B-school placements: start-ups may not make a splash this year

Struggling with high cash-burn and fewer fund-raising avenues, start-ups and e-commerce firms are likely to limit hiring at premier business schools this year. These emerging businesses had over-hired last year and are now focusing on operations and profitability.

“The interest from ecommerce firms is limited for this season with major Indian firms going for no or limited hiring,” confirmed AF Mathew, Chairperson-Placements, IIM-Kozhikode. Final placements at most IIMs will kick-start in mid-January.

Rajiv Mishra, Chairperson-Placements at XLRI Jamshedpur, said that apart from well-established e-commerce firms such as Flipkart and Snapdeal, the institute is not expecting start-ups to visit its campus for placements this year. IIM-Bangalore, too, has seen participation drop. “E-commerce firms have been a significant recruiter in the past two-three years. We have, however, seen a decrease in the number of offers some of them are making this year,” said Sapna Agarwal, Head of Career Development Services at the institute.

The founder of a hyper-local firm said that most start-ups have over-hired and are looking at consolidation to focus on profitability. Venture capital funds and investors want start-ups and e-commerce firms to now focus on getting into the black.

This decline in placement offers comes in the backdrop of many start-ups resorting to mass lay-offs, which have also made institutes and students from B-schools cautious.

“We have increased the due diligence we undertake through various industry contacts, including alumni network, in addition to checking on start-ups’ funding and growth before confirming and allotting a slot,” said IIM Kozhikode’s Mathew.

An official from the placement team at IIM-Calcutta, too, said that the institute conducts due diligence on every firm participating in the recruitment process.

However, well-funded and established start-ups such as Paytm are bucking the trend. The company is looking to more than double its hires this year on the back of a growth in business.

Having hired about 75 from tier-I colleges last year, it intends to recruit 150-200 this year.

“We are launching our payments bank business some time early next financial year, even as we continue to invest in our existing business,” said Amit Sinha, Vice-President, People and Business, at the e-commerce firm.