Father Earned ₹100 a Day to Support the Family, Son Builds a Hyderabad-Based College Mentorship Startup, clocked ₹5 crore in FY25

Ask any Class 10 student what career they want to pursue, and most will be confused. Even if they have clarity about a career path, they often lack knowledge about courses to pursue, which colleges to study in, relevant exams, scholarships, and other essential details.

A UN-sponsored study covering 21,239 students from Grades 9–12 across 14 districts found that only about 10% of students receive any form of professional career guidance. As a result, the report notes that “90% drift” into careers influenced by family pressure, popular trends, or limited information.

That’s why Hyderabad-based entrepreneur M. Raja Shekar launched a mentorship startup called College Mentor along with his friend K. Vamsee Prasad.

A 360-Degree Personalised Mentorship Platform for Students and Parents

Launched in October 2024 under the company name Dreams & Degrees Edutech Private Limited, College Mentor offers what no other education portal in India currently does, end-to-end mentorship for students from post-Class 8 to graduation.

While many education-based portals only list information about colleges, exams, and courses, College Mentor goes beyond a yellow-pages model. It is a complete mentorship ecosystem.

“Every student deserves not just information, but direction. That’s why we built India’s first-of-its-kind 360-degree personalised mentorship model, which emphasises that every student deserves inspiring futuristic mentors. As a part of this, we have the ‘one mentee, six mentor’ concept,” says M. Raja Shekar, Founder & CEO of College Mentor, in an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia.

The “One Mentee-Six Mentors” Model

Every student on the platform gets access to six specialized mentors, each guiding them through a specific stage of their education journey.

1. Student Mentor:

A Student Mentor is your buddy who has already achieved what you are aiming for. They help you understand how to turn your exam dreams into college reality. Like a trusted senior, they guide you, support you, and stand with you every step toward your goals.

2. Career Mentor:

A Career Mentor is a seasoned industry expert who brings deep knowledge of careers and future skills. They help students clarify their interests, map them to real-world opportunities, and design structured career pathways. They act as a strategic guide to help you navigate toward long-term success.

3. Health Mentor:

It is predicted by experts that the mental health crisis is going to be the next pandemic. Recognising this growing student health crisis, College Mentor provides psychological support through trained counselors.

“In the last five years, more than 100+ IIT, NIT, and INI students have committed suicide. We want students to talk about their stress openly and seek help without shame,” says the Hyderabad-based founder in the Startup Pedia interview.

He further added that, “To support students in having stress-free education, we started the first-ever social movement in India to address exam stress named ExamTHON, We are with YOU.” 

4. Admission Mentor:

This mentor assists with the entire application-to-admission process, including listing exams, deadlines, documentation, and mock tests. The portal even predicts probable college admissions based on previous cut-offs.

5. Scholarship Mentor:

India has thousands of scholarships, but it is a startling fact that only 50,000 students applied on the NSP from the states of AP & TG, whereas 3.84 lakh people applied from Assam. Not due to a lack of eligibility, but due to a lack of information.

From Adani to various state governments, the central government and multiple CSR funds ranging from Adani to SBI, few students know how to apply. College Mentor helps them find, qualify for, and apply to these scholarships, allowing them to study without asking parents for money.

6. Loan Mentor:

For students needing financial assistance, the platform connects them with banks and NBFCs, helping them compare interest rates and process education loans efficiently.

“Together, these six mentors form a 360-degree personalized mentorship ecosystem, ensuring no student is left untouched,” says the founder of College Mentor.

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A Platform Built for Future Students

College Mentor operates through both online and offline centers across Vijayawada, Hyderabad (HQ), Tirupathi, Kakinada, and Chennai. College Mentor centers (offices)  can seat about 100 students, where parents and learners meet certified counselors in person.

Every 15 days, the startup hosts national webinars on career counseling and mental wellness.

The platform is currently free, a conscious decision by the founder and co-founder of the Hyderabad-based mentorship startup to prioritize impact before profit.

“We’re still investing to strengthen the system. Next year, after our AI-based personalized mentorship tool launches, we’ll introduce paid plans,” explains the founder M. Raja Shekar in the Startup Pedia interview.

The Birth of College Mentor

Back in 2009, several education portals were launched. However, M. Raja Shekar noticed that these portals only provided static information such as college lists and exam dates. He himself launched a portal calledAdmissionDiary.com.

