CxO of the Week: Akshay Chaturvedi, CEO & Co-Founder, LeverageEdu

CxO of the Week: Akshay Chaturvedi, CEO & Co-Founder, LeverageEdu, he is working for close to 6 years now, started as an analyst at KPMG, and it has been a nice journey so far!

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

The priority 'always' is to think of scale. We are building a platform, and right now products across different categories, through which we want to democratise access to better careers. In order to ensure that impact is truly exponential, every decision on tech infra today, any upgrade, is done while keeping in mind the absolute scale we want to touch, directly translating into x number of careers impacted, y number of families transformed.

Challenges you face in driving digital transformation?

Leverage Edu also works with students who form the bottom billion today, and delivering a digital-first product at that level becomes difficult at times. However, I have been overwhelmed with the trust that educators are able to put in a young company like ours, keeping the betterment of their kids at the centre of decision making.

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

Yes, definitely. There are so many things, basic enough, which if learnt, can make graduates employable. Some of them are core, like learning about stuff like SEO, understanding different nuances of digital marketing, to be able to play around with data sets, etc. And the largest part of it is having a more conscious understanding of oneself, what unique perspective this person can bring to the table, knowing how to identify their innate skill-set and talent. We have also very recently launched a product in this category, for colleges, called Leverage Ready-to-Work.

What’s your mantra to become successful in life?

Maximise learning. At every juncture of life. Learning comes from the classroom, from being dedicated on-the-job, from books and podcasts, from the many conversations in real life and on social media (like Twitter, which I call the 'learning station') - everywhere. The more you learn, the better you're able to structure your thoughts, organise what you want to do short-term and long-term, and communicate about the same to relevant stakeholders of your life.

What would you like to give back to the society?

Education. I do that everyday in a professional capacity, while running leverageedu.com, and in a personal capacity, with my wife's support.

Your favourite book and what are you reading now?

I am reading a book at all times in my life, so difficult to pick an all-time favourite, that constantly changes. Recent favourite, of course, is Shoedog, by Phil Knight, who is the creator of Nike. I am reading "The Art of War" these days, which has been very helpful in calming down my hustle mindset.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I listen to a lot of podcasts. The Origins, HBR Ideacast, Masters of Scale, TwentyMinute VC, Outliers, Insights, are some of my favourite ones. I also end up walking a lot. Most of my meetings are walking meetings, and I start+end my day with long walks too.

Achievements (Awards & Recognitions)

- Selected as Prime Minister's Champions' of Change
- World Economic Forum Global Shaper, represented India in Kazakhstan
- 2-time TEDx Speaker
- ISB Hyderabad MBA > part of the top 1% of the graduating class re overall achievement, given Young Leader Award
- Part of Draper Fellowship in Silicon Valley
- Former Internet Executive with Babajob, Snapdeal

Experience

Working for close to 6 years now, started as an analyst at KPMG, and it has been a nice journey so far!
First Job – Analyst at KPMG
Education – Fellowship from Draper University, Silicon Valley; MBA from ISB Hyderabad; B.Com (Honors) from GGS, Delhi University

Take a look at the previous CxO of the Week