New Delhi-based recruitment startup Badiyajobs.com and Mumbai-based wireless technology startup Cutting Chai Technologies have been selected by social media giant Facebook Inc. for its early-stage startup mentorship programme FbStart, under the Bootstrap track, the companies told VCCircle.
The startups selected under this programme receive up to $40,000 from Facebook and its 30 partners, including Amazon, UserTesting, Dropbox and MailChimp. Besides, they will get free access to more than 25 services, including open source tools like React Native, FB Login, Account Kit and App Analytics.
APN Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd, which operates Badiyajobs.com, provides recruitment services for entry-level job seekers, such as tele-callers, sales executives, data entry operators, drivers and delivery boys, among others. The startup charges employers a fee only after a candidate has been successfully recruited. It was founded in September 2015 by Aditya Sriganesh and Nitesh Verma. Sriganesh is a graduate from IIT Madras and has worked as a strategy consultant with management consultancy KPMG. Verma, an IIT Delhi graduate, has worked as a developer at Times Internet.
Badiyajobs.com had raised $100,000 from IIT Madras alumni in April last year. It was selected as one of the nine global finalists for the Google Business Group Story Search under the social impact category. The Google Business Group competition recognises startups across the globe using technology extensively in small and medium businesses, social impact and technology sectors.
Cutting Chai Technologies Pvt Ltd is an early-stage wireless technology firm which runs an app called Ohai. Through this networking app, users can find and connect with people in close range proximity. The startup was founded in 2015 by Anand Virani, who was previously associate director for business development and product management at Qualcomm. The company is backed by Gulzar Azad, country head of connectivity at Google India and angel investor, Prashant Gokarn, the chief strategy officer at Indonesian telecom operator Indosat.
Launched three years ago, FbStart gives companies the opportunity to test their product for roughly three to six months. Any startup with a functional mobile app on Google Play or the App Store is eligible to apply for the programme, but sometimes FbStart itself reaches out to potential startups to educate them about the programme.
Some of the startups selected under FbStart are book summary app BookBhook, travel planning app HopBucket, competitive exam prep startup Exam Spirit, entertainment content aggregator Flickstree and tutor enablement platform XPrep.
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