Making Indian Youth More Employable & Job Oriented, Saurabh Chaturvedi-CEO & FOUNDER Inno Labz Making A Difference In Indian Economy

Unemployment rate of India is currently standing at 9.4 percent which in absolute terms means that around 40 million people in India are currently unemployed. In year 2008 and year 2009, unemployment was estimated as 7.20 % and 6.80% respectively. The spike of unemployment in year 2010 is attributed to the growth in workforce of an approximately over 2.5 per cent per annum.
The current scenario is suffering from unemployment as far as India is concern, & the most of the unemployed persons are professionals, so called well educated professionals.
Have you ever think the roots of unemployment? Few basic reasons:
No education – Because of huge population and economic reason most of the people in our country cant afford good education for kids, this lead to lack of better high education and hence skills needed to get a job.
Poor level of education – We have so many graduates, B.techs and what not but most of them lack skills to fit into job criteria because our institutes are just money minting machines. Quality of teachers, education is so poor that after getting degree candidate has no clue of his own field. Chances of unemployed IITian is extremely low as compared to B.tech from one of the thousand private engineering college. Strict regulation is required here, Government should play a huge role here.
Lack of entrepreneurship – so where does all these jobs come from? They are from industries and companies created by people themselves but if they are not sufficient in number, who will provide employment? Here in India since beginning there is no emphasise on self employment, everyone
is looking for easy way out of getting a Government job. Since such less number of people get involved in this, the growth in private sector remain low and hence less opportunities for candidates.
Today We are presenting the story of an Entrepreneur Saurabh Chaturvedi, CEO & FOUNDER Inno Labz. Mr. Saurabh laid the foundation of Innolabz, with an aim to motivate the young minds towards the direction of success. He is a vibrant personality, a life coach, SCM consultant, and an education counselor. His professional efficacy and desire to bring change has helped in shaping the career of several people. He believes that even though books are one’s best friend, you need more than that to be corporate ready. Lets See how The Venture Inno Labz Is bringing employment in India and making Indian youth more employable. Lets Hear His Story & Journey in His Own Words.
1.What is the Name of Your Venture? Any specific reason for this name?
Innolabz was the name given to our company by us since we believe that we are experimenting and exploring new dimensions of knowledge and learning; trying to redefine horizon by facilitating career growth and focusing on innovation at the same time. While our education system has some loopholes due to which crammers are not clearly identified and marks are mistaken for knowledge, we decided to take some root grass steps to make a difference.
2.Who is your target Audience/clients?
We target on bringing out the change long awaited by our youth. So the audience we cater to comprises of all individuals who have set some parameters of success for themselves and are willing to leave no stone upturned for achieving the same, those who believe in persistence and consistency, those who uphold creativity and innovation, and beside all respect the differences that we all have in common. In a nutshell we have something for teenagers or adults, fresher or experienced professionals, entrepreneurs or wannapreneurs as well as established businessmen.
3.Where is your venture based (city, state, country) & What are your geographical target areas?
We have our corporate office at C-108, Sector-2, Noida and our registered office at Gurgaon. But living in an era where the world has shrunk into our palm we do not define boundaries to how much we should grow as a company.
4.What problems does your venture resolve? What are your products or services?
Innolabz was founded for resolving issues not being addressed by our eminent service providers. We focus on developing employability, bridging the gap that exists between skills acquired by a person and skills required which can buy him his dream job; the gap between an idea and a successful business venture; between a thought and creation. We have several programs which address specific areas. For instance our Power2career is exclusively dealing with the problem of unemployed graduates spread across the nation.
5.Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it came to an existence? What motivated you to start your own venture?
Life is a marvelous story teller. We have heard that this world is just a giant stage with us all its actors. I too had a story that was bound to direct me to where I am right now. I myself followed the system and completed M.B.A. after B.Tech in Computer Sciences. But following was not my piece of pie.
6.Who are your biggest competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
‘Compete first with yourself and your follies if you strive for perfection’… Perfection is just a myth. I accept the imperfection of human race and that’s why I believe in collaborating than competing.
7.How did you identify your co-founder? Tell us some thing about your co-founder/s
I didn’t need to search for my co-founder. We are childhood friends and had the same vision towards developing this company. Whom could have I trusted more than a person I have known for a major share of my life? She holds a background in academics. I could have taken care of planning and strategizing but that’s not enough; we needed somebody to take care of creation part too. She holds the expertise, is innovative and believes in making things which leave their impact. Her name is Malvica Saxena.
8.How did you hired your first team members? What skills Do you want in your employees/team?
Hiring the first team was critical. I did make mistakes in identifying the true potential and ensuring they were ready to bear the responsibility of launching a start-up. My first hiring was the office boy who is still working with us. We had a HR and worked with interns in the initial go and gradually developed a team as per our requirement. Now we have a full fledged team which is supportive and responsible. The
skills I look forward to in an individual are like leadership quality, team player, initiator, responsible and task-oriented.

9.What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?
Expansion plan…well that’s a secret. Kidding. Actually we focus on working in the present and designing future rather than dreaming about future and forgetting to build present. Though planning is a crucial part but the truth is we cannot stick to a single path; though the destination is unique, the journey is certainly full of adventure.
10.Where do you want to see yourself in next 10 years?
