Indian unicorns and soonicorns have ramped up their search for talent, owing to continued investor interest in the country’s thriving startup ecosystem.
According to data from specialist staffing firm Xpheno, net headcount at startups increased by more than 11% in the first two months of this year compared to the same period last year. Soonicorns saw a 21% increase in headcount, while unicorns saw a 10% increase.
During this time, thirteen startups were added to the unicorn list, with several more projected to join the list soon with billion-dollar values.
Meesho, PhonePe, Mamaearth, Good Glamm Group, Licious, Apna.co, Wakefit, Classplus, Purplle, Spinny, Darwinbox, Sugar Cosmetics, and Boat are among the startups on the lookout for talent.
“The Indian startup ecosystem continues to register positive net employment as it has been over the last five quarters,” said Kamal Karanth, cofounder, Xpheno. “Despite high attrition figures and increased gross hiring action, startups continue to attract and onboard talent to support their growth plans,” he added.
PrepLadder, Trell, OK Credit, and Lido are among the companies that have trimmed their teams in recent months to either pivot to new lines of business or tide over slowing business cycles. Bounce and Pagarbook, too, have made job cuts in the last year. Investors, founders, and job market specialists, on the other hand, believe that these personnel reductions do not signal a slowdown, and that hiring will continue to rise in the future.
“Hiring has continued to accelerate this year. In 2021, nearly $45 billion got invested in startups and 20% of that is usually invested in people and organisational expansion. This means that startups will have to hire lakhs of people not just in technology but across the spectrum,” said Pranav Pai, managing partner at venture capital firm 3one4 Capital.