IIFL

Anil Mascarenhas, Editor, IIFL | Mumbai | October 20, 2016 12:37 IST

Vibha Kagzi, Founder & CEO, ReachIvy, holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science from Carnegie Mellon University. She has also pursued courses at the University of California, Berkeley, the London School of Economics and the Indian School of Business. Her professional experience spans finance, fashion, media and public relations. She has worked in New York in asset management and helped establish a California-based hedge fund in India. She is extremely passionate about education and believes that it is the ultimate social equalizer. Vibha has done a course in creative writing from Xavier’s Institute of Communications and has been featured in the Economic Times, the Indian Express and the Harbus (Harvard Business School’s publication). At Harvard, she co-wrote a case for the negotiations department that has been incorporated in the teaching curriculum at the school. Vibha has completed a yoga teacher’s training course, is a certified open water diver, is fluent in French, having completed Level 3 at the Alliance Française and has travelled extensively, visiting over 55 countries across six continents. Vibha is the Co-President of the Harvard Club of Mumbai and on the Carnegie Mellon Admissions Council.

ReachIvy is a premium education and careers advisory. Avail of our expertise across - Study Abroad, Career Compass and Free Resources. Our study abroad consultants and career guidance coaches help aspiring students get accepted into Ivy League and other top ranked schools globally, and reach their career aspirations through personal mentoring, online services and a wealth of knowledge accumulated over years of experience. ReachIvy education specialists, who have graduated from top global institutes themselves, know the intricacies of the rigorous admissions procedure and the extreme attention to detail required by a top ranked university.

Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Vibha Kagzi says, “Since its inception, ReachIvy helps students build the right profile, identify the appropriate program and crack the application process at top schools, plugging a significant gap in professional study abroad mentorship in the market.”

What prompted you to start ReachIvy’s? Explain to us your business model.
When I first considered applying from Bombay to go to a top school abroad, I felt lost. I had always been a high achiever academically, and had consistently pursued a wide range of activities beyond the classroom. At this point, I was overwhelmed with a range of choices and a fundamental lack of access to expert guidance.

I did not have access to the granular advice an expert mentor provides to help me evaluate and understand all the options, find my fit and then navigate the intricate application process. Neither my parents nor my family members had studied abroad; we were all clueless on what steps to take. I knew this was a strong void in the market, especially for other exceptional students trying to find their paths. I used the internet as my primary means of research and somehow scrambled to get admitted to Carnegie Mellon University, without much context or understanding of my chosen path.

When it came time to apply for my MBA, I wanted to find a top ranked University where I found a cultural and intellectual fit. I wanted to make a thoroughly researched decision; I began my research 4 years before it was time for me to apply. I had built a strong network of friends who had graduated from top schools, who provided advice based on their personal experiences. I visited top colleges across the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia to truly understand how the colleges differed in their philosophies and teaching styles. I also got detailed inputs from friends, experts and professionals on writing the application process. They demystified a seemingly impossible process for me, making me realize that a little bit of expert guidance can take someone a long way. Leveraging all the expertise, I applied to and successfully got admitted at both Wharton and Harvard.

After I graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School, I moved back to India to found ReachIvy, a premium education and careers advisory. My objective was to provide students with intensive guidance on study abroad and careers, from experts who have first-hand knowledge of what it means to earn a degree from a top school.

Since its inception, ReachIvy helps students build the right profile, identify the appropriate program and crack the application process at top schools, plugging a significant gap in professional study abroad mentorship in the market.

ReachIvy offers our expertise across three verticals -Study Abroad, Career Compass and Free Online Resources. We generate our core revenue through the premium advisory services we provide students and professionals. We also generate incremental revenue from our platinum partners solely for our online vertical. They leverage our online platform to create visibility and brand recall among our base of high-caliber students and professionals, while providing them with relevant, timely and high-quality content.

As a person, I am extremely passionate about education and believe it is the ultimate social equalizer. Because of the global exposure I gained through my education, I am unafraid to traverse as many different paths, and accept as many different ideas as possible. I am a certified open water diver, have traveled to over 60 countries across 6 continents, am fluent in French, and have completed a certified yoga instructor training course.

