An alumnus of Mayo College, Ajmer with a business administration degree from Denver University, USA, Mumbai-based entrepreneur Chirag Shah and Sudhir Menon, a friend and alumnus of IIM-Bangalore, are co-founders of BEE Interactive Systems Pvt. Ltd (estb. 2010), a company specialising in digital education.
Newspeg. The company’s flagship product, Gototest, a unique online software platform which provides computer-enabled testing, evaluation and monitoring services for students and teachers, celebrated its second anniversary last month. Designed for installation in schools and colleges, Gototest assesses classes IV-XII and college students throughout the academic year as per prescribed schedules and curriculums.
Direct speech. “Gototest assesses the ability and weaknesses of students in various subjects by providing object-ive-type questions. It is user-friendly and gives students the opportunity for timely correction and remedial action. It also empowers and complements the work of teachers in their classrooms to appreciate the learning gaps of students and better their exam performance. Gototest is an assessment and evaluation programme which can be easily customised to suit the needs of every school,” explains Shah.
History. Born into a business family (Himatlal & Co, Mumbai), Shah is a serial entrepreneur who began his career immediately after completing his business studies in Denver. In 2000, he founded Tollfree India, a telecom products and services business which provides wireless infrastructure prod-ucts to carriers. In 2005, he launched CornerShop Entertainment Co. which provided wireless gaming, animation and mobile value-added services to the public. Five years later, Cornershop Entertainment was acquired by Zee television. Soon after in April 2010, together with Menon, Shah promoted BEE Interactive Systems.
Inevitably, Shah is bullish about the prospects of his latest venture. “Our test papers are prepared by teams of experienced teachers who are also subject experts,” he says. Despite tests prep being a crowded field, he believes there’s room at the top. “The key to success is to ask the right type of questions and get students to think deeply to fully understand their subjects,” says Shah enthusiastically.
Future plans. BEE Interactive Systems has targeted to sign up over 75,000 students in 75 schools across India in the academic year 2012-13. “This year, we will begin marketing operations in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. In the near future we plan to introduce testing programmes for students preparing to write the entrance exams of engineering, business management, law and chartered accountancy progra-mmes. India has the world’s largest students and youth market. Our future is bright,” says Shah.
Kalpana Rangan (Mumbai)