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Mohit Bhende
Mohit Bhende, also known as "Mo," is the Co-Founder and CEO of Karat, a company he established in 2014 with Jeffrey Spector.26 Karat is recognized as the world's largest interviewing company and one of Seattle's unicorn startups.7
Background and Education
Bhende has an impressive educational background, including:
- MBA from The Wharton School
- MPhil in Game Theory from University of Cambridge
- B.Sc. (Honors Program) in Math and Economics from Penn State University
- Visiting Student in Game Theory and Economics at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)1
Professional Experience
Before founding Karat, Bhende's career included:
- Strategy consultant for tech companies at Oliver Wyman
- Co-founder and publisher of Topic Magazine, growing it to a team of 40 staff with a multi-million dollar run rate
- Senior Director for XBOX at Microsoft (2007-2013), where he led global product strategy, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships1
Karat and Its Mission
Karat, under Bhende's leadership, has created the world's first Interviewing Cloud to address the global shortage of software engineers.2 The company aims to:
- Provide consistent and scalable technical interviews 24/7
- Expand hiring capacity for enterprises
- Limit pedigree bias and create access for underrepresented candidates
Karat's clients include major companies like Roblox, American Express, Intuit, Compass, and Wayfair.2
Innovations in Interviewing
Bhende has introduced several innovative practices at Karat:
- Offering interview redos to candidates, allowing them a second chance if they feel they didn't perform well initially
- Conducting interviews on weekends to accommodate engineers' schedules
- Using data to improve engineering hiring processes and support diversity initiatives34
Diversity Initiatives
Bhende is actively involved in promoting diversity in the tech industry. Karat has partnered with Serena Williams for the Brilliant Black Minds program, which aims to help more Black software engineers break into the industry.34
Mohit Bhende is recognized as a visionary in the tech industry, known for his ability to not only generate great ideas but also to take action and see his vision through to completion.5