Prittle Prattle News in conversation with Mr. Kunal Patil, Co-founder, and CEO at WorkIndia
Driven solely by technology, the platform has built a recruitment ecosystem that eliminates middlemen, fraudulent jobs, and vulgar jobs, providing job seekers with a platform they can trust when finding genuine job opportunities.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, WorkIndia is spread across 772 cities, 28 states & 8 union territories in India. Over 2.6Cr Indians trust the WorkIndia platform for finding meaningful employment opportunities. The platform caters to the critical hiring needs of over 15 lakh SMBs and multiple large corporates. With over 1.87 lakh job listings, WorkIndia empowers 1 lakh Indians monthly by helping them find meaningful jobs.
What does your company do? Your role in it?
WorkIndia is India’s largest blue and grey-collar platform, offering employment opportunities across 50 categories like tele-calling, field sales executives, delivery partners, etc. Our purpose of existence is to provide meaningful livelihoods to the 258Mn blue-collar workers of India. Driven solely by technology, the platform has built a recruitment ecosystem that eliminates middlemen, fraudulent jobs, and vulgar jobs, providing job seekers with a platform they can trust when finding genuine job opportunities. As the CEO, I lead WorkIndia towards our purpose of existence, i.e., providing meaningful livelihoods to the most underprivileged section of society.
Evolution in the past few years in the industry you work in. Your contribution to the betterment?
The blue-collar market has seen two phenomena, viz—one, Penetration, and two, the adoption of smartphones, which has changed the scenario overall. From 2018 to 2020, smartphones were rapidly penetrated due to Reliance Jio; from 2020 until today, smartphone usage in the blue-collar workers’ daily lives was driven predominantly by Covid-19.
The literacy level of blue-collar workers is usually low, making them highly prone to Fraudulent jobs – one of the biggest challenges faced by workers in the Indian blue-collar segment. Ours is the only platform in India that is technologically solving a massive pain point, i.e., Fraud jobs for the 258M segment. Driven solely by technology, the platform has built a recruitment ecosystem that eliminates middlemen, and fraudulent jobs, providing job seekers with a platform they can trust when finding genuine job opportunities.
Launched in 2015, WorkIndia has built a proprietary, AI-enabled technology platform that empowers blue and gray-collar job seekers to find jobs that match their skillset without human intervention. What makes the team proud is our impact – Over 2.6Cr Indians trust the WorkIndia platform for finding meaningful employment opportunities. Our platform caters to the critical hiring needs of over 15 lakh SMBs and multiple large corporates. With over 1.87 lakh job listings, WorkIndia empowers 1 lakh Indians monthly by helping them find meaningful jobs.
Any Success routine you would like to suggest
Success is simply accomplishing a long-term goal via small short-term disciplines repeated daily. To get started, Establish clear and specific goals with actionable steps. Secondly, create a daily routine that aligns with those goals, including exercise, meditation, healthy eating habits, and consistent sleep patterns. Thirdly, prioritize time management and focus on the most critical tasks moving you closer to your goals. Fourthly, surround yourself with positive and supportive people, and avoid toxic influences that can hold you back. Lastly, reflect on your progress and adjust your approach accordingly. Celebrate small successes along the way, and don’t let setbacks discourage you from pursuing your dreams.
How did the company raise funding, or are you looking forward to the same?
In Jan 2023, we raised $12 million in our Pre-Series B funding from SBI group (Tokyo), Persol, Yamauchi No.10 Family Office, the founding family of Nintendo, and Insitor Impact Fund. Today we are breakeven at our business unit level. Hence, any further funding will be used to grow revenue faster and expedite the capture of this massive market.
Explain Post Covid-19 Scenario by 2030 for the company and your career.
COVID initially was difficult for WorkIndia. Unbeknownst to us, the COVID pandemic led to the second significant phenomenon, viz. adoption of smartphones into their daily lives for our blue-collar worker segment.
Today, 1 million blue-collar workers open the WorkIndia app daily to find jobs they like. By 2030, we expect this number to be close to 5 million daily.
Why did you choose this industry over any other space?
Before becoming an entrepreneur, I was with Edelweiss Capital as Head of FIG Coverage, Investment Banking. With a clear purpose of positively impacting the lives of others, I set forth my foot in the entrepreneurial world. My first stint was E-SAVE, a technology platform to inculcate savings amongst the middle-income segment of the Indian population. After testing the waters there, I was inspired to dig deeper and realized the depth and size of this segment. Additionally, the impact that I could drive in this industry seemed relevantly high.
Do you like participating in CSR initiatives, and what motivates you?
Participating in CSR initiatives is essential for the betterment of the community but also for the growth and success of the organization. The primary motivation behind engaging in such initiatives is to contribute to the greater good and make a positive impact on society. CSR initiatives provide a platform for me to support causes that align with my values and beliefs, such as environmental sustainability, social justice, and community development.
Would you like to name a few people who helped you the most in your professional upliftment?
Robert McNamara, Head of Business Development at Merrill Lynch Ashish Karamchandani, Country Head, Monitor Group
Could you elaborate on the challenges you encountered while establishing and retaining?
Establishing and retaining a successful business comes with numerous challenges. To begin with, curating a market presence, attracting the right top talent, managing financial resources, navigating regulatory complexities, and building a platform for blue-collar workers that is easy for them to understand and use. Strategies such as robust marketing campaigns, competitive compensation packages, solid financial planning, embracing innovation, maintaining legal compliance, and prioritizing customer satisfaction are essential to address these challenges.
To tackle retention, we have implemented an effective recruitment and selection process to ensure that onboarded employees align with our vision and problem statement. We also offer competitive compensation packages, provide professional growth and development opportunities, and foster a positive and inclusive work culture.