I want my passion to live carpe diem, every Diem, to be contagious. This is at the heart of ReachIvy - helping people find and realize their best paths and seize every moment.

What is the market size you are addressing?
The study abroad sector encompasses services that enable students to study at international schools and colleges from high school all the way to graduate degrees such as MBA, Masters, PhD and Executive Education. The ecosystem consists of educational consultants, loan companies, test preparation centers, visa services etc.

Over 300,000 Indian students go to study abroad each year.

Take a look at more numbers:
23% are undergraduates and 77% are post-graduates

Country breakdown:

44.3% (USA), 6.1% (UK), 16.7% (Australia)

Degree split:

75.7% (Master's), 9.3% (UG), Other Postgraduate (15.0%)

The Indian study abroad market is growing exponentially. One significant barometer is the increase in the number of international schools offering IB, Cambridge board and other international degrees that serve as feeder programs to send Indian students to top schools abroad.

What are the challenges here?

The entrenched agency model: There are a large number of education agencies that have partnered with universities and operate using a commission model. Their services are offered at a very low cost to students, as they are a referral fee driven model, making students believe they were getting high quality services for cheap. Over time, the market dynamic has given us a competitive advantage as students are opting to pay for honest advice based on their goals and realize the inherent value of the services we offer.

Our virtual model: Students and parents are used to more traditional face-to-face interactions. However, our track record and access to a team of international Ivy-educated counselors has managed to successfully avert this concern entirely. We have disrupted the counseling process, by leveraging technology to improve access to the best education specialists, who have graduated from top global institutes. Students and parents can now work with us seamlessly over phone, skype and email, saving them travel time and cost without compromising on quality.

B-schools are seeking quality candidates and Indian students score well here. Are they able to manage a fair share of the scholarships?
It is important to note that business schools are looking, globally, for high-caliber, well-rounded candidates that have strong leadership backgrounds and impact in their profiles, and are able to compellingly articulate these qualities and traits in their applications.

ReachIvy students have received $1,000,000 in scholarship money over the last 3 years. We saw an increase of about 25% from last year to this with about 40% of our students receiving some form of aid or grant up from 35% last year.

Merit based scholarship amounts have gone up at MIT, Cambridge, Univ of Virginia, Dartmouth etc. Our conversations with Admissions Officers from the schools attest to the schools realizing that in India a price tag of $50,000/year in tuition, leads to several candidates letting go of their MBA dream at a top school. To ensure access to a wider talent pool and ensure students are able to reach these high quality institutions these schools have instated an increasing number of scholarships. Ultimately, top schools are looking to attract the best quality students to attend their universities. Eventually, these very students become flag-bearers of these colleges in the form of successful alumni adding to the overall brand equity of the school. The colleges are making a small investment today that will yield very high returns for them in the long-run when the students they fund become proud torch-bearers of the colleges they have attended.

Some schools require students to apply to each individual scholarship separately, making the process cumbersome and time consuming. This year, we noted several schools have moved to a 'single-application' model. This allows students to simply complete the application form and automatically qualify for any scholarships.

Forte Foundation is increasing the number of scholarships given to women candidates, and many schools are using it as a medium to reach women candidates. The drive to increase gender diversity still remains paramount at top schools. Scholarships are viewed as an attractive carrot to encourage more women to apply.

The overall financial ecosystem around students studying abroad is also evolving - not just scholarships but also loans, credit cards, insurance, etc all being offered to international students. Colleges as well as private companies are bolstering as well as benefiting from this trend.

B-schools love candidates who have worked at startups, regardless of success or failure. Most students go without relevant work experience and that explains the age difference between Indian students and their counterparts abroad. How do you view this?

