LinkedIn Reveals India’s Top 20 Startups Of 2023; Zepto, BluSmart And Ditto Insurance Take Top 3 Spots

* Fintech innovators thrive as funding recovers, while Edtech players benefit from India’s learning wave

* With 10 out of 20 headquartered in Bengaluru, it maintains its reputation as the ‘city of Startups’ in India

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, today released the 2023 LinkedIn Top 20 Indian Startups List - an annual ranking of the emerging companies where professionals want to work, globally, based on unique LinkedIn data. The Top Startups list helps professionals discover emerging companies across a wide range of industries, and arms them with the information they need to know before applying for their next job.

This Top Startups list is fuelled by unique LinkedIn data based on billions of actions taken by the 950+ million members on LinkedIn across four core areas: employee growth, jobseeker interest, member engagement within the company and its employees, and how well these startups have pulled talent from the flagship LinkedIn Top Companies list.

Leading the pack in this year’s Top Startups list is Zepto (#1), a next-door e-commerce grocery app, which was placed 4th in 2022. Founded in 2021, Zepto’s meritocratic growth trajectory has been nothing short of phenomenal. In August, the company achieved unicorn status – India’s first of 2023 – with $200 million in fresh funding, symbolising the extraordinary potential and innovation in the country’s startup ecosystem. Zepto was also featured as a LinkedIn Top Company in 2023.

BluSmart (#2), India’s first electric ride-sharing company, which has made it in the list for three years in a row, emerged second on the list this year. Another EV startup Exponent Energy (#15) was a new entrant on the list. We have seen robust growth in the EV sector in India supported by the Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative which many of the startups want to take advantage of. 

Fintech continues to dominate India’s Top Startups list in 2023, with four startups making it to this year’s list - Ditto Insurance (#3), Fi (#7), Jar (#11), and StockGro (#14). This reflects the resilience of the sector and how it remains a bright spot for investors despite challenging market conditions.

Edtech is another a prominent industry in this year’s list with companies like GrowthSchool (#10), Teachnook (#13), and AccioJob (#17). Their presence underscores the continued demand for upskilling among professionals and students with rapid changes due to technologies such as AI.

Speaking about the list, Nirajita Banerjee, Head of Editorial, LinkedIn India, said "It's truly remarkable that 14 of the 20 startups featured on this year's list are new entrants, underscoring the immense potential and astonishing pace of innovation in India’s startup space. This list serves as a unique and actionable resource for professionals who are eager to work in new companies that are revolutionising the industry and where one can acquire new skills. These startups are looking to hire talent right now so it’s a great opportunity to be part of the growth story of India’s vibrant startup ecosystem.” 

The Top Startups provide a great career growth opportunity for professionals. Here are some tips from Nirajita Banerjee on how to land a job at a LinkedIn Top Startup:

Think like a founder: Many of this year’s Top Startups are looking for candidates with an entrepreneurial spirit who have the grit and determination to spot and seize opportunities to make an impact on the business. They are keen to hear from candidates about what they could be doing better. In an interview, candidates need to demonstrate how they think strategically, make decisions and come up with innovative ideas.

Be a diverse team player: The majority of Top Startups mentioned teamwork and collaboration as top priority soft skills that they’re currently hiring for, in addition to the specific hard skills required for that particular work. They are looking for candidates who can share ideas, support their colleagues, listen actively, and contribute to group projects. They want people who demonstrate enthusiasm to collaborate cross-functionally and among diverse teams.

Demonstrate a growth mindset: Startups want people who demonstrate intellectual curiosity and are eager to learn so they can grow with the organisation. They want to know how candidates approach challenges, bounce back from setbacks, and learn from their mistakes. They are keen to hear from candidates when they tried something that maybe didn’t work out, and the collaboration and teamwork skills they used to fix when something has gone wrong, and the discipline and courage to own a mistake and apologise.

LinkedIn Top Startups List Methodology

LinkedIn measures startups based on four pillars: employment growth, engagement, job interest and attraction of top talent. Employment growth is measured as percentage headcount increase over the methodology time frame, which must be a minimum of 10%. Engagement looks at non-employee views and follows of the company’s LinkedIn page, as well as how many non-employees are viewing employees at that startup. Job interest counts rate at which people are viewing and applying to jobs at the company, including both paid and unpaid postings. Attraction of top talent measures how many employees the startup has recruited away from any global LinkedIn Top Company, as a percentage of the startup’s total workforce.

Data is normalized across all eligible startups. The methodology time frame is July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. To be eligible, companies must be independent and privately held, have 50 or more country-based employees, be 5 years old or younger and be headquartered in the country on whose list they appear. We exclude all staffing firms, think tanks, venture capital firms, management and IT consulting firms, nonprofits and philanthropy, accelerators, and government-owned entities. Startups who have laid off 20% or more of their workforce within the methodology time frame are also ineligible. Minority venture investments that LinkedIn or Microsoft, LinkedIn’s parent company, make in other companies have no impact on a company’s eligibility.

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful, and transforms the way companies hire, market, sell, and learn. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. LinkedIn has 950+ million members and has offices around the globe.