They are sometimes called the four gatekeepers — Abhijit Chaudhuri, Aditya Reddy, Chandan Jha and Jitendra Sinha, the brains behind Gateforum Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. But their job is not to keep people out. Rather, it is their responsibility to make it easier for them to get in.

Gateforum was founded in 2004 with a dual mission — to develop and nurture students’ interests in technical education and provide the best preparatory tools to aid them in their efforts to study further. “We realised that there are no national-level institutes to coach students for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). There are mock CATs (Common Admission Tests, for the IIMs) and so many institutes offering guidance to CAT aspirants. But there are none for GATE aspirants,” says Chaudhuri. So the four decided to come up with a test series that would be something new in the market and, at the same time, require less investment than classroom coaching.

“One principle which has defined our lives is independence — the freedom to explore our potential, to set our own rules, and to follow our dreams. Starting Gateforum was an obvious step towards living by that principle. Gateforum allows us to think beyond boundaries and implement radical ideas,” say the directors of the institute.

So how did the four come together? Chaudhuri and Reddy go back a long way. They were partners in Class VI and the camaraderie has not changed down the years. The trio of Chaudhuri, Sinha and Jha was formed while they were studying at the National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology (NIFFT), Ranchi, in 2001.

And what binds them together? Born and brought up in middle-class families in pre-globalised India, the four soon realised that the two things that could ensure success were hard work and a good education. “For us, education was not about marks and ranks. It was about understanding concepts and being original. A complete ban on pocket money ensured that we were frugal spenders in our childhood. Even today, one of our most important objectives is to reduce spending and wastage.”

When the four started out there was no direct competition as there was no national-level institute to tutor GATE aspirants. But it was not all that easy either. They chalked out a plan to conduct the test series at 15 centres, each operating from either Bangalore or Hyderabad, where they had started their offices. “But soon we realised that operating so many centres on our own wasn’t a feasible proposition, given our meagre finances. We then started looking for network associates, who would share the marketing and operational expenses with us. It was extremely difficult initially as we were an unknown entity and convincing people about the benefits of GATE training was a Herculean task,” says Sinha. But their perseverance paid off.

“One of the most important things my engineering school taught me was to think analytically. We were encouraged to do indepth research and come up with the best solution to a given problem,” says Chaudhuri. It is this which helped them overcome problems at Gateforum. “While preparing for competitive exams like GATE and CAT, we saw firsthand the gap between what we wanted and what was available. This helped us design products and offerings relevant to students.”

Over the years, Gateforum has launched some innovative tools, starting with an all-India mock test series, which till date is the only one of its kind. The latest is e-tutor, which is an online tutoring module that simulates a classroom using whiteboard technology. “E-tutor has a wider audience as students living in small towns who cannot attend classroom coaching can benefit from this online training.”

It is not only making money that keeps them going, claim the four. “People who appear for CAT are mostly from affluent families, but those appearing for GATE are from all sections of society. Not all of them can afford to pay what a reputed CAT coaching centre may charge, which is around Rs 25,000 for 200 hours. We charge Rs 11,000 for the same amount of time.”

So is it all work and no play for them? “Not at all. I love Kishore Kumar. Travelling and exploring new places is another passion. Spending time in nature’s lap, far from the madding crowds of the city does wonders for the soul,” says Chaudhuri.

Based on a conversation with Devlina Ganguly in Calcutta