The entrepreneurial ecosystem witnessed another compelling promotion in the third season of Shark Tank, where Intervue.io, headed by Rahul Arora, made a significant impression on the panel of investors. As one gets into the story of Intervue.io, it becomes apparent that the venture is designed to streamline the hiring process, with the ability to cut the usual 45-day hiring period down to just 5-7 days. The platform is a solution that promises to reduce the time spent by engineering and recruiting teams by 90%, a proposition that is both attractive and relevant to companies looking to quickly secure the best talent.
Hailing from Ludhiana in Punjab, Rahul Arora is the mastermind behind Intervue.io. His expertise lies in technology and communications, and he plays a key role in the interview and recruitment processes. Arora, who chose a path different from medicine, completed his education at DAV Government School and continued his studies at DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jalandhar, earning a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical, Electronics and Communication Engineering.
After graduation, Arora started his career with an internship at ST Microelectronics in Greater Noida. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to launch Pay2G within seven months of quitting his first job, a venture that provided cashback and instant mobile top-up at a time when internet usage was not that widespread in India. Subsequent career moves brought Arora to Aspiring Minds in engineering and sales roles, followed by a stint as a front-end engineer at ReTech Labs, where he developed an Uber-like web-based B2B retail automation application.
Arora’s diverse experience also includes working as a Senior Interactive Developer at Sapient and as a Senior Software Engineer at Paytm. However, during his tenure as chief engineer at Deutsche Telekom, which lasted more than two and a half years, he faced the challenge of interviewing numerous candidates. This experience exposed a glaring inefficiency in the hiring process: the need for a dedicated software engineer in technical interviews and the lack of compensation for interviewing engineers.
Intervue.io emerged as a solution to these challenges, offering a platform that not only saves companies time, but also compensates interviewers. Interviewers typically receive 40-50% of their total compensation, with the rest going to the company. An outstanding feature of the platform is the instant transfer of funds to the interviewer’s bank account upon completion of the interview.
In an exciting episode of Shark Tank, Arora, along with his associate Pushpinder from Ghaziabad, sought an investment of Rs. 1.5 million in exchange for a 1% stake in their company. The Sharks were visibly impressed, as Aman Gupta offered the asking amount for a 2% stake, Anupam offered the same for 3%, and Aman and Deepinder’s joint bid for Rs. 5 million for a 10% stake. The final deal was done with Aman Gupta for Rs. 1.5 million with a 2% ownership stake.
Intervue.io’s appearance on Shark Tank India helped highlight its role in solving two key problems facing companies: interviewer availability and timely completion of interviews. The platform is reportedly used by several notable tech companies to connect and recruit engineers online. Interviewees are compensated for their time, adding another layer of efficiency to the recruitment process.
The startup initially got a valuation of Rs after cashing in. 7 crore, providing Rs. 88 lakh from Titan Capital. The founders found that a senior software engineer conducting interviews through their platform could earn around Rs. 60,000 per month, with the highest reported earnings above Rs. 2 lakhs. Intervue.io secured additional funding in July 2022. However, despite the handshake on the show, our research indicates that a deal with Aman Gupta did not materialize after filming ended. Watch this space for more updates on the development of Intervue.io and its impact on the recruitment landscape.