Thing Of The Past

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IKYA

Start-up on Steroids ● YEAR OF FOUNDING: October 2007 ● FOUNDERS: Krishnan N., 45; Romesh

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Advani, 37; Aruna Sharma, 43; Srinivas T., 37; Muralimohan Bachina, 41; Nilakshi Bhattacharya, 37; Amrita Nathani, 31; Hithendra K.R.,31; Sayan Jyoti Gupta, 37; S. Guru Prasad, 32; Richa Rudra, 36; Vijay Sivaram, 28; Jaison Jose, 28; Pratibha J.R., 35 AREA OF OPERATION: HR Solutions FUNDING: $8 million by India Equity Partners REVENUE: Rs 110 crore projected for calendar 2008 SIZE OF TARGET MARKET: $1.5-2 billion KEY COMPETITORS: Ma Foi, Ranstad, Manpower Consultants

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T WAS AT ONE OF THEIR REGULAR

evenings-out in Bangalore that Krishnan N. unveiled his startup plans to his six friends. It was July 2007 and Krishnan was still Director (Finance & Operations) at Open Clovis, a US-based IT company, but he had been thinking of striking out on his own and wanted to put together a good team. His friends, who worked in different companies, liked the idea and Ikya Human Capital Solutions was formally incorporated in October, 2007. And what a fairy tale Ikya is proving to be. In the first three months of its operations, Ikya, which provides staffing, recruiting, search and learning solutions, reported Rs 35 crore in revenues and broke even. It has 11 offices in eight cities and another 12 cities on its radar. It started with 175 full-time employees but intends to add another 350. It’s also eyeing a Bangalore-based facility management firm for a possible acquisition. What drives Ikya’s blistering growth? The fact that its 14

founders came with a set of client relationships that the start-up could tap to get off the ground quickly. “In my 20 years of career in different companies, I always headed HR and worked with all of them (the founders),” says Krishnan. Adds Gaurav Mathur, MD, India Equity Partners, which has invested $8 million in Ikya: “The team at Ikya has a proven track record, and in a short period, it has proven that it is not only a competent player but a strong organisation to reckon with.’’ Buoyed by its success, Ikya, which counts L&T, Toyota, Vodafone and Future Group among its clients, is aiming big—perhaps, too big—when it says it is targeting Rs 1,000 crore in revenues by March 2012. “Our core strength is our flexibility in offering clientspecific solutions and use of technology in devising that,” says Romesh Advani, Chief Operating Officer. Look at it another way: What’s the point if you are a startup and can’t dream big? K . R . BALASUBRAMANYAM

DEEPAK G. PAWAR

The bigger the better: Advani (second from right) and Krishnan (third from right) with their team 000

BUSINESS TODAY

MAY 18 2008