“Earlier, people used to note important dates and information in a diary. AdmissionDiary.com was inspired by that idea, where we would list all major admission dates for various colleges and courses,” the founder of College Mentor says.

However, the portal didn’t run long, as M. Raja Shekar felt it wasn’t offering anything unique.

Over the years, he worked as a consultant for top universities like SRM, Amrita, and VIT, managing application sales and university outreach across India. Yet, the dream stayed with him.

By seeing the evolution of new futuristic careers with evolving technologies, students need the right guidance. This transition was huge during the COVID and post-COVID era. Seeing the reality of how the education system should evolve, in 2022 he decided to launch a mentoring platform, and in 2023 College Mentor was conceptualized. The live platform was launched in October 2024.

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Targeting ₹25 Crore Revenue by 2026 With AI-Driven Expansion

The startup has already spent ₹1.5 crore on website and technology development. In its first operational year, College Mentor clocked ₹5 crore in revenue despite offering free services to students.

The Hyderabad-based mentorship startup earns revenue by supplying qualified student admission leads to its partner universities.

College Mentor launched the College Mentor Scholarship Test, attracting 22,500 participants out of 53,000 registrants. Last year, winners received cash prizes ranging from ₹7,500 to ₹75,000. The Hyderabad-based mentorship startup distributed a total of ₹1 crore in rewards. These initiatives built credibility and trust.

This year, ₹5 crore in scholarships has been announced, and over 1 lakh candidates have registered for the ongoing College Mentor Scholarship Test.

“Parents now see us as partners in their child’s future,” the founder says in the Startup Pedia interview.

The startup that began with just a 10-member team now employs over 250 people, including 100 career counselors certified by IIT Madras Pravartak. These counselors conduct assessments and design personalized roadmaps for students.

The next milestone is a ₹25 crore revenue target by the end of 2026, supported by expansion and AI tools.

The AI-Driven Expansion

College Mentor is investing heavily in AI-based personalized mentorship, creating unique roadmaps for each learner based on their skills, abilities, and goals.

The platform will soon introduce weekly and monthly AI-driven mock tests analyzing performance, speed, accuracy, and weak areas.

“We’ll generate detailed reports showing where a student lags and how to improve. It’s like having your own digital coach,” says the Hyderabad-based founder.

He further adds, “No one in India has done this till now.”

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The Minds Behind College Mentor

M. Raja Shekar handles mentoring, university tie-ups, and outreach, whereas K. Vamsee Prasad, an ex-Google professional, leads technology.

Years ago, when Vamsee was in India from the US to care for his ailing father, a casual conversation with Raja Shekar turned into a shared mission.

“Vamsee liked the idea of impacting future generations through mentorship. He believed the right students should meet the right mentors, that’s how nations progress. Hence, College Mentor was born,” recalls Raja Shekar in the Startup Pedia interview.

From a Small-Town Dream to a National Movement

Born into a middle-class family in Hyderabad, Raja Shekar’s father worked as an RMP (Registered Medical Practitioner) doctor serving nearby villages, while his mother managed the household.

“Every day, my father earned ₹100 and handed it to my mother. Out of that, I’d ask for ₹10 to buy something small. That was our life,” he shares in the Startup Pedia interview.

He studied in Hyderabad-based schools and later in hostels in Guntur, where his parents believed discipline would help him succeed. Finances were always tight; his parents often sought financial help from relatives for his education.

His early passion was cricket. He played zonal tournaments for Hyderabad but couldn’t pursue the sport professionally due to financial constraints.

“We couldn’t even afford a bat or gloves. So I chose education because it was the only way to lift my family out of poverty,” the founder and CEO of College Mentor says.

While pursuing his engineering degree in Chennai, he began his career at SRM University as an area manager for National Outreach.

From 2009 to 2012, he travelled across India, from Andaman to Bihar to Delhi, managing SRM’s nationwide application network. Later, he consulted for universities like VIT, Amrita, and Manipal.

The minds behind College Mentor want students to stop seeing education as a race and start seeing it as exploration. They hope to create not just successful individuals but emotionally resilient, mentally healthy, and financially aware young Indians.

After all, as College Mentor’s tagline says, “We educate, we inspire, you lead.”

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