They are young, suave and dynamic and out to prove their entrepreneurial skills but slowing their ambitious journey are the brethren from their own sector. For scores of start-ups that are springing across the city based on innovative ideas, convincing IT workforce to work for them has become one of the biggest challenges.
Forget experienced professionals, even fresh graduates from the city aim to work for Multi National Companies (MNC’s) or Fortune 500 companies.
“We had offered an Android developer more salary than he was drawing at his present job. He still chose to stick to his old job which was with a big company,” said G. Dhruva Teja Reddy, co-founder of ‘Svaadh’, a six- month-old mobile app startup.
Their Android app helps users find food joints depending on their choice of dish. “We got many interns who enjoyed working. But, when it comes to a job, most of them do not want to take a risk and the family’s decision too counts. This mindset has to change.”
The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the words of this start-up founder. “I needed 15 employees and I could manage to get just three in the last six months,” said the brain behind a job portal startup, who did not wish to be named.
“A good chunk of my investment is just going towards paying recruiting companies to find people. If we make calls to 40 people, only four will turn up whereas the rest decide against it after knowing that ours is not a big company.” This is also precisely why some are choosing Bengaluru because of its ecosystem.
Hasa Samudrala, an MBA graduate from Hyderabad is the co-founder of Zupit and is based out of Bengaluru. According to him, apprehensions over getting good workforce were one of the factors that led him to another city. “I had multiple tech professionals working part-time for me. This would have been nearly impossible in Hyderabad. Also, I could rope in a full-time tech lead within no time. The acceptance towards start-ups is still not there in Hyderabad.”
Meanwhile, the IT industry representatives say they are trying to change the situation. “Getting people to work for a start-up is one of the big problems. However this is slowly changing in the city,” said Ramesh Loganathan, President, HYSEA (Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association).
“We are organising a series of events under Hyderabad Hackers. This is mostly aimed at second rung colleges across the State and there are hidden gems in these institutes. We are hoping to find at least 200 to 300 talented graduates from these events who are willing to work for around Rs. 4 lakh per annum offered by the start-ups.”
