TFF Edition #3 - A.M.A with Ayush Pandey, Founder/CEO @ Skillvalley

A.M.A with the Founder of Skillvalley -? Ayush Pandey

About Skillvalley

Skillvalley is a new-age professional development school that upskills students as well as corporate professionals by working on the journey right from the idea to executing and launching the product/service. They have curated programs that showcase how to think outside the box, how to execute an idea, and how to successfully launch it!

As the current situation in the job markets is, it is quite evident that there is a lack of skill sets that are required to grow exponentially, the founder of Skillvalley here goes deep down and navigates what it takes from a thought of an idea to actually launching!

Looking at this exciting professional development school, you might have plenty of questions in your mind - How did Ayush come up with this idea? How did he execute from the initial thought process to actually building and launching Skillvalley? Let’s get in there and learn from Ayush Pandey himself.

How was Skillvalley born??

Ayush mentions after completing his 12th grade he was preparing for the JEE Exam (an exam to get into the top engineering program in India) he did not get a score to enter the top leagues of engineering colleges, nevertheless he was as hungry as other aspirants and decided to upskill and network with high caliber individuals even through his Tier-3 university.

Ayush started his first ever startup with his childhood friend and their startup was about to provide past year board exam papers and its solution to help students excel in their board exam and this led to his entrepreneurship journey. During his second term of engineering college, he became aware of the term of cold emails and this led to the starting point of his current startup Skillvalley.

What led Ayush to start Skillvalley?

Addressing this question Ayush mentions that in his previous startup, he was able to understand the student-based mindset and approach, and the fact that he learned about cold emails he was able to get on board some of the top minds in the startup ecosystem wherein they shared their knowledge and expertise and combining the two spheres he realized there was a lack of professional skill development amongst the students as well as young corporate professionals. Connecting the dots and understanding the gap in the market and their expectation led to the start of Skillvalley.

Once Skillvalley was born how did Ayush execute from an idea to launch?

Once Ayush realized there is a need for more professional skill development in the industry he started with workshops, collaborating with colleges, and curated a podcast to address mass audiences. Having had the opportunity to talk to students and understand their pain points Ayush came to know the needs of the students as they wanted courses that could give them practical experience and also information seminars from professionals working in the industry as they could share their insights, the thought process and the approach which an organization takes as a whole to tackle any given set of problems.

Did Ayush face any problems while starting Skill Valley?

Skillvalley started first with three courses which were Web Development, DSA, and Data Science and we made sure our prices were pretty competitive to those available in the market. The mentors who were set to take these courses were from Walmart, Microsoft and Sony and we had collaborated with these companies but realized that none of the students had taken the course and they failed drastically.?

How did Ayush analyze his failure and what did he do to pivot?

Ayush states that once he realized none of the students took his course to understand his failure and learn from the same, his mentor guided him to talk to the students and understand their pain points. At this stage Ayush shares that he spoke to roughly 1200 students and understood what are they expecting and what are things they are looking for in the courses here he realized that students wanted to work in teams and address problems faced by the companies from the scratch to the end this is how we pivoted.

What motivates Ayush to wake up every single day and work on Skillvalley?

Ayush shares that he was deprived of these skillsets during his undergrad and he wanted his fellow juniors and the upcoming students to upskill in a manner that makes them professionally ready.

He also ads that the positive feedback he gets from his students whether it is getting hired in a full-time role or an internship, seeing his students excelling is what makes him super motivated to work harder on Skillvalley and make sure this opportunity of upskilling shall be given to all students who truly want to excel in their life.

What are Ayush's plans for the next 5 years for Skillvalley?

Ayush herein mentions that he is aiming to get more companies on board so that they can hire our students who are professionally ready and have the right acumen to understand and solve any given set of problems, further he mentions that in coming one or two years he is focusing on taking Skillvalley offline and address the students with a much more personal touch which will eventually build a better relationship and trust which is quite necessary to maintain the standards.

According to Ayush, how does skill overpower academic background?

Ayush states that he believes the need for academics as well as skills are equally important, the need for both go hand in hand. The knowledge shared in the academic route does not restrict only to book knowledge but also teaches the way to live and how one person can personally grow. The knowledge learned during skill development helps you understand the practical approach. The combination of both is truly important to excel in any given field.

What are some of the tips Ayush would give for aspiring entrepreneurs who are set to start their entrepreneurship journey?

Ayush believes that when you start an entrepreneurship journey the core fundamental in building a strong team and thus he believes that getting friends on the team might not be recommended. This might lead to compromisation the whole thought process during your entrepreneurship journey as well as the friendship along.

With this, he further mentions that the entrepreneur should exploit the resources available on the internet that being said use the resources available on social media and start networking with like minded individuals gain their perspective and think from all angles.

Whether you are someone looking to hire for great talent or a student looking to skill up to land your dream role, Ayush Pandey is definitely your-go-to-person!

-As aired as live YouTube A.M.A session by Smug Hawk -?How Skills can Outperform Academic Background: A.M.A with Ayush Pandey?on 19th July 2023.

Note:?Some of the elements from the main session might be missing in this newsletter, do watch the session to find out more!

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