At a time when some top league IT firms are losing talent in hordes and with funding winter hitting the start-ups like never before, what should start-ups do to survive and thrive?
B V R Mohan Reddy, Executive Chairman of Cyient group and former Chairman of Nasscom, has got a few tips for start-ups to do well. Addressing the Foundation Day of T-Hub, a start-up ecosystem enabler here on Thursday evening, he wanted the start-ups to inculcate discipline in terms of financial reporting.
“You should be ready with your financial numbers as soon as the month, quarter and financial year is over. By tenth of every month, we are ready with the numbers of the previous month. You should have a clear picture of your balance sheet,” he said.
Employee churn
He also wanted the start-ups to groom talent and encourage them in every way in order to retain them.
“The largest IT services company in this country, which is 5,00,000 people strong, is losing 26 per cent of the talent every year. This is roughly to give you a flavour of the situation with regard to the employee churn. They lose about 1,25,000 people a year, or 10,000 people a month,” he said.
“Obviously, the start-ups are also under enormous amount of pressure. You may not reveal it to me, but I know how much pressure you have with the talent. I think start-ups have to pay a lot of attention to your talent,” he said.
“Your ability to recruit them, reward them and retrain them holds the key for your success. Please do not ignore the talent part. Please be liberal in terms of trying to share wealth with the wealth creators,” he said.
He said his group, which has two listed entities, has so far shared ₹1,000 crore with its employees. “Sharing your wealth is very important for the growth of your firm,” he said.
He also wanted the start-ups to tap generative AI, which is disrupting every sector.
Not satisfied with poor response for his query on how many of the start-ups present at the function used generative AI, he said generative AI was the way forward and they must begin deploying it to enhance products and services.
SHARE
Published on November 17, 2023
