LinkedIn recently released its 3rd annual list of top startups. The list recognizes 10 Indian startups as emerging and resilient companies. Finally some good news for 2020! The list is aimed at reflecting companies that remained operationally strong in these unprecedented times. Additionally the list also serves as a resource and an opportunity to understand more about startup growth in India. Check out the original post here.
Today, we’ll take a deeper look at these stellar startups that are making their way up incredibly fast.
LinkedIn Top Startups List: An overview
LinkedIn has been rolling out a top startup list for the past 3 years. This year its list included 10 Indian companies that are on the rise. These startups have also kept a brave face in the tumultuous times of COVID-19.
Why is the LinkedIn Top Startups list important?
LinkedIn is the most sought after professional networking site. With about 675 million users, it allows for networking, recruitment as well as building a personal brand. LinkedIn has a user base of 46 million students which proves that it is used by a wide range of audiences. The LinkedIn Top Startups list is important because of the significance it plays in brand awareness. It also helps in creating engagement and discussion on the Indian startup culture and small business growth opportunities.
What are the eligibility criteria for the Top Startups list?
According to LinkedIn news, companies must be at least 7 years old or younger. The startup must also have at least 50 working employees. Along with that, the company must be privately held and headquartered in India.
What is the methodology used by LinkedIn?
The list measures startups based on four key areas:
- Employment Growth
- Engagement
- Job Interest
- Finally, attraction of talent
The methodology time frame for this year’s list was January 2020 to July 2020 and the data is standardized across startups that tick the eligibility criteria. In summary, the criteria included the critical people KPIs.
Key Insights
I’ve made some infographics to highlight the key insights from the LinkedIn Top Startups India 2020 list, enjoy:
Detailed outline of the LinkedIn Top Startups-India
- The infographic highlights major aspects of the ranking startups. These include founding years, startup industry/sector, and the number of working employees.
- As is evident, all startups are 7 years or younger with Razorpay (2013) being the oldest and Unschool (2019), the youngest.
- The 10 Startups fall into 4 industries: IT & Services, Computer Software, E-learning, and Health & Wellness.
- Zigram has the lowest headcount while Unacademy has the highest number of employees amongst the top Indian startups.
- It is interesting to note that there are startups in the list which are as young as 1-2 years old. Just goes to show that business age may not be as strong of a factor as is considered.
Linkedin 2020 Top Startups India: People X Funding
- The size of the bubble indicates the number of employees per startup
- The following infographic is an overview of the employee base of the ranking LinkedIn Top Startups India.
- Unacademy has the highest number of working employees (1,500) while both Urban Company and upGrad have more than a thousand workers.
- Razorpay has a relatively larger employee base (796) while most startups have a headcount of 100-300 employees.
- Zigram has the smallest employee base with 86 employees.
- One of the major success criteria for startup growth is attracting and retaining top people.
Location-Wise distribution of Startups
- This infographic sheds light on the distribution of the LinkedIn Top Startups India with respect to headquarter locations.
- Bengaluru takes the prize for being the headquarter of 50% (5) of the startups.
- Clearly Bengaluru – the Silicon Valley of India still holds the top spot for aspirational startups.
- Gurugram is the headquarter location for 3 startups while both Mumbai and Hyderabad have 1 startup headquarter each.
- According to the National Report on Startup Rankings, all 4 states shown on the map (Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Telangana) have been recognised leaders in encouraging startup participation.
Top Startups India : Everything you should know
Disclaimer: All funding amount figures are as of 30 Sep 2020 and have been taken from Techcrunch.
1. upGrad
What is upGrad?
upGrad is an online education platform. It offers online courses on Data Science, Marketing, MBA, to name a few. Some of their university partners include IIT Madras, Duke University, MICA, NMIMS, etc.
When was upGrad founded?
upGrad was founded in 2015.
Who are the founders of upGrad?
Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli and Ravijot Chugh.
Which industry does upGrad fall into?
upGrad is part of the E-learning industry.
Where are the headquarters of upGrad?
upGrad is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
How many employees work at upGrad?
upGrad currently has a headcount of 1,233 employees.
How much funding has upGrad raised?
upGrad has raised $500M.
2. Cred
What is Cred?
Cred is an application that simplifies credit card bill payments. Its features also include rewarding users for paying bills on time. It currently has 5 million members. Cred also checks the user’s credit score with Cibil, CRIF, and Experian.
When was Cred founded?
Cred was founded in 2018.
Who is the founder of Cred?
Kunal Shah is the founder of Cred.
Which industry does Cred fall into?
Cred is part of the IT & Services industry.
Where are the headquarters of Cred?
Cred is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
How many employees work at Cred?
Cred currently has a headcount of 288 employees.
How much funding has upGrad raised?
Cred has raised $175.5M.
3. Unschool
What is Unschool?
Unschool is an E-learning startup. It provides online courses, recognized certificates, mentorship and coaching, and internship opportunities. Moreover, Unschool users have found job placements at firms such as Socio Labs, Gordian, Foresiet, etc.
When was Unschool founded?
Unschool was founded in 2019.
Who is the founder of Unschool?
Rahul Varma is the founder of Unschool.
Which industry does Unschool fall into?
Unschool is part of the E-learning industry.
Where are the headquarters of Unschool?
Unschool is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.
How many employees work at Unschool?
Unschool currently has a headcount of 125 employees.
How much funding has Unschool raised?
Funding NA
4. Unacademy
What is Unacademy?