Business schools are consistently looking to increase the diversity of professional expertise in their classrooms, so students are exposed to and able to learn from as many different perspectives as possible. To find said diversity, business schools are encouraging candidates with nontraditional backgrounds to apply, particularly entrepreneurs who have had direct experience tilting at a multitude of innovative, operational, and risky challenges. Whether the entrepreneurial endeavor has succeeded or failed does not matter, business schools are evaluating the depth of a candidate’s insights into this success or failure. Candidates need to show their interviewers that they have gained insightful learning from their startup experience, which they can or have already applied towards success in a future endeavor. It is important to not fear failure, but to look at failure as your greatest learning tool.

Today, there are an increasing number of career switchers, and candidates with nontraditional backgrounds such as entrepreneurs, not just those looking to accelerate current careers, who come to ReachIvy for our career counseling services. They often do not have the direct skills required for the roles that they are applying to, but through their past experiences, they are able to demonstrate leadership impact and success through having effectively developed and implemented their contextual understanding of a particular operating context. They should show that they can grasp concepts quickly, and have the tenacity to go beyond office hours to skill up and build domain and industry knowledge. Most top business schools seek candidates with 2 to 7 years of experience, with the average work experience needed being 4 years. Harvard, Yale, ISB and a number of other top schools do have programs to attract students with no work experience, to induct them earlier into an MBA program. However, these students form a small minority in the classroom. At ReachIvy, we strongly recommend a minimum of 2 years of work experience before the MBA to make the most of your degree.

You said you would have done better if you got structured help at the time of applying for under-grad studies. What do you think is lacking and what are your suggestions to improve the same?

Let me start by what is lacking:

There are very few experts/counselors who have experienced studying at a top school themselves. Most counselors offering these services have not studied at top schools. In some cases, they have not even visited the campuses of the colleges they recommend.

Personalized services are difficult to avail of. Most schools and colleges offer some form of guidance, but it is usually provided en masse and is not customized for each person’s individual requirements.

It is impossible to access experts outside of top tier cities. Some of the brightest students live in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. These students are endowed with intellect but lack guidance. It is imperative to create access to high caliber mentors who can guide them in the journey.

What have you done to address the gaps?
Our entire team of counselors have studied at top schools and have built successful careers and reputations in a wide range of industries. Our counselors have graduated from Harvard, Cornell, and Carnegie Mellon, etc. and can relate to the students.

We offer a suite of personalized services designed to address each individual’s strengths and weaknesses.

We operate entirely online and are location agnostic when it comes to delivering our services.
This allows us to serve students regardless of where they are based.

What would you describe as your USP?
One-Stop Shop: Through its core advisory services and multitude of digital resources (video and written content), ReachIvy, provides a one-stop-shop for students looking to study abroad, and comprehensive guidance for professionals evaluating their careers. Students can register for free on our platform to access top quality content, curated by in-house experts. This allows students who do not have the means to pay for personalized services to access sample essays, resume templates, process guides, practice questions etc. at no cost!

Global Team of Experts: Our international team of counselors graduated from top global institutes and have a wealth of professional experience that spans industries as diverse as Financial Services, Consulting, Nonprofits, Media, Creative Writing and other fields. Members of our team hold degrees from Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and Cornell, giving them a holistic, global perspective on education and careers.

100% virtual: At, ReachIvy we work on a 100% virtual service model. We are able to offer our services to students and professionals across India and the globe. We have assisted students from over 30 countries over the past 5 years and continue to get inquiries from disparate parts of the world. Given the virtual model, we are not confined geographically when it comes to hiring top talent. Our highly-qualified team of counselors are based globally, and still maintain high-trust, high-touch relationships with our client base while working entirely online. We work around the clock for our students, across multiple time zones providing an array of scheduling options for students globally. There are no associated travel costs with our service since students can work with us from the comforts of their offices/homes making the virtual model a win-win situation for all involved.

Non-commission model: The education advisory market is filled with agencies that work on commission structures with universities, however ReachIvy has a non-commission and non-referral fee model. We provide students with pure, unbiased advice based on their specific strengths, potential and strategic fit.

