THE PLACEMENT WIZARD

Swapnil Bhartiya

Founder, Cactro (Formerly Rocket.Careers)
Head of Placements @ neoG Camp

An IITian and ex-Amazon engineer, Swapnil left a traditional tech path to build Cactro—a placement engine that champions self-taught devs. He’s placed thousands, built hiring pipelines from scratch, and remains the driving force behind developer-first hiring at neoG Camp.

THE PLACEMENT WIZARD

Swapnil Bhartiya

Founder, Cactro (Formerly Rocket.Careers)
Head of Placements @ neoG Camp

An IITian and ex-Amazon engineer, Swapnil left a traditional tech path to build Cactro—a placement engine that champions self-taught devs. He’s placed thousands, built hiring pipelines from scratch, and remains the driving force behind developer-first hiring at neoG Camp.

2013–2017
The Dream Path
  • Swapnil graduates from IIT Guwahati, one of India’s top engineering institutes.

  • Joins Amazon straight out of college—a dream job for many.

  • Learns the ins and outs of world-class engineering teams.

2013–2017
The Dream Path
  • Swapnil graduates from IIT Guwahati, one of India’s top engineering institutes.

  • Joins Amazon straight out of college—a dream job for many.

  • Learns the ins and outs of world-class engineering teams.

2013–2017
The Dream Path
  • Swapnil graduates from IIT Guwahati, one of India’s top engineering institutes.

  • Joins Amazon straight out of college—a dream job for many.

  • Learns the ins and outs of world-class engineering teams.

2017–2020

Scaling Startups

  • Moves to Meesho, one of India’s fastest-growing startups.

  • Works on challenging, high-growth problems, leading teams and hiring devs.

  • Starts to see a gap: good coders were everywhere—but few were industry-ready or knew how to get hired.

2017–2020

Scaling Startups

  • Moves to Meesho, one of India’s fastest-growing startups.

  • Works on challenging, high-growth problems, leading teams and hiring devs.

  • Starts to see a gap: good coders were everywhere—but few were industry-ready or knew how to get hired.

2017–2020

Scaling Startups

  • Moves to Meesho, one of India’s fastest-growing startups.

  • Works on challenging, high-growth problems, leading teams and hiring devs.

  • Starts to see a gap: good coders were everywhere—but few were industry-ready or knew how to get hired.

2020
Discovering neoG
  • Observes neoG Camp rise from the ground—students coding, building, and learning real-world skills.

  • He’s impressed. But he spots what’s missing:

    “These kids are fire. But who’s making sure they get placed right?”

2020
Discovering neoG
  • Observes neoG Camp rise from the ground—students coding, building, and learning real-world skills.

  • He’s impressed. But he spots what’s missing:

    “These kids are fire. But who’s making sure they get placed right?”

2020
Discovering neoG
  • Observes neoG Camp rise from the ground—students coding, building, and learning real-world skills.

  • He’s impressed. But he spots what’s missing:

    “These kids are fire. But who’s making sure they get placed right?”

2020
The Decision to Build

Tells Tanay:

“I’ll take care of placements. Let’s get them the offers they deserve.”

  • Launches Rocket.Careers—a separate but dedicated placement cell built just for neoG students.

  • It later becomes Cactro, focused entirely on one mission:
    Place job-ready devs at the right companies, with the right salary.

2020
The Decision to Build

Tells Tanay:

“I’ll take care of placements. Let’s get them the offers they deserve.”

  • Launches Rocket.Careers—a separate but dedicated placement cell built just for neoG students.

  • It later becomes Cactro, focused entirely on one mission:
    Place job-ready devs at the right companies, with the right salary.

2020
The Decision to Build

Tells Tanay:

“I’ll take care of placements. Let’s get them the offers they deserve.”

  • Launches Rocket.Careers—a separate but dedicated placement cell built just for neoG students.

