TalentNext raises $1 million in seed round

BENGALURU: Entertainment tech platform TalentNext, which connects actors, screenwriters, choreographers and 43 other related categories to recruiters, raises a seed round of $1 million in a round led by Karanpal Singh, managing director at KJS Ce ment and other angel investors.

"There maybe a singer or an actor based out of Dharamsala that wants to get noticed and has no access. These individuals can get on to TalentNext while creating their profiles they can upload a YouTube video, a Soundcloud audio clip and reach out to casting directors in real time for anything from films to television shows and web series," said Shekhar Purohit, founder of TalentNext.

Presently a cost-free model, the platform plans to monetise upon it after it gains traction. "We will charge a small fee for the end users who will use the platform to get in touch with recruiters," added Purohit. The platform claims to receive over 250 sign ups through Facebook on a daily basis and posts over 50 jobs every day.

According to Purohit, the talent discovery and recruitment platform has partnered with over 30 casting directors in Mumbai and has partnerships with industry bigwigs including Dharma Productions, OML, Culture Machine and Balaji Telefilms to name a few. "In the next 4 to 6 weeks, we will expand to regional parts of India and focus on catering to the Maharashtrian, Telegu, Tamil and Punjabi users," added Purohit.

Launched in July 2016, the platform focuses on providing recruitment within television, advertising, films and digital content.