Gig economy comes to startup city as pros go freelancers
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Dec 04, 2017, 08.17 AM IST
BENGALURU: Interior designer Puneet Royan was always keen on creating homes that optimised on space. But his job at an interior design firm in Bengaluru gave him little scope to try out new things.
A year ago, Royan, 25, put in his papers and opted to go solo and do projects for clients on his creative terms. The young professional claims he is earning more now, moving from one project to another as a freelancer.
His case seems perfectly in sync with the trends revealed by a recent report put out by Indeed India, the Indian arm of the Texasbased job listings site. The number of temporary staffers, according to this study, peaks during the winter months.
“Of the leading metros, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru contribute 27.2%, 12.4% and 12.9% respectively to all flexible work opportunities available in India,” Indeed India MD Sashi Kumar was recently quoted in ET as saying.
With Bengaluru’s rise as India’s startup capital, it is little wonder freelance opportunities are aplenty. “Startups today operate in the lean mode, implying the need to scale up quickly, experiment and fail quickly and experiment quickly. In such a scenario, it becomes difficult to build a stable team in a short span of time,” explains Srikanth Sundararajan, Partner at Ventureast, a venture fund.
Balasaraswathi A, 38, a project coordinator with BillionLives, a startup that develops software products for social good, has been working on the gig format for two years now, after five years in a fulltime job. “While I am making 40% less than what I earned in a regular job, the deficit is more than made up with work-life balance and time saved on long hours of commute in Bengaluru.”
“Going forward, gig economy will play a large role in the transition, helping people try out different career paths before committing to one, says Swaroop Chand, CEO at lemonop.com, a week-old platform that lists all such available opportunities in Benglauru.
The relationship of gig workers and their temporary employers is based on accountability, specific deliverables and high productivity in a short span of time, says Gautam Balijepalli, founder at WarmOven, an online cake delivery platform, which has engaged staffers in this format for the past three years.
The gig economy is still in its nascent stage in India, according to Paul Dupuis, CEO at Randstad India. “Gig economy is a lifestyle choice. Culturally, in India, there is still a stigma towards part-time work. But with one million people in the workage population entering the market every day, it is bound to become more popular.”
A year ago, Royan, 25, put in his papers and opted to go solo and do projects for clients on his creative terms. The young professional claims he is earning more now, moving from one project to another as a freelancer.
His case seems perfectly in sync with the trends revealed by a recent report put out by Indeed India, the Indian arm of the Texasbased job listings site. The number of temporary staffers, according to this study, peaks during the winter months.
“Of the leading metros, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru contribute 27.2%, 12.4% and 12.9% respectively to all flexible work opportunities available in India,” Indeed India MD Sashi Kumar was recently quoted in ET as saying.
With Bengaluru’s rise as India’s startup capital, it is little wonder freelance opportunities are aplenty. “Startups today operate in the lean mode, implying the need to scale up quickly, experiment and fail quickly and experiment quickly. In such a scenario, it becomes difficult to build a stable team in a short span of time,” explains Srikanth Sundararajan, Partner at Ventureast, a venture fund.
Balasaraswathi A, 38, a project coordinator with BillionLives, a startup that develops software products for social good, has been working on the gig format for two years now, after five years in a fulltime job. “While I am making 40% less than what I earned in a regular job, the deficit is more than made up with work-life balance and time saved on long hours of commute in Bengaluru.”
“Going forward, gig economy will play a large role in the transition, helping people try out different career paths before committing to one, says Swaroop Chand, CEO at lemonop.com, a week-old platform that lists all such available opportunities in Benglauru.
The relationship of gig workers and their temporary employers is based on accountability, specific deliverables and high productivity in a short span of time, says Gautam Balijepalli, founder at WarmOven, an online cake delivery platform, which has engaged staffers in this format for the past three years.
The gig economy is still in its nascent stage in India, according to Paul Dupuis, CEO at Randstad India. “Gig economy is a lifestyle choice. Culturally, in India, there is still a stigma towards part-time work. But with one million people in the workage population entering the market every day, it is bound to become more popular.”
