"For people looking for career coaching, there is no platform where they can find a mentor who matches their goals and personality. On the other hand, over 60% of a coach’s time is spent on marketing and business development activities for generating new leads,” says Vasudevan T, who, over a 15-year career, realised the need to connect executives with certified career coaches. So, with the help of co-founders Jaykumar Hariharan and Bhaskar Natarajan and an initial investment of ₹20 lakh, he launched Coatom in June 2014 to capitalise on this vacuum.

The company has a network of 250 coaches across 30 countries on its rolls for those looking for advice to choose from. Each user gets 10 online sessions spread across six months with their coach, with a minimum one-time charge of ₹50,000 (including 20% of the course fee as facilitation charges). The company already has 20 users on its rolls since inception. Coatom seeks to break even in the next nine months and intends to focus on network building for now. “Professional coaching is a $2 billion industry and about 35% of the coaches use technology for interaction. We expect this number to grow,” says Hariharan. This is one online matchmaking service that helps build careers.