academies can reach out to their targeted audience to increase their admissions.
Commenting on the funds raised, NiharSheth, Co-Founder & CEO of Studentink, said,
“We sincerely appreciate our lead investor WFC’s and all other investors’ faith in our model and concept. The investment will pay off and contribute to the hyper growth of our business, allowing us to scale our platform more rapidly. Our business model is already profitable, and with such strategic angels on board, we intend to achieve our ambition of disrupting the industry at an accelerated pace.”
With the funds, Studentink intends to accelerate the onboarding of more students and educators while also boosting the revenue streams. It plans to utilize 42% of the funds in sales and marketing, 30% in development and hosting, 15% in operations, and 13% in support.
Gaurav VK Singhvi, Co-founder of We Founder Circle, said,
“Seeing the ever-increasing demand for EdTech education and Studentink’s potential to be a major disruptor, we are excited to have invested in the start-up and we promise to provide support to its mission of transforming the education sector in India. Also, at WFC we are dedicated to revitalising the funding to Indian EdTech startups, especially at a time when investors have major apprehension of a slowdown.”
We Founder Circle is a global community of successful founders and strategic angels that have come together to push the startup industry and steer it towards aggressive growth. It invests US$50K-US$2 million in early-stage startups fueled with ambition, sustainability, and a strategic approach. WFC believes early-stage startups need a lot beyond just financial support to become scalable and stable, so it provides seed funding, business development, and global networking opportunities to them. The firm has enabled USD 12 million worth of investments across 33 startup deals in 2021 alone and invested in 56 startups since incorporation in 2020.