Ashneer Grover: 'Smart founders and employers hire for competence, not degree'

Ashneer Grover had earlier said that founders should not fire people because of bad markets.

Ashneer Grover on Wednesday emphasised that employers should focus on hiring staff with competence, and not educational degrees. The former co-founder of Bharatpe, who founded a new startup Third Unicorn last year, said that entrepreneurs should look beyond degrees.

"You need competence in life; any smart founder/employer always hires for competence, not degree," Grover wrote on LinkedIn. "Baaki kaam to insaan kar ke hi seekhta hai (people learn work from experience), become competent to land great opportunities."

In another message to founders and commenting on the mass layoffs happening in some of the major international and domestic companies, Ashneer Grover had said earlier in the week that founders should not fire people because of bad markets.

"It’s sad to hear about firings every day. I am thankful that I’ve never had to fire people because of bad markets - because I’ve always hired considerately. As a founder, you’ve to think about the long game," the former Shark Tank India judge wrote.

"I had posted about 25 percent to 40 percent salary reduction a while back as an alternative to mass firings. I just don’t get why founders won’t go down that path. Everything gets repriced -- energy, capital, technology. Why not people?"

Then, commenting on how he is running his new startup, Grover said, "Glad I’ve put on myself a max cap of 50 people in The Third Unicorn. People joining me will have to worry only about building and growth. I’ve got my team’s back."

Read more: Ashneer Grover’s suggestion to avoid layoffs: Band-aid or long-term solution?