CEO Insights Magazine

Most business leaders and prominent companies look for purpose and value driven Performance Management systems. This not only requires a clear Goals & Competencies Framework, but a pragmatic, scalable and sustainable understanding of how each Organization's Vision, Values & Culture align within that Framework. Kunal Sandhu, who has a deep understanding of Performance Management, realized that there are no effective tools or solutions at Educational Institutes for assessing Faculty & Staff at Schools & Universities. Kunal leveraged his own experience from over a decade in the corporate sector and created Talentel, a scalable and long term digital 'Talent Intelligence' platform for Faculty & Staff of Schools & Universities to 'Perform Better' through effective Performance Management.

In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Kunal speaks about his entrepreneurial journey so far.

What inspired you to create a digital platform to serve the faculty and students from educational institutes and what keeps you going today?
My inspiration to start Talentel can be summarized in three reasons. First, Education has one of the highest human capital allocations, yet it has been deeply under served, when it comes to Performance Management. Secondly, there is a lack of access to best practices for Schools and Universities and even when they do exist, they are not contextualized to fit their specific needs. And lastly, the cost of technology and implementation is high and therefore a challenge for this sector.

During my Strategy role at Accenture, we would create the Business Transformation Roadmap, which would then be implemented by leveraging outsourced techno

logy products like SAP/People Soft. I wanted to create a platform that would be customizable, flexible, and easy to understand, combining both elements of Strategy (Proprietary Frameworks) along with a Technology Platform and therefore Talentel was born.

Define Talentel as an organization and what is the USP that differentiates it from its peers?
Talentel is the world's only ‘Talent Intelligence Platform' that addresses the strategic Performance Management need for Educational Institutes.Our unique approach to Talent Management is based on Proprietary Frameworks & Predictive Algorithms that are contextualized to Schools & Universities and are powered by our Technology Platform. The outcomes of the Performance Management implementation, seamlessly leads to Learning & Development and Rewards & Recognition within the Institute.

The platform is designed for ease of adoption and use, effortlessly translating an Institute's Vision to Action. We have seamlessly implemented our Platform is several leading Schools and Universities and work with over 25,000 Faculty & Staff across Asia.

You are also the Founder and CEO of Cogito Hub; tell us about CogitoHub's distinctive characteristics and market position.
CogitoHub is a Career Testing, Profiling & Counselling Platform that empowers Students(Grades 8-12)& Young Professionals to succeed by making 'Right Decisions' on Subjects, College Courses & Careers. Based on a Scientific Framework Approach, the Career Test Platform gives Unique Recommendations based on each individual's unique Strengths through Standardized Assessments of Personality, Aptitude, Motivations & Interests, powered by relevant Frameworks & Predictive Algorithms. The CogitoHub Career Tests have Internationally Bench

marked Validity & Reliability with 98 percent Success Rate approved by Ministry of HRD.

CogitoHub's Career Test & Profile empowers students to:
•Understand who they are and what they're good at.
•Simplify the complex external world of careers.
•Get Unique Personalized Recommendations through your profile report.
•Get a Career Code ­ the Student's unique digital footprint.
•Detailed description of the Student's Strengthens, Personality, Interests & Professional Motivations Over 2,10,000 Students have been Tested & Profiled by CogitoHub to take Right Career Decisions.


You possess eight years of experience in building , monetizing and scaling two Digital Platforms for Faculty & Students to 'Perform Better'Talentel and CogitoHub. What is your business mantra?
Performance with Purpose by aligning to the Vision, Values & Culture of every organization that partners with us. Each and every team member who joins our company shares the same ethos and is on the journey to accelerate and empower Schools & Universities to perform better and to collectively succeed.

Kunal Sandhu, Founder & CEO, Talentel.com & CogitoHub.com
Kunal has eight years of building, monetizing, and scaling two sustainable digital platforms for Faculty & Students to ‘Perform Better' Talentel ('Talent Intelligence' for Educational Institutes) and CogitoHub(Career Testing & Profiling for Students). Powered by relevant frameworks & predictive algorithms.

Prior to founding Talentel .com and CogitoHub.com, Kunal has a decade of previous experience at Unilever, Accenture & PepsiCo working with and advising organizations from over five countries primarily within the Consumer Goods Sector in the areas of Market Entry, Growth Strategy, Marketing, Brand Management & Sales Transformation.