In next 10 years may be you will hear of us as one of the major contributors in the education industry. Who knows what is in the womb of future… We do hope to bath in the showers of success by then.
11.What are your goals over the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months?
Right now we are tying up with colleges and pacing up the power2career program which aims at developing employability. There has come up a list of requirements from various organizations and we are considering fulfilling all of them as our ultimate priority. Though we are not a client based company but identifying and understanding the need is of utmost importance. In next three months we may share the placement pressure of colleges and three months after that possibly we might be incubating entrepreneurial ideas of some people and pacing –up their journey to success. I believe in next one year we will be nearly established as a brand name which is credible and worthy of all it promises.
12.Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?
Not yet. You don’t plan to take debt or funds it’s the requirement which makes you do so. We are not thinking about when to take funds but yeah if required we would not refrain from doing that either.
13.What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
Problems were many and still are. Running a company is difficult and so is establishing one. There were things that needed attention then and there are things that demand attention even now. Leaving a mark in the market is a challenging task. People go with the names and few wish to alter their choices. Creating awareness about the motive of our company and structuring the strategy for growth was the major issue that we successfully tackled in the initial go.
14.What was the most challenging part of your journey till now? How did you overcome those challenges?
Choosing the right people for the company is what I believe was the most challenging part of our journey till now. Working in a team is crucial for smooth functioning of any firm. The team members constitute the wheels, engine, fuel etc. of this car and if any of it malfunctions, the chances of breaking down are alarmingly high.
15.Are you married, single or in a relationship?
See I am not married. If I say I am single, you people won’t believe it and if I say I am in a relationship you would be interested in finding out ‘with whom’ and that would create a need for me to create a fictitious character out of nowhere.
16.What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
I love reading and watching documentaries whenever I get time. There was a time I was much interested in other activities just like any normal person but as life changes, the choices change. Now I am a workaholic and spend most of my time in gathering information from various sources.
17.Whats your favorite food & holiday destination?
I love Italian cuisines. And since I feel more serene in the hills, my favorite holiday destination remains hilly regions.
18.Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
Be it Sun or Rain, my mother, a teacher by profession has been there for me guiding me through life and being the bastion I could always hold on to. The impact of motivational speakers lasts only a few hours, but she has been my personal motivation and inspiration who knows when and how to make me understand what is right and what is wrong.
19.What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
The capability of taking risk is what differentiates an entrepreneur from a normal employee. You may or may not choose to become an entrepreneur but if you have that x-factor, you are bound to stand out of the crowd.
20.If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I am pretty happy with what life has offered to me. I am glad that I underwent all the struggles and ordeals that came in my path because it has shaped me into the person I am today. Patience, responsibility, integrity, equality, modesty etc. are beautiful words but to possess them you need to experience life in its harshest forms.
21.How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?
Entrepreneurs do have personal life just like any other person. We are not aliens. Why should running a company change your personality or life? I agree managing time is not an easy task when you have so much to do but prioritizing is the key to bliss.
22.Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
“Believe in yourself”. Advices and suggestions will always come for free. Keep what you think you must and ignore the unnecessary. At the end, you should be responsible for your decisions and its outcomes. Playing the blame game is the worst thing an entrepreneur can do.
23.Tell us something about your education & family background.
My hometown is Mathura. My father being a banker had a transferable job so I did change many schools and my mother is a teacher by profession. She is my source of motivation and guidance. My sister is an architect, she did her B.Arch from VNIT, Nagpur and is currently pursuing M.Design from NIFT, Mumbai. I did my B.Tech from Skyline college, Greater Noida and M.B.A from BIMTECH, Greater Noida. In the initial phase of my career I worked with Jindal Steels, OYO rooms etc. But it was clear from the very beginning that I will work for the betterment of our education system.
24.What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains.
People focus on employment; we focus upon employ-ability developing the ability/skills to make you employable. Our company genuinely encourages innovation unlike other companies which do promise that but then asks you to follow than redefine the existing. We understand that a businessman may or may not be an entrepreneur and we cherish this difference. We love our work and are adamant in bringing about the changes we must.
25. What do you think is the biggest threat to the success of small businesses & Start-ups today?
Biggest threat to being successful in running a small business or start-up is inappropriate planning. Be it finances or growth, the right strategy can pace up while wrong can lead to complete annihilation of your idea, project as well as company. Many-a-times people do not take an original idea, in that case they run the risk of being overshadowed by already established big fishes in the market. They analyze demand and work according to that but analyzing the need is more significant than demand.
26. Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?
Every individual has their own interpretation of success. A person having a two wheeler looks forward to the one having a car and the chain continues. We tend to devalue what we have in the quest of seeking more. I believe when you feel contentment within yourself that yes, I am doing my bit, I am making the best out of my life, you are successful. You may not be popular or looked after as a celebrity but when you are satiated from within that what you are doing, you are enjoying doing it and should continue doing it; ensuring that nobody is harmed in the process, you already are successful.
27.Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person
Monika Jain
Address- Regd. Office: 321, Tower B4, Spaze IT Park, Sohna Road, Gurgaon – 122018
Corp. Office: C-108, Sector-2, Noida – 201301
Phone Number-0120-4576770
Email ID- [email protected]
Website- www.inno-labz.com