The door CREEKs open, India’s first startup networking platform to foster peer-to-peer support for students
“You have to understand that all your small efforts aren’t going to waste- they’re being stored somewhere and will eventually compound. No work is getting wasted.” stated co-founder Aman Kharb, co-founder of CREEK in an exclusive interview with Startup Story Media. “Slowly the gap [between expected and desired results] will decrease,” he added. “You should know what you want but don’t get disappointed! Once the results begin compounding, that’s when breakthroughs happen, so don’t give up.”
In today’s age there are very few things human beings are content with leaving up to fate. For a civilization deadset on mapping the cosmos and reconnoitering the depths of the oceans, why is it that we leave finding like minded people to serendipity?
Co-founded by Deepanshu Sharma, Aman Kharb, and Aman Bharti, CREEK is India’s first startup networking platform. Available on both the Google Play store and the Apple App Store, the app was built as a means to ensure purposeful interaction between entrepreneurs, learners, mentors, and professionals. With a primary audience of students, CREEK aims to deal with the current unemployment gap and imbibe students with the skills necessary to thrive in the current startup ecosystem.
From friends to founders
CREEK co-founders Aman Kharb and Deepanshu Sharma first met in college back in 2012 and were instant friends. The two, however, went their separate ways after graduating in 2015. Deepanshu pursued his higher studies at Alliance Manchester Business School. Aman went on to work in finance. He began working directly with startups as an investment banker, and in his refusal to stagnate, learned how he enjoyed interacting with them.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Kharb realised he both wanted a break from his career as a consultant and play a part in solving a problem that no one else seemed to be addressing. That’s when he got a call from co-founder Deepanshu. The two initially began working on a different idea that slowly pivoted and became what we know today to be CREEK.
Transactive communication: a vacuum
“Imagine the person [recruiter] sitting on the other side, how interested is he in helping you?” asked Aman Kharb. “You don’t know. So the conversion rate is always low. Maybe 2 out of 10 would reply. […] Nothing impactful happened […] This is not networking, this is a transaction.”
Through their past experiences with trying to run startups, the pair realised a few core problems that they wanted to address. Deepanshu’s experience made him realise that there does exist somewhat of a lack of genuine connection within the ecosystem, a lack of comprehensive support. On the other hand, Aman’s experience made him realise the importance of personal motivation in sustaining a startup.
“”Hope is not that people want, they want confirmation,” stated Aman Kharb
These realisations happened to coincide with a time in which people had begun gravitating towards starting startups as a result of the pandemic-caused rampant job insecurity. With startup enthusiasts abound and not a single platform to streamline networking-a vacuum became evident. This very vacuum present in the ecosystem led to the birth of CREEK.
Functionality: peer-to-peer support
“How about you write down what you want to say to a community, and anyone who’s interested can reach out to you- and they’d be rewarded for that?” asked Aman Kharb.
CREEK was built with purposiveness in mind. The community driven networking channel offers to its users a platform to connect with each other on the basis of expertise and interest. Its social reward system ensures that individual users are rewarded and recognised for helping other users. CREEK’s concept of #StartUpKarma fosters collaboration in this peer-to-peer community and helps all users, especially aspiring entrepreneurs, gain information in a streamlined manner.
Planting the seed: raising capital
CREEK, having been incubated by NASSCOM, lists Rohit Taneja as an investor. The company is currently in talks with a few angel networks after opening their seed round of investment earlier this month. Aman Kharb stated that the team looks forward to closing the round as soon as possible and getting back to business.
Supplementing mainstream education
“There is no platform that’s helping students get into jobs. There’s no awareness or education. There’s no one teaching them how to raise funds,” Aman Kharb says in conversation with Startup Story Media.
With the beta version of the application having been released for about a month now, CREEK is gearing towards building a user base of one million students over the course of the next year to ensure a startup ecosystem with streamlined communication and peer-to-peer support. The networking platform is also looking forward to launching a job portal by the end of the year.
CREEK was born out of a desire to solve a problem no one was addressing- this startup wants to help you start your career. Undoubtedly, the Gurugram-based company is on a fast-track to becoming a delightful amalgamation of matching opportunities with skill and building a supportive and tight-knit community.
Follow Startup Story
Related Posts
