Online learning startup EdCast acquired online sales training company Sales University, previously known as WAGmob, for an undisclosed amount.
This is the first acquisition the education platform has made after closing a $16 million Series-B round led by GE Asset Management in April. Sales University, founded by former Microsoft engineering executives, is headquartered in Seattle, US and Indore in India.
“Besides innovative features like video role play and product training, Sales University provide access to some marquee influencers like Tom Hopkins and Ken Thoreson. Most importantly, they have the best mobile-first sales training app that we could find,” said Karl Mehta, Founder of EdCast.
However, Mehta refused to disclose the terms of the deal. Sales University claims to have trained over 100,000 sales professionals through its platform and counts Google and Samsung among its biggest clients in the US, besides Snapdeal in India.
According to Kalpit Jain, the Co-Founder of Sales University, the platform’s live role-playing and smart buy features enable it to withstand competition. The live role-playing feature enables sales executives to have a mobile first interaction with a live audience where they get to practice their sales skills. This includes 30-second pitches to buyers and receiving immediate feedback.
“Smart buy is a feature that can provide immediate snippets of knowledge within specific domains or sectors, from interactions with influencers and data screening,” said Jain. The platform, which launched its sales training vertical in 2014, claims to have seen over 4 million downloads. “The sales training vertical is a $20-billion dollar market in the US and it is steadily growing in India. We can use Sales University data as a machine-learning algorithm to improve personalised learning,” said Mehta.
Mehta said EdCast will continue to scout for acquisitions that provide specialised services in specific sectors, and singled out healthcare as a top priority. The platform has seen a high level of traction from medical practitioners including doctors, nurses and paramedics, said Mehta. “Besides healthcare, we will look at the hospitality sector as well as online retail for acquisitions,” said Mehta.
Source: The Economic Times
