# Last-Mile Platform Validation: We've Signed an MOU with IIT Roorkee | RISEUP AT WORK LLC

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/feed/347874
- Entity ID: wefunder:feed_item:347874
- Published at: 2026-07-06 14:00:00 UTC
- Updated at: 2026-07-06 14:00:01 UTC

## Author
Dr. Deepak Bhootra

## Subject
RISEUP AT WORK

## Content
As we enter our release window, we've signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Entrepreneurship Cell at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT-R) to run a final round of platform validation.This was in the plan. Before release, we wanted a hands-on review of the platform's integrity, flow, and business logic, examined through the lens of people who are both analytically competent and close to those for whom we built this.Why this matters. IIT-R is one of India's premier institutions. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest technical university in Asia, currently #6 in engineering and #7 overall in India's national NIRF rankings. This is elite, hard-to-access talent.Here is what makes it strategic. The five individuals we selected came through a demanding process, and they closely represent RISEUP@work's Ideal Customer Profile: analytically minded, ambitious, early in their careers, and exactly the people RISEUP is built to serve. So they are not outside observers. They are the user.Over an 11-week engagement now in progress, this team is doing real work for us. They are stress-testing the platform on both function and flow. They are analyzing our product roadmap and telling us what a typical Indian user actually wants from the experience. They are pressure-testing our pricing model. They are reviewing the ecosystem we have in place. And they are helping us build and test a university-level network and outreach program, so we can learn what works and expand it to other campuses.Two things this represents for your investment.First, it extends RISEUP's understanding of India, a large and fast-growing market for career development, backed by real institutional credibility.Second, it puts sharp, motivated builders on live product decisions during the exact window we are scaling toward launch.We know what we are building and who we are building it for. This is what that looks like in practice.More soon.Dr. Deepak Bhootra spent 34 years in leadership roles and 14 years as an ICF-certified coach, touching the lives of 1,500 people. Those learnings led him to found RISEUP, a career operating system that travels with professionals across the full arc of their working life, organized around three developmental stages (Launch, Foundation, Dividend) and built on a foundation we call Human at the Core. RISEUP is raising capital now, ahead of a revamped platform build aiming for a July launch, with a minimum investment of $100 to keep participation broad. Invest at wefunder.com/riseupatwork.