Imagine getting expert advice as quickly as grocery being delivered at your doorstep. This is exactly an Indian startup named Topmate.io is promising. It is promising on-demand mentorship, career guidance and problem-solving in just 10 minutes.
Topmate.io allows users to call industry professionals for real-time advice and operates daily from 6 PM to 10 PM. It currently has a 4.9-star rating equipped with more than 1 million users and a network of 300,000 experts. It is is positioning itself as a faster alternative to LinkedIn networking, online courses and endless Google searches.
Topmate marketing lead Nimisha Chanda announced the service on X and claimed that it is over for Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart as they are delivering groceries as well as humans in 10 minutes.
The announcement quickly sparked a heated debate online. Supporters hailed it as an innovative approach to mentorship as it is allowing professionals and aspiring job seekers to connect instantly. Many appreciated the ability to get direct as well as personalized answers without having to rely on generalized career blogs or slow networking processes.
However, skeptics raised concerns about the viability of the model. One major question was pricing as people are often hesitant to pay for expert opinions and especially when free advice is available online. Critics also pointed out that guidance alone won’t secure jobs as success depends on skills, persistence and experience.
Another concern was information overload. Some users argued that having too many opinions from multiple experts could cause confusion. One comment highlighted that things don’t end well when you have 10 people to ask questions from instead of one chatbot or Google. More people will end up disappointed than happy.
However, the concept of Topmate taps into a growing trend and it is the increasing demand for instant as well as personalized expertise.
Whether it will become the future of mentorship or struggle to attract paying users remains to be seen. But one thing is certain—the era of on-demand knowledge has arrived.