Vaave rebrands as Hoopstr eyes upto $5 million pre-Series A fundraise

Hyderabad: T-Hub-incubated alumni platform Vaave has rebranded itself as Hoopstr in a bid to make a shift from alumni management to a broader learning and career ecosystem powered by alumni networks.

The start-up is also looking to raise $3 million to $5 million in pre-series A funding within a year to build out its ecosystem offerings, its Founder and CEO Paresh Masade said on Friday. Hoopstr recently raised Rs 6.6 crore in its first major external funding round from Aditya Vuchi of VCMint and Raj Narayanam, Founder and Executive Chairman of Zaggle, through RAN Ventures. Masade said Hoopstr, which was founded in 2011, currently works with more than 1,200 institutions, connects 4.9 million alumni across 28 countries, and employs 80 people.

The new identity reflects its focus on helping educational institutions turn alumni communities into active networks for mentorship, internships, scholarships and career guidance, he explained. He said the company expects 80% to 100% year-on-year growth and plans to expand to 2,500 top institutions in India over the next 18 months. It is also preparing for a major expansion in sales across 12 educational clusters in India, with plans to increase to 120 to 150 people, largely in sales, over the next 1 year. Over the next 3 years, Hoopstr plans to work with 30 select colleges to generate 10,000 internships and facilitate scholarships worth Rs 100 crore.

The platform’s model focuses on alumni activation through digital engagement, feedback systems, mentorship, events and career support.