Sanjeev Bikhchandani: The Founder of India's Largest Online Job Portal, Naukri.com
Sanjeev Bikhchandani is an Indian businessman and founder of Info Edge, a company that owns Naukri.com and many other portals. He is also the co-founder of Ashoka University and a Padma Shri awardee. He is among the top 100 richest Indians, according to Forbes.
When it comes to Indian entrepreneurship, there are a plethora of companies today as the startup culture in India is taking shape and creating millions of jobs in the country. But where does one go to find these jobs?
Naukri.com is one of the online job portals where a candidate can search for jobs, and Sanjeev Bhikchandani started the portal in the mid 90’s.
Let’s take a look at the self-made millionaire and his early life, education and career trajectory.
Born into a regular middle-class family, Sanjeev’s father was a doctor at a government hospital, and his mother was a housewife.
He attended St. Columba’s school in New Delhi and finished his schooling in 1981. After schooling, he completed his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, in 1984 and worked for three years before joining IIM Ahmedabad, completing his MBA in 1989.
Before leaving his job at Hindustan MilkFood Manufacturers, he discussed with his wife Surabhi that her salary would now cover the household expenses as he was going to start his own business. Initially, the household expenses were managed from Surabhi’s salary, and later, Sanjeev started his business from a small room.
In 1990, Sanjeev Bikhchandani founded Info Edge (India) and Indmark with a friend. Info Edge conducted salary surveys, selling detailed reports to companies. After three years, they separated. To make ends meet, Sanjeev gave coaching classes, earning about Rs. 2000 per month. Sanjeev Bikchandani returned to his original workspace after his partners separated. He reduced expenses and worked as a consulting editor for four years to cover them.
In October 1996, Sanjeev visited the IT Asia exhibition in Delhi. At a booth with “WWW” written on it, he asked about www and purchasing an e-mail account. The seller explained e-mail and browsing the internet. Sanjeev asked the seller to create a website, but the seller needed help since the servers were in the US. Fortunately, Sanjeev’s older brother, a professor in the US, helped him start a website for $25 per month server rent. It’s said that when you deeply desire something, the universe conspires to make it happen – and that’s what happened for Sanjeev Bikhchandani.
In the mid-90s, when the recession hit the world, Sanjeev Bikhchandani compiled databases from magazines and newspapers. In 1997, he launched Naukri.com with 1,000 ads from classifieds and magazines. Naukri.com was a database of recruitment consultants, resumes, and jobs. It was the first portal to target only Indians in India.
Upon the success of Naukri.com, people started reaching out to him for funding; however, he declined them. When he realised that funding was necessary to scale his company, Sanjeev borrowed 7.3 crores from ICICI ventures for a 15% stake.
The company registered a profit of 8.4 crores in 2004 and earned 45 crores from fresh ads, which led to Sanjeev Bhikchandani being nominated for the “Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2005.
In 2006, Naukri.com became India’s first Dotcom Company to be listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Presently, Info Edge, the parent company of Naukri.com, is valued at over Rs 85,760 crore. Info Edge also owns various other popular websites like jeevansathi.com, 99acres.com, and shiksha.com and has invested in other notable companies like Vacation Labs, Zomato, Upliftment, and PolicyBazaar.
Naukri.com launched its smartphone app in 2012, leading to over 50% of visitors using the app and mobile Website. Today, Naukri.com controls nearly 70% of the online job market, with over 37 million registered job seekers. The founder, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, is now one of India’s richest 100 people, with a net worth of Rs 10,700 crore.
When asked about his beliefs and the philosophy he believes in, he said, “I follow no particular philosophy. I believe that one should keep improving on the past. You should be happy with what you do. What motivates me, in particular, is serving our customers and helping people find jobs.”
Working with the right people is important. I also believe in the whole virtuous circle of action, achievement and self-esteem. If you take action, you will achieve something. Once you achieve a goal, it will reinforce your self-esteem and vice versa. But I learned this philosophy only in hindsight.”
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