Social commerce platform DealShare plans to hire 500 employees and up to 1,000 contractual workers in the next six months as it expands t new locations.
“We have 2,100 people on the rolls and 3,500-4,000 people off the rolls working for us in warehouses and delivery fleets. So, on the rolls we will hire another 500 people in the next six months and off the rolls another 800-1,000,” said Sourjyendu Medda, cofounder of DealShare.
ALSO READ: DealShare raises $45 million in series E funding at $1.7 billion valuation
DealShare, which operates a group buying model, will expand operations to 50 more cities in five states. The company is currently present in 150 cities in 10 states. It’s looking to hire across functions as it starts in the new locations.
“Technology is a big differentiator for our business when compared to a regular retail model, so it will be a big focus area for hiring,” said Medda.
“The company is also working on building a differentiated supply chain, which will help it source products from SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in the grocery and essential products segments. Hence, we will build a team for this area too.”
The company will also hire more people for delivery and logistics operations, said the cofounder.
DealShare’s hiring comes as several startups announced layoffs. Last week, edtech startup Vendantu laid off 424 fulltime and contractual employees after letting go 200 employees earlier in May. Used cars marketplace Cars24 laid off 600 employees earlier this month. Social commerce startups including Meesho and Trell, too, laid off staff recently.
No funding worry
Apart from layoffs, funds for startups may be drying up as investors allocate money to bonds amid accelerating inflation and a hike in interest rates.
The DealShare cofounder, however, said the company has built a highly capital-efficient model and does not need to worry about the next round of funding given the turbulent capital markets.
We have already hit a billion-dollar gross revenue run rate. Till now, we have deployed only $100 million of capital while we have raised about $400 million,” said Medda. “We will continue to grow the business like we have been doing in the past and as a result of that, we will need better talent.”
The company said it plans to grow by two-three times in FY23.
DealShare consumers transact on the platform in groups or in bulk and avail discounts, a model similar to China’s social commerce major Pinduoduo.
The company targets two sets of consumer groups – middle-income households with an income of Rs 25,000-70,000 per month and mid-sized kiranas with a monthly turnover of Rs 3-6 lakh. It sources products directly from manufacturers and can offer affordable products by reducing intermediary costs.
According to Medda, food and staples are the largest-selling category on DealShare, followed by homecare and personal care products. The platform has more than 6 million monthly active users currently, claimed Medda.
The company became a unicorn – a startup valued at over $1 billion – in January after raising $165 million from investors led by Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global.
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