Rigorous and Methodical Service Provision: We start working with students as early as 4 years before their application deadlines building up their profiles in a systematic manner. The earlier students come to us, the better we are able to help them define their academic, extracurricular and professional benchmarks. Once they have achieved these milestones and built their profiles, we help them strategize their college selection process. Subsequently, we help them articulate their narratives, through a wide range of application-oriented services such as essay brainstorming and editing, interview prep, resume and LinkedIn reviews. After the applications have been submitted, we help students with waitlist and financial aid letters, as well as a ding analysis. In essence, we are able to assist students at various stages of their application process depending on when they start working with us.

Free online resources: www.reachIvy.com is an SEO-optimized online platform that provides high-quality content related to study abroad and careers. We are a ‘go-to’ website for free study abroad and career compass resources, in addition to our core services. Our website provides relevant, rich, detailed content for students and professionals in the form of articles, guides, videos, masterclasses, sample essays and resumes, and career profiles. The website caters to a wide range of students, parents, and professionals.

Established track record: Over the last 5 years, we have had successful admits across high school, undergraduate, masters, MBA, PhD and executive education programs globally – from INSEAD, Cambridge and LSE, to Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford. We have had at least 1 admit at every top school globally. 99% of students that apply for our 5 school packages have been admitted to at least 1 top school. Our students, thus far, have received over $1,000,000 in scholarships.

Comment on your team of counsellors. How do you get them on board?
Our international team of counselors has graduated from top global institutes and has a wealth of professional experience that spans industries as diverse as Financial Services, Consulting, Nonprofits, Media, Creative Writing and other fields. Members of our team hold degrees from Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and Cornell, giving them a holistic, global perspective on education and careers.

Our team is handpicked to ensure we offer the highest quality of service. Since our service delivery model is 100% virtual, we are not confined to hiring counselors based on geography. We have experienced counselors based in New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

We go through a tremendously rigorous hiring process for our counselors. They are fire tested in terms of not just their domain knowledge, but their ability to build relationships, trust and confidence with students. They are stress tested so that we know that they can handle the influx and needs of students without compromising on the quality of the counseling services that are provided.

India often needs a lot of help offline. Do you cater to that segment too?
This has been one of our challenges, but we are happy that we are slowly and steadily disrupting the brick and mortar model of operation. Initially, students and parents were concerned about the efficacy of our 100% virtual service delivery model, since they are used to more traditional face-to-face interactions. However, our track record and access to a team of international Ivy-educated counselors has managed to successfully avert this concern entirely. We have disrupted the in-person counseling process, by leveraging technology to improve access to the best education specialists, who have graduated from top global institutes, and are passionate about sharing their experiences with students worldwide. Students and parents can now work with us seamlessly over phone, skype and email, saving them travel time and cost without compromising on quality.

Our service delivery model is 100% virtual, with both counseling sessions and document-sharing conducted over virtual platforms. Our counseling services occur one-on-one, and even though they take place online, our students and counselors have forged strong bonds, moving them away from the traditional ‘Guru-Shishya’ mindset.

How early do you start working with students for their admission?
We help students with the end-to-end application process. Westart working with students as early as 4 years before their application deadlines, building up their profiles in a systematic manner. The earlier students come to us, the better we are able to help them define their academic, extracurricular and professional benchmarks. However, we are also equipped to tackle students who come to us a few weeks before deadlines, and have helped numerous students get accepted to their dream schools at this stage.

Tell us about your financials. What are your growth plans here? How would they be funded?
Our expansion will be entirely online; we do not intend to grow in the traditional brick and mortar model. We intend to become India’s primary platform for premium education and career related advice and content, and to build a ‘student-centric’ business. Towards this effort, we will continue to design, develop and structure relevant information for students by tapping into global experts on a variety of subjects. Additionally, we will build strategic partnerships with leading global educational institutions and ancillary businesses to bring their services to our students and share their knowledge resources on our portal. We will also continue to develop a slew of online resources and tools for students to benefit from.

So far we have been growing by deploying only internal accruals. As we expand our scope & reach and bring in domain experts to scale our business, we will look to raise growth capital.

What is the shareholding pattern of the company? Any plans to sell stake, raise funds?
Currently as the Founder I own majority stake in the company with minor holdings by my family members. I seeded the business with personal investments and then grew the business with revenues generated by the business. I am not eager to engage with an investor who only brings in capital. My approach would be to find a strategic investor/ partner who can help us reach the desired scale and reach we are targeting while maintaining our brand values and beliefs.

