Paytm invests in TapChief, a platform to seek advice from industry professionals

NEW DELHI: Paytm has invested an undisclosed sum in TapChief, an online portal that facilitates career and business advice from leading subject matter experts. The investment is a follow on by the company after its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma invested Rs 1 crore in his personal capacity earlier this year. Other angels in the company include Aprameya Radhakrishna founder of TaxiForSure, Subramanya Venkat ex-managing partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and Venk Krishnan, managing partner at NuVentures.
Owned by Pilani Experts Technology Labs, TapChief connects students and startups with industry experts to seek telephonic consultation from any of the 5,000 listed experts on the platform including CEOs, entrepreneurs, consultants and senior executives from across more than 2,000 organizations.
"..the backing of a strong consumer-centric brand like Paytm will help us gear up for the next phase of growth", said Shashank Murali, TapChief CEO. The company claims to have seen over 50,000 minutes worth of interactions on the platform.
This is the Noida based Paytm's fifth investment after Jugnoo, Loginext, Expressbees and Cleartax. "There is a strong onus on skill development across sectors as India's startup landscape evolves," said Madhur Deora, chief financial officer, Paytm, confirming the deal.
Founded in 2011 by BITS Pilani alumnus Shashank Murali, Binay Krishna and Arjun Krishna, some of the topics the startup addresses includes career counseling, resume building, recruitment training and startup, technology driven consulting.
According to TapChief over 40% of its listed experts do not charge for consultation while some do charge for their time, and donate their earnings to charitable organizations and NGOs through the platform.