Vikas Gupta, CEO, Compark Education

Compark Education, an education portal is all set to revolutionise the way career education is imparted to students. In an interview, Vikas Gupta, CEO, Compark Education shares the success story of his company.  

Ramanjit Kaur (RK): Could you please shed some light on the origin, growth and success of Compark Education?

Vikas Gupta (VG): We started Compark Education (TestMerit) almost a year back. It was during that time when CAT announced its online operations. Before this, we were running an e-services business in the name of Compark E-Services Pvt. Ltd with 2000 franchises all across India. We have been facilitating our clients and the franchisees with online services such as railway and air ticketing, hotel booking, mobile and DTH (Direct to Home) recharge. The news of CAT and MAT going online helped us to move ahead with the opportunity of online assessment and preparation in the entrance industry.

RK: What inspired Compark Education to take the franchise route to expand the brand?

VG: We have adopted the franchise route to reach every nook and corner of the country as we were facing a challenge in convincing the students to adopt the online service for preparing the students for entrance exams. Our franchising model is reachable to all the people who have the desire to get associated with the education sector as we have nominal fees and infrastructural requirements. We have adopted the franchising for our e-services vertical, which is running successfully across the nation. Franchising has helped us in increasing the pace to penetrate the market and this is exactly what we are trying with Compark Education - TestMerit vertical. 

RK: What practices and initiatives have you introduced in Compark Education?

VG: Compark Education is going to be a big player in the assessment market of India. We are in the process of providing different assessment solutions to educational institutes, corporate and individuals to increase the standards of the processes. We are also in the process of filling the gap between the work force and the corporate requirements. We do this by providing certificate courses in retail management, financial management, office management and few more courses along with the placement support. 

RK: What kind of background is necessary to secure the franchise of your company?

VG: The franchisees for TestMerit should have:

• A flair for education especially online education
• At least one computer with internet connection
• Space with minimum area of 300 sq. ft
• Investment of Rs 40, 000 – one Lakh
• Have marketing guts and attitude
• Self initiator, flexible and open to new ideas

RK: How many franchised outlets do you have at present? What are your future target locations to expand?

VG: We presently support 50 local franchisees and five master franchisees. We are aiming at having regional partners and franchisees in all the states of the country by the end of this fiscal year.  

RK: What kind of training and support does a franchisee get after partnering with your company?

VG: We provide our franchisees with:

• Product training
• Marketing training
• Operational training
• Marketing material
• Database support
• SMS and e-mail marketing support
• Exclusivity in the area / region

RK: Any advice for young entrepreneurs?

VG: For the aspiring entrepreneurs, it is very essential to be open to new ideas as there are ample opportunities to get started with. All they need to do is to process their ideas on paper, initiate and establish them accordingly as success is a combination of IQ (Intelligence Quotient), EQ (Emotionality Quotient) and PQ (Practicality Quotient).   

RK: What are the company’s future plans in terms of expansion through franchising?

VG: We are targeting a pan-India expansion. We are also looking to make our website a comprehensive portal for education, preparation and skill development. Besides this, we are also planning to include online English and accent training, online computer basic course and so on. We also have plans to launch Compark Academy, which will be a classroom job-oriented vertical.