With the launch of the portal, Satya Narayan, chairman of Career Launcher,also announced his company's plans to initiate the careerlauncher.com seriesof lectures on various issues related to education and careers, to beorganised across the country.

Highlighting the portal's launch, Narayan says, ``Career Launcher wasinstituted with the objective of providing quality training and counsellingto students aspiring to take up professional courses. In the changingeducation scenario, it has become imperative for students to acquire skillsand techniques that will give them a cutting edge over competing candidates.

Career Launcher, with its panel of experts, seeks to equip students withthese skills and techniques. The launch of careerlauncher.com is a steptowards taking career counselling to students across the country. We areconfident that the launch of the website will help our organisation make apositive contribution to the Indian education system.''

Careerlauncher.com is a comprehensive careers and education portal, whichseeks to provide focussed guidance and counselling to students bewildered bywhich career to choose and to students who aspire to take up professionalcourses. The portal will offer information on issues such as career options,personal diagnostics, educational institutes, the latest updates andresults, among other things.

Careerlauncher.com will also provide expert inputs in the field ofspecialised subjects and in personal career planning and concerns, all ofwhich are critical for students who wish to succeed in today's fiercelycompetitive education environment.

Careerlauncher.com is the only portal that has been set up by anorganisation that is already in the field of education and ``has a proventrack record and immense brand equity'', says Narayan. He adds, ``Ouredu-portal model will perhaps be one of the few that can dream of being aprofit centre from day one, which is a rare concept in the e-world.''

According to Narayan, ``A considerable amount of free content andcounselling will be one of the key features of careerlauncher.com. Weforesee three revenue streams from careerlauncher.com: subscriptions,advertising, and e-commerce.''

All three of them will be operational in the next three months, he adds. Theratio of the three streams are estimated to be 50:35:15 in a two-year period.Another important aspect of Career Launcher's Internet initiative is thesynergy it would have with its existing business in education, which isalready worth US$ 1 million, says Narayan.

The careerlauncher.com business model is based on the Life Path IntegrationModel. In essence, any edu-career oriented individual is at the heart of thebusiness. Other key customers are market makers such as parents,institutions and teachers, he adds.

The careerlauncher.com lectures series, initiated this March 2000, is aneffort to provide students with the right direction and focussed guidance onissues and subjects such as economy, careers in specific areas likee-commerce, management, and will be delivered by eminent speakers andpersonalities.

In fact, a weekly `Eco Gyan' section, authored by Dr Bibek Debroy, aims ateducating students about the fundamentals of the Indian economy. Thisinitiative by Career Launcher is in keeping with its commitment to the fieldof education and its consistent efforts to provide students with the rightcounselling at the right time by the right people.

Run by graduates who have passed out of the country's top B-schools, CareerLauncher is recognised as one of the best in the field of education andcareer counselling. It has a team of over 35 graduates, all belonging toreputed institutions such as the IITs and IIMs.

How is careerlauncher going to fund its Internet ventures? Narayan says,``We will get funding for the second phase of the project. Internal accrualsare funding Phase I, which includes setting up the content factory in India,technology infrastructure in Silicon Valley and effecting critical HRacquisitions in India and abroad.''

Career Launcher has eminent personalities from a wide range of fields on itsadvisory board. These include Anil Wilson, K K Mehta, P K Sarangi, PanditHariprasad Chaurasia, Barry John and Bibek Debroy. The company's commitmentand focus on offering quality training is clearly highlighted in its motto:`We Help You Win'.