Women's representation in the corporate sphere has been increasing in recent years. Young female entrepreneurs are forging new paths and turning their innovative ideas into successful businesses. They are not only demolishing patriarchy, but they are also setting an example for countless young girls by providing solutions to real-world problems and transforming thousands of lives. Priyamvada Agarwal is one such visionary leader, who has been shaping the lives of numerous students since 2010. She is an educationist who is proficient in career and admission counselling & a master trainer for the entrance exams both in India and Abroad. Based out of Kolkata, she has been successfully running her career enhancement platform, Education & You, which was incorporated in 2014. Education & You is a 360-degree career advancement platform, where candidates can tap into their full potential and work toward their aspirations with expert guidance.

In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur Magazine, Priyamvada Agarwal talks about her explicit career trajectory as well as the distinctive characteristics of Education & You.

Take us through your early educational journey and what prompted you to foray into the field of counselling?

 I graduated with English Honours from under Calcutta University, and then went ahead to do my postgraduate in Special Education & Career Counselling from under Cambridge University. During my second year of college, I interned at an organization for a project called Money Control, which was a financial literacy program for children and adults.  I started off as a project manager, but eventually, I was given the opportunity to lead a few sessions for all age groups. The sessions that I conducted helped me identify my strength of being a people's person. This is something I believe got me more interested in this field.

Tell us your prior industry experience that you bring to the table. What motivated you to establish Education & You?

My first stepping stone into the education industry was in 2010, at an organization in Kolkata. My boss who was like a father figure to me taught me the ins and outs of the industry. He took me under his wing and gave me every opportunity to grow. Under his guidance, I took my certifications from British Council, ETS, and Pearson. After 4 years, around the beginning of 2014, I started feeling a little stagnant at the workplace and wanted to explore other options and start something of my own in a small capacity. As a result, I took a sabbatical for a couple of months. During my sabbatical, I realised that I had garnered a lot of respect and a name for myself in the industry, as I started getting referral calls from people seeking my advice. That led to the birth of Education & You in 2014 December.

Give us a brief overview of the services provided by Education & You.

We offer career counselling, admission counselling - for all Universities & colleges in India & Abroad, help in the test preparation for the entrance exams and mentoring by industry experts in profile building and interview skills development.

In the realm of career counselling, we look into various factors from mainstream education, profile enhancement, identifying what is most suitable, and budgeting the finances, ensuring that the candidates' passion and the parents' budget meet. I am not a great believer in psychometric tests, so I designed something called a self-exploration sheet wherein I use this in trying to assess the mental strength and weakness of the candidate. Essentially, it is an 18 to 19-page booklet that discusses many aspects, priorities, and life circumstances in order to determine the candidate's mindset based on his or her attitude to such scenarios.

“Today, i am catering to 250 students and we're doing over 600 applications for the 2022 intake”

Admission Counselling is another vertical we offer to the students. Not every candidate requires us to go over the entire career planning process with them; they already have a career plan in mind. They know what they want and don't want. But what they don't know is how or where to start. That is where Admission Counselling comes in, where we cater to all types of Indian colleges and Abroad Universities. We have multiple features under Admission Counselling and we assist our candidates with the entire admission process, such as hand-holding them in terms of filling out the application form, assisting them with scholarships, coordinating with universities following up, as well as helping them with the visa. One of our key features is that we tell the student to take only the service they need in a customized manner.

The next vertical is the Test Prep Center, where we have in-house test facilities for all foreign entrance exams namely - IELTS, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, SAT, ACT, and PTE. We also provide test preparation for Indian aptitude tests for exams namely IPMAT, JSAT, NPAT, ISBF, SET, FEAT, Christ University, Ashoka University and KREA University. The biggest USP about us in terms of test prep is that our programs are customized and personalized. Each student has a different study plan which is created after a proper evaluation.   The classes are generally one-on-one, but at times we also conduct group classes to build a competitive spirit. Personalised classes allow the candidate to be very open with the teacher, discuss the same doubt 10 times if required, and not feel judged about, which has proven to be successful.

As a successful entrepreneur, what would your advice be to young women and girls aspiring to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

No work is big or small, and no work is easy. It is not easy to achieve success; it is all about setting goals and working hard to achieve them, which will eventually pay off today or tomorrow. And this is not a philosophy, this is a personal experience. Also, in any industry quality is the most crucial aspect. Today, I am catering to 250 students and we're doing over 600 applications for the 2022 intake. But I am making sure that I'm maintaining the quality for each application at par. My only piece of advice is to keep the quality high, work toward your goals; we'll hit stumbling blocks, but rather than giving up, let's fight against the challenge and you will be able to see the brighter side of the entire situation.

Priyamvada Agarwal, Entrepreneur, Education & You

Priyamvada Agarwal is a Kolkata based educationist who is proficient in career and admission counselling & is a master trainer for the entrance exams both in India and Abroad.