Are you planning to diversify into any other areas like ancillary education services?
We intend to be a one-stop shop for students as they navigate their educational and career journeys. Towards this goal, we are open to diversifying our service and product portfolios as long as the extensions align with our overarching brand philosophy.

Give us some numbers of how many students have enrolled through you? What is the amount of scholarships they have received?
As a privately held firm we do not disclose our numbers. Broadly, ReachIvy has counseled over 1500 students over the last 5 years to reach top schools. Students have received over $1,000,000 in scholarships over the last 5 years.

Your advice to B-School students seeking admission in Ivy League schools?
Start early. We strongly recommend getting a head start to the process so you can make an informed decision. At ReachIvy, we work with students as early as 4 years before they apply. Through these years we help them with their academic and extra-curricular decisions, assist with career mapping, build benchmarks for them, select the right colleges for them and assist with their essays and applications.

In terms of trying to understand how schools define the ideal candidate, the personal qualities that schools are looking for vary according to the mission and values of these respective programs. Schools look for high academic accomplishment, leadership ability, extra-curricular and community impact, humility and an ability to thrive in diverse situations. This is at the heart of the service that ReachIvy provides – we help students find their strategic fit based on how their profiles align with the philosophy of each institution.

The number of female students in the country’s top B-schools has fallen. What could be the possible reasons for the same?
Financial independence, family support and the eagerness to study and work at top schools and global companies, has allowed women to apply and get admits to schools globally. This could be a reason why Indian schools are seeing a drop in women candidates, as schools globally are seeing more women applicants.

The IIMs and other Indian institutions should most definitely work on increasing female participation in their classes.

A limited pipeline of qualified female applicants leads to a limited pipeline of female graduates for the workforce thereby creating lower female participation at the Board level in the future; the issue is precipitated at each stage. All involved constituents need to partake in the effort: the Government, academic and professional institutions, society at large and (needless to say) female candidates themselves.

Tell us how technology can enable access to customized education and career advice for Tier II city candidates?
At ReachIvy, the response from Tier II cities has been substantial. We are increasingly getting more queries from tier 2 cities. Our 100% virtual presence allows us to work with students across India. We have, working with us, students from Ludhiana, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Vellor, Agartala, Nashik, Kochi to name a few cities.

Our service delivery model is 100% virtual, with both counseling sessions and document-sharing conducted over virtual platforms. This makes it easy for us to help students across the globe whether they are across Tier 1, 2 or 3 cities in India, or in Asia, the Middle East, Europe or the USA. We work around the clock for our students, across multiple time zones providing an array of scheduling options for students globally. There are no associated travel costs with our service since students can work with us from the comforts of their offices/homes making the virtual model a win-win situation for all involved.

Further, companies are leveraging technology to reach out to a wider audience and offering content-based platforms where students can access free resources and then pay only for specific personalized services. In essence, we see massive digitization and democratization of content.

Our website provides relevant, rich, detailed content for students and professionals in the form of articles, guides, videos, master classes, sample essays and resumes, and career profiles. We have curated over 1000 video tutorials, guides and articles on the platform, which users can download for free.

Would you say anybody can manage to study abroad?
I have always believed that education is the greatest social equalizer, and at ReachIvy we help students by getting them closer to their dream schools. I feel that anybody can study abroad - It is just a matter of grit, determination, believing in yourself, starting early and getting the right guidance.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

ReachIvy is a premium education and career advisory that helps aspiring students get accepted into top tier educational institutions globally. We have successful admits at MIT, Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, London School of Economics, University of Michigan, Oxford, University of Chicago amongst others.

Vibha Kagzi, Founder and CEO, ReachIvy, holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Science from Carnegie Mellon University. She has also pursued courses at the University of California, Berkeley, the London School of Economics and the Indian School of Business.

Our global team of counsellors have also acquired their degrees from premier institutes and are passionate about sharing their experiences with students worldwide.