Unacademy is also a digital learning company. It started out as a YouTube channel. It has about 18,000 instructors and provides preparatory material for academic courses as well as entrance exams. Additionally, lessons are available as Live classes for various pricing plans.
When was Unacademy founded?
Unacademy was founded in 2015.
Who are the founders of Unacademy?
Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini and Hemesh Singh are the co-founders Unacademy.
Which industry does Unacademy fall into?
Unacademy is part of the E-learning industry.
Where are the headquarters of Unacademy?
Unacademy is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
How many employees work at Unacademy?
Unacademy currently has a headcount of 1,500 employees.
How much funding has Unacademy raised?
Unacademy has raised $348.5M.
5. Whatfix
What is Whatfix?
Whatfix is a SaaS-based platform that aims to maximize business by eliminating technology complexities faced by users. Some of its features include employee onboarding, analytics, and feedback, as well as management and customization.
When was Whatfix founded?
Whatfix was founded in 2014.
Who is the founder of Whatfix?
Khadim Bhatti is the founder of Whatfix.
Which industry does Whatfix fall into?
Whatfix is part of the Internet industry.
Where are the headquarters of Whatfix?
Whatfix is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
How many employees work at Whatfix?
Whatfix currently has a headcount of 350 employees.
How much funding has Whatfix raised?
Whatfix has raised $32M.
6. Razorpay
What is Razorpay?
Razorpay is a payment gateway. It provides APIs for businesses to accept, process, and distribute payments via their websites. It also gives access to all kinds of payment modes including credit/debit cards, UPI, and mobile wallets.
When was Razorpay founded?
Razorpay was founded in 2013.
Who are the founders of Razorpay?
Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar are the co-founders of Razorpay.
Which industry does Razorpay fall into?
Razorpay is part of the Computer Software industry.
Where are the headquarters of Razorpay?
Razorpay is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
How many employees work at Razorpay?
Razorpay currently has a headcount of 796 employees.
How much funding has Razorpay raised?
Razorpay has raised $124.7M.
7. Zigram
What is Zigram?
Zigram operates in the Data Asset space. It has a professional network of data scientists, technologists, consultants, etc. Its aim is to build and manage data assets to boost business revenue.
When was Zigram founded?
Zigram was founded in 2018.
Who is the founder of Zigram?
Abhishek Bali is the founder of Zigram.
Which industry does Zigram fall into?
Zigram is part of the IT & Services industry.
Where are the headquarters of Zigram?
Zigram is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana.
How many employees work at Zigram?
Zigram currently has a headcount of 86 employees.
How much funding has Zigram raised?
Funding NA
8. Yellow Messenger
What is Yellow Messenger?
Yellow Messenger is a cloud-based cognitive engagement platform. It provides marketing, customer support, and sales solutions for enterprises.
When was Yellow Messenger founded?
Yellow Messenger was founded in 2016.
Who are the founders of Yellow Messenger?
Jaya Kishore Reddy (CTO), Rashid Khan (Chief Hacker), Anik Das (Tech Lead), and Raghu Ravinutala (CEO) constitute the founding team of Yellow Messenger.
Which industry does Yellow Messenger fall into?
Yellow Messenger is part of the Computer Software industry.
Where are the headquarters of Yellow Messenger?
Yellow Messenger is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
How many employees work at Yellow Messenger?
Yellow Messenger currently has a headcount of 310 employees.
How much funding has Yellow Messenger raised?
Yellow Messenger has raised $24M.
9. Pee Safe
What is Pee Safe?
Pee Safe sells wellness products. These include toilet seat sanitizer sprays, panty liners, Intimate Washes, and Intimate Wipes. Their products are biodegradable and are made to improve personal hygiene.
When was Pee Safe founded?
Pee Safe was founded in 2017.
Who are the founders of Pee Safe?
Vikas Bagaria and Srijana Bagaria are the co-founders of Pee Safe.
Which industry does Pee Safe fall into?
Pee Safe is part of the Health & Wellness industry.
Where are the headquarters of Pee Safe?
Pee Safe is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana.
How many employees work at Pee Safe?
Pee Safe currently has a headcount of 150 employees.
How much funding has Pee Safe raised?
Pee Safe has raised $6.2M.
10. Urban Company
What is Urban Company?
Urban Company (formerly Urban Clap), delivers at-home services. Some of these include personal grooming, plumbing, house cleaning, etc. It has about 25,000 trained professionals who work with diverse service partners.
When was Urban Company founded?
Urban Company was founded in 2014.
Who are the founders of Urban Company?
Abhiraj Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra are the co-founders of Urban Company.
Which industry does Urban Company fall into?
Urban Company is part of the IT & Services industry.
Where are the headquarters of Urban Company?
Urban Company is headquartered in Gurugram.
How many employees work at Urban Company?
Urban Company currently has a headcount of 1,300 employees.
How much funding has Urban Company raised?
Urban Company has raised $190.9M.
Wrap Up
In this post, we went through the ins and outs of this year’s LinkedIn Top Startups in India. Thus this is certainly a big moment for the ranking companies, the nation, and budding startups.
Additionally, the key insights from the list shed light on how these startups are distributed across sectors, people, and locations. Any CEO will tell you people make a company – so a key thing to learn is that these startups have scaled incredibly fast in order to achieve incredible growth. These are the ultimate trailblazers.
The future of startup culture and growth in India is clearly bright. Finally, here’s hoping that the number of Indian startups taking on the world only increases from here on out.
Not to be considered as tax, legal, financial or HR advice. Regulations change over time so please consult a lawyer, accountant or Labour Law expert for specific guidance.
