BENGALURU: Clever Harvey, a career acceleration platform for young adults, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-series A round, led by TechNova Ventures along with Tom Varkey and Multiply Ventures.

Existing investor Education Catalyst Fund also participated in the round.

Clever Harvey, the B2C vertical of Callido Learning, had launched its flagship Junior MBA series of career discovery programms for teenagers last year. It plans to use the new funds to expand its product portfolio, onboard key talent, strengthen its marketing outreach and build distribution channels in and beyond India.

Serving a market of young adults of age 14 to 18 years, who are at a decision-making juncture of selecting colleges, academic streams, and course subjects, Clever Harvey offers case studies in business strategy, marketing, technology, data analysis, UX design, and social media, that allow students to test-drive options for future career paths.

Since its inception in April last year, the startup has graduated over 6,000 students and seen strong acceptance from parents for this new category.

“We are making “career discovery" easier by giving teenagers a ‘behind-the-scenes’ exposure of various industry roles through short, immersive, and fun cohort-based programs. Students meet online in small groups of ten, with focused teacher/facilitator interaction and collaborate with peers from across the country to solve live case studies. Our programs guide teenagers in making academic & career choices that are better aligned with their interests and passion," said Sriram Subramanian, founder and CEO, Clever Harvey.

Sheena Parikh, founder of TechNova Ventures and joint managing director of the TechNova Group, said, “We are excited to partner with Clever Harvey as they offer a truly unique proposition in the EdTech ecosystem. They are tapping into a blue ocean with high-quality, differentiated, value-added products. The Junior MBA programs have received tremendous response and we are very optimistic about future growth."

In the next six months, the company plans to introduce a wider range of Junior MBA subjects and industry-partnered programs for teenagers, scale its reach through multiple distribution channels and expand to global markets.

“Digitization and new tech are creating new opportunities and career streams. Clever Harvey's vision is to bridge the gap between academics and the real world. Their programs help students develop essential skills for success, like critical thinking, decision making, planning & having an entrepreneurial mindset. This resonated well with our fund’s edtech thesis," said Raveen Sastry, Founder at Multiply Ventures.