  • It later becomes Cactro, focused entirely on one mission:
    Place job-ready devs at the right companies, with the right salary.

2020–2022
Laying the Foundation
  • Builds the full placement ecosystem from scratch:

    • Hiring partnerships across startups and scaleups

    • Resume reviews, mock interviews, salary negotiation training

    • Personal mentoring for every student who needs it

  • Becomes a coach, guide, and negotiator—not just a connector.

2020–2022
Laying the Foundation
  • Builds the full placement ecosystem from scratch:

    • Hiring partnerships across startups and scaleups

    • Resume reviews, mock interviews, salary negotiation training

    • Personal mentoring for every student who needs it

  • Becomes a coach, guide, and negotiator—not just a connector.

2020–2022
Laying the Foundation
  • Builds the full placement ecosystem from scratch:

    • Hiring partnerships across startups and scaleups

    • Resume reviews, mock interviews, salary negotiation training

    • Personal mentoring for every student who needs it

  • Becomes a coach, guide, and negotiator—not just a connector.

2022–2024
Scaling the Impact
  • Places thousands of students from neoG and beyond.

  • Cactro becomes known as a developer-first hiring engine—not a traditional agency.

  • Builds trust with companies that now hire exclusively through Cactro.

  • Starts pushing real hiring feedback directly into neoG’s curriculum, ensuring future students are even more aligned with industry needs.

2022–2024
Scaling the Impact
  • Places thousands of students from neoG and beyond.

  • Cactro becomes known as a developer-first hiring engine—not a traditional agency.

  • Builds trust with companies that now hire exclusively through Cactro.

  • Starts pushing real hiring feedback directly into neoG’s curriculum, ensuring future students are even more aligned with industry needs.

2022–2024
Scaling the Impact
  • Places thousands of students from neoG and beyond.

  • Cactro becomes known as a developer-first hiring engine—not a traditional agency.

  • Builds trust with companies that now hire exclusively through Cactro.

  • Starts pushing real hiring feedback directly into neoG’s curriculum, ensuring future students are even more aligned with industry needs.

2024–Present
The Placement Flywheel
  • The placement loop is complete:

    • Real-world devs from Cactro go into industry

    • Their performance → hiring feedback → back into neoG curriculum

    • Newer batches are sharper, more confident, more industry-ready

  • Cactro becomes the go-to partner for practical, proven dev talent in India.

2024–Present
The Placement Flywheel
  • The placement loop is complete:

    • Real-world devs from Cactro go into industry

    • Their performance → hiring feedback → back into neoG curriculum

    • Newer batches are sharper, more confident, more industry-ready

  • Cactro becomes the go-to partner for practical, proven dev talent in India.

2024–Present
The Placement Flywheel
  • The placement loop is complete:

    • Real-world devs from Cactro go into industry

    • Their performance → hiring feedback → back into neoG curriculum

    • Newer batches are sharper, more confident, more industry-ready

  • Cactro becomes the go-to partner for practical, proven dev talent in India.

present

The Heart of neoG

  • “I’m a dev. And I do this for devs.”

  • That’s not just a motto.

  • It’s the principle Swapnil has built Cactro—and thousands of careers—on.

present

The Heart of neoG

  • “I’m a dev. And I do this for devs.”

  • That’s not just a motto.

  • It’s the principle Swapnil has built Cactro—and thousands of careers—on.

present

The Heart of neoG

  • “I’m a dev. And I do this for devs.”

  • That’s not just a motto.

  • It’s the principle Swapnil has built Cactro—and thousands of careers—on.

FAQs

FAQs

If I become the person you want me to become—will I get interviews?

If I become the person you want me to become—will I get interviews?

If I become the person you want me to become—will I get interviews?

If I get interviews, will I crack them?

If I get interviews, will I crack them?

If I get interviews, will I crack them?

I’m from a non-tech background. Can I do it?

I’m from a non-tech background. Can I do it?

I’m from a non-tech background. Can I do it?