In 2022, Indian unicorns and soonicorns have increased their search for talent, owing to investor interest in the country's burgeoning startup environment.
According to data from specialist employment service 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 had a 21% increase in headcount, while unicorns saw a 10% increase.
Firms That Are Cutting-Edge
During this time, thirteen businesses were added to the unicorn list, with many more projected to join the list shortly 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 new-age enterprises on the lookout for talent.
PrepLadder, Trell, OK Credit, and Lido are among the organisations that have cut their workforce in recent months to either transition to new lines of business or tide over slower economic cycles. In the recent year, Bounce and Pagar Book have made employment cuts. 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.
Unicorns and soonicorns in India employ more than 365,000 people at the moment. This cohort had a 40% increase in headcount during the last two years.
Hiring Plans Of Startups In India
Meesho
Meesho, an ecommerce startup, plans to hire 1,500 new employees this year. "Our business has grown more than 10 times in the last year alone," said Ashish Kumar Singh, chief HR officer. "This has resulted in the expansion of teams across the board, especially technology and product."
Spinny
Spinny, a used-car retailing platform, expects to add more than 2,000 people by the end of the year, bringing the total number of employees to over 6,000, according to founder Niraj Singh.
Mamaearth
Mamaearth, which was named a unicorn in January, is looking to hire over 300 individuals across technology, data, growth marketing, and offline sales to support its expansion objectives, according to Varun Alagh, cofounder of the personal care company.
Apna.co
Apna.co, a recruitment firm that became a unicorn in September, plans to hire 400 people, according to Karna Chokshi, the company's chief operating officer. Meanwhile, Whatfix, a digital adoption platform, wants to hire roughly 350 employees, according to Romita Mukherjee, global senior director of HR.
PhonePe
Manmeet Sandhu, head of HR at digital payments provider PhonePe, said the business is aiming to employ "at scale across multiple levels, functions, and locations."
The year 2022 has started off well for Indian entrepreneurs, with more than $12 billion raised since January, accounting for one-third of the total capital obtained last year. Startups raised $36 billion in calendar year 2021, up nearly threefold from $11.4 billion the previous year.