How Naukri.com Became India’s Startup King

In 1989, Sanjeev Bikhchandani walked out of a comfortable corporate job.
He wasn’t reckless; he was restless.

Like many middle-class Indians of the time, he wanted stability. But unlike most, he also wanted independence.

For seven years, he survived on training gigs, writing, and small ventures—earning just enough to cover expenses. Friends saw him as “jobless.” But in truth, he was hunting for the right problem to solve.

And then, a small observation struck gold.

He noticed colleagues flipping Business India magazine from the back pages first—to look at job classifieds before the cover stories.

That was the spark:
Jobs weren’t just ads. They were information people craved.

🌐The Birth of Naukri.com

In 1997, armed with ₹2,000 and server space his brother arranged from the U.S., Sanjeev launched Naukri.com.

What was Naukri at the start?

• A database of jobs scraped from newspapers

• A searchable list for professionals

• A way for companies to post vacancies directly

Revenue in the first year? ₹2.35 lakh.
The dream? Not to be a unicorn, but simply to “earn a middle-class salary.”

The Genius Sales Hack

Newspapers charged per ad. Naukri flipped the model:

• ₹350 for a single listing

• ₹6,000 annual unlimited subscription

This subscription hack worked like magic. HR managers saw massive value.

Sanjeev also did something bold: wrote direct letters to companies explaining why posting on Naukri was smarter than wasting money on print ads.

The phone started ringing.

The Dot-Com Crash & Survival

By 2000, dozens of job portals had mushroomed. Naukri raised ₹7.3 crore from ICICI Ventures.

Competitors splurged on marketing. Naukri? They invested in salespeople and offices.

When the dot-com bubble burst in 2000–01, rivals vanished. Naukri survived because:

• It was profitable at unit level

• It ran a tight cost structure

• It grew only where break-even was possible

That discipline became its moat.

Sales = Rocket Fuel

Naukri discovered a secret formula: Every new salesperson brought in ₹28,000 extra surplus revenue/month.

So the growth strategy became simple: hire more salespeople, scale offices. By 2003, Naukri had 241 sales staff across 11 cities.

Revenues jumped 35x in 3 years.

India’s First Internet IPO (2006)

In 2006, Naukri (under parent company Info Edge) went public.

• IPO oversubscribed 55x

• Stock doubled on listing day

• Employees became wealthy through ESOPs

This IPO was more than fundraising—it was validation.

It showed the world that an Indian internet company could not just survive, but thrive.

The Startup King Emerges

Flush with IPO funds, Info Edge (Naukri’s parent) had three choices:

1. Sit on cash

2. Expand Naukri only

3. Invest in the next generation of startups

They chose (2) & (3).

With expansion, now they own:

Here’s what journey it followed:

From a job portal, Naukri had morphed into India’s first true startup incubator.

It wasn’t just a platform anymore—it was a kingmaker.

The Flywheel of Trust

Why did startups love Info Edge’s money?

• Because it came with no interference.

• Sanjeev wasn’t chasing valuation; he backed founders early and stayed patient.

• His philosophy: “Spot great founders early, and give them time.”

This is why startups like Zomato and Policybazaar still see him as a mentor, not just an investor.

Visual Timeline

Lessons from Naukri’s Journey

1. Small insights create big industries. (Back pages of a magazine → India’s #1 job portal)

2. Sales discipline > flashy ads. (Outlasted dot-com rivals)

3. Profit-first thinking = longevity.

4. IPO as a launchpad. (Turned Naukri into an investor powerhouse)

5. Trust-driven investing works. (Backing founders, not just numbers)

At the end of the day, the journey of Naukri.com is a reminder of why equity investing makes sense. Every great business looks messy in the middle—profits wobble, costs shoot up, markets question their survival—and yet, those who stay invested often see fortunes built over time.

That’s exactly the flavour mutual funds give you: when you put ₹1 crore into a scheme, you’re not betting on a single company; you’re spreading that risk across 40–50 businesses. Some may stumble, some may stagnate, but a handful could become the next Naukri, Infosys, or HDFC Bank. 

Volatility is not a bug, it’s the price of admission. And if you can stay the course, the rewards—like the story of Naukri itself—can be far bigger than what you imagined at the start.