Naukri's Hitesh Oberoi to new-age entrepreneurs: Generate revenue from customers than relying on investors
At the India Digital Summit 2024, Hitesh Oberoi, co-promoter, managing director & chief executive officer of Naukri, spoke on the potential of tech companies, and the journey of Info Edge in a conversation with Neeraj Roy, founder & chief executive officer, Hungama Digital Media.
“The start-up landscape in India is now on a par with global standards, witnessing a shift where start-ups have become more mainstream. There's a notable rise in the quality of start-ups and their founders, with a shift from skepticism to a widespread eagerness to collaborate with start-ups,” said Hitesh Oberoi, co-promoter, managing director & chief executive officer of Naukri, addressing a fireside chat at the India Digital Summit (IDS) 2024, in Mumbai today.
“Deep tech start-ups, particularly those leveraging fundamental technologies for innovation, show great promise for the future,” he added, suggesting that tech companies were poised for significant growth.
IDS 2024 is being organised by IAMAI in partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), the Union Ministry of Tourism, UIDAI, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), Government eMarketplace, In-Space and Skill India Digital. The Summit is Co-powered by Peak XV and WhistleFEED, and Brought to You by META.
In conversation with Neeraj Roy, founder & chief executive officer, Hungama Digital Media, Oberoi spoke about the early days of building Info Edge and thriving in the digital and internet economy before the smartphone era. He said, “In the 2010-2015 era, Info Edge underwent a transformative shift, anticipating the rise of mobile phones as a central platform. Recognizing the importance of adapting to this shift, we reimagined our user experience for mobile, facing challenges in hiring designers and Android developers trained in web development. Today, 70 to 90% of our business thrives on the mobile platform.”
Concluding his remarks Oberoi also advised newer start-ups and entrepreneurs that it was crucial to generate revenue from customers rather than relying solely on investors.
Other IDS 2024 partners include Aaj Tak, Affle, Agrahyah Technologies, Air India Express, AiSensy, Albatross Media, Asianet News, Atmegame, Australia Trade & Investment Commission, Bharat BillPay, BillDesk, Builder.ai, Careers360, Chalo, DigiBoxx, Ethinos, Fi Money, HERE India, indixital, Infinity Learn, Infobip, Interactive Avenues, ixigo, Jagran New Media, JOJO, Lionsgate, Liqvd Asia, MakeMyTrip, MapmyIndia, Markscan, Neokred, PhonePe, Physics Wallah, Pivotroots, Razorpay, Shiprocket, Sinch, Times Internet, Transport Corporation of India, True Balance, ValueFirst, and Zupee.
