Blume Ventures, one of the leading venture capital firms in India, has recently invested $10 million into Interview Kickstart, a cutting-edge startup dedicated to helping tech professionals advance in their careers. Founded in 2014, Interview Kickstart is based in the thriving tech hub of San Francisco and offers expert training and mentorship from experienced Big Tech employees or alumni.
- The AI Vertical
- The Founders’ Backgrounds
- The Impact of Interview Kickstart
Ryan Valles, co-founder of Interview Kickstart, shared in an interview with TechCrunch that 2023 was a pivotal year for the company. They experienced immediate success after launching their new AI vertical, which was specifically designed to help engineers transition into more advanced roles. The demand for this type of training was rapidly growing, and Interview Kickstart quickly became a profitable startup.
One of the main goals of Interview Kickstart is to help engineers better understand and appreciate the large-scale challenges that Big Tech companies face. By doing so, they can perform better in interviews and stand out as exceptional talent. As Valles puts it, “A way to understand the void that exists today is the acceptance rate at these top companies. It’s 2-3%.”
“Large tech companies are doing unbelievable and world-changing work and they need exceptional talent. But the education system hasn’t kept up with it,” Valles said.
Valles, along with co-founder Soham Mehta, who has experience in building interview processes for Box, drew on their own backgrounds and knowledge to shape the startup. And their efforts have paid off – Interview Kickstart participants have received job offers totaling over $250,000, with some even reaching as high as $1.2 million. In addition, many professionals have seen their compensation doubled after taking courses taught by over 550 Big Tech instructors.
The list of alumni instructors at Interview Kickstart includes top companies such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Netflix. These instructors see their involvement with the startup as an opportunity to give back to the tech community.
“In 2023, we refactored the business,” Valles added. “We launched AI as a completely separate vertical and many uplevel courses and a switch-up course.” With the rise of remote work and layoffs, opportunities in the tech industry have become more scarce. As Valles explains, “There is a power law in jobs. The top jobs pay 2-3x for the same level. So one can have a disproportionately lucrative career and you can take your entire family up with you.” This is where Interview Kickstart can make a significant impact, providing the necessary resources for tech professionals to advance in their careers.
The program at Interview Kickstart ranges from $2,500 to $10,000 and includes live classes, mentoring, and performance reviews. To date, over 20,000 professionals have enrolled in the program, with 2,000 participating in last year’s AI course. And with half of these participants applying for new jobs or promotions within 12 months, the success of Interview Kickstart speaks for itself.
“We are the only platform in the world that exists where you can get top companies-centred knowledge taught by top company instructors, delivered fully remotely for the best engineers and product people,” Valles proudly stated.
Despite their success, Interview Kickstart has avoided raising venture money in the past, as they have always been profitable and focused on sustainable growth. “We avoided many of the bad habits that many startups in the sector picked up because we were always focused on our customers,” Valles explained.
Now, Interview Kickstart is finally seeking external funding in order to aggressively focus on two to three new areas. This includes continued investment in their AI offerings as well as expanding their curriculum to cover other domains, such as product management and design. The startup is also considering offering their program to businesses, although no final decisions have been made yet.
For Blume Ventures, the investment in Interview Kickstart marks their largest opening check in their decade-long history. As Karthik Reddy, managing partner of Blume Ventures, stated, “Interview Kickstart presented a unique opportunity. The investment is a testament to our belief in Interview Kickstart’s mission and track record of delivering career-shifting impact to professionals. They’ve had a huge impact on professionals arming themselves with new skills and opportunities to thrive in the fiercely competitive tech industry. Soham and Ryan are well placed to scale this to become one the greatest scale stories of the decade.”
