CxO of the Week: Anil Nagar, Co-founder & CEO, Adda 247

Anil Nagar, Co-founder & CEO, Adda 247, is CxO of this Week. He has over 15 years of expertise as well as he established Career Power in 2010 to provide students across India with affordable, highly accessible, and world-class educational facility to guide their careers.

Your top priority while making decisions to improve tech infra in your organization?

As our top priority towards enhancing our platform’s technological infrastructure, we are focusing on automating our technical operations as much as possible. To achieve this we are working towards integrating AI-based technologies like Machine Learning into our digital infrastructure.

The principle aim of artificial intelligence and related technologies is to reduce human intervention by making machines capable enough to process information and make relevant decisions based on what they have “learned” from their past experiences. Thus, by leveraging such systems, our technical team will have more bandwidth, and less burden, on their hands while working towards developing the platform on the technological front.

Challenges you face in driving digital transformation?

The biggest challenge we are currently facing is the hesitation of students towards adopting e-learning tools and resources as their preferred mode of study. It is so because students, especially the elder ones, are habituated to studying in the offline environment of physical classrooms.

So it is only natural that they find it a bit challenging to adapt to virtual classes, ebooks and video lectures. However, the trend is changing for the better, slowly but steadily, as candidates are increasingly realizing the merits of e-learning. We are optimistic towards the positive effects of the digital disruption of the Indian education sector.

Do you feel that freshers in the industry come with only basic knowledge but don’t have the right skills to fulfill job requirements? If yes, your suggestion to students and colleges?

Yes, I do feel that although fresh entrants to the industry have basic knowledge at their disposal, they don’t possess relevant technical skills to fulfill job roles that are currently in demand. It is so because students these days lack exposure to the real world and so are unable to employ the theoretical knowledge they have into practical applications.

My suggestions to colleges, in this case, is that they focus more on facilitating their students with access to as many live projects as possible so that they also get field experience on top of learning about the theoretical aspects of a subject. Further, I would advise students that they willingly and extensively participate in such projects to sharpen their practical knowledge of working in real world.

What’s your mantra to become successful in life?

My mantra to become successful in life is that one must always keep experimenting and never be held back by fear of failure. There are times when I take five decisions and two of them do not go the way I had expected them to. But such setbacks do not stop me from taking risky decisions. One must keep looking ahead and keep innovating.

If you make calculated decisions, you might never fail. And impulsive behaviour may lead you to endure unwelcome setbacks. The key, therefore, is to strike the perfect balance between these two cases. Believe in yourself and you will attain your desired goals. Self-doubt will only hold you back.

What would you like to give back to society?

We are providing society with an educational platform that will help people to do better in life. Education, after all, is one of the most important components of the foundation all modern civilizations are built upon. Educating people is a great social contribution and we are willing to go an extra mile to accomplish our mission of facilitating each and every person with credible e-learning tools.

Your favourite book and what are you reading now?

My favourite book is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. I am currently reading Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I rarely get spare time for myself. There is always something going on in my mind. When I’m not thinking about any action plan that needs implementing, I’m busy pondering the potential consequences of that action.

Achievements (Awards & Recognitions)

Awarded, young Achiever of the Year 2018" by IIT BHU, Varanasi.

Experience: 15 Years

He established Career Power in 2010 to provide students across India with affordable, highly accessible, and world-class educational facility to guide their careers. This decision was taken due to the struggles he himself faced in terms of academic guidance during his formative years in his village in Uttar Pradesh. Over the next two years, Anil has led the evolution of Career Power into what is today Adda 247.

First Job - Cognizant Technology Solutions

Education - B Tech (Electronics Engineering) from IIT BHU, Varanasi

Take a look at the previous CxO of the Week