Full-stack agriculture-tech company Gramophone on Monday said it is planning to nearly double its headcount in the next 6 to 8 months on the back of growing demand. The company, whose current employee strength is over 450, is planning to add over 300 professionals across technology, product, operations, and marketing in the next six to eight months, Gramophone said in a statement. Gramophone co-founder and CEO Khan said, "Building a successful full-stack agriculture tech business requires a massive deployment of technology as well as a layer of data science that provides granular insights on how we can be more frugal and effective across these stacks." He added that given the massive momentum the company is witnessing on the business front as well as its expansion plans, "We are looking to hire top-of-the-line talent across our technology, product, and marketing teams." The company is also looking to hire key CXO and vice-president level positions and is scouting for senior industry leaders who can be the anchors as Gramophone moves to the next orbit of growth, Khan added. Gramophone, which currently serves over 12 lacks farmers, is operational in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. The company aims to expand its operations across three more states in the next 12 months. Agriculture tech startup Gramophone, operated by Agriculture Stack Technologies Pvt. Limited, announced its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback worth $2 million (around Rs 15 crore). During this time, the platform stated that it will provide liquidity to its key team members and angel investors. Its revenues had jumped ten-fold last year, with annual recurring revenue (ARR) of Rs 400 crore and a target of Rs 1,000 crore in the next 12 months. It also plans to expand its product and technical teams as well. At Gramophone, we have built a very strong group, which is evident from the fact that more than 90% of our early-stage employees are still with the company, and some of those who had left have come back to join us again. Through this sale, we are excited to provide liquidity to our early believers who have worked incredibly hard to turn our vision of building a strong farmer-first brand into reality. "We have planned ESOPs for every level of employee, right from the on-ground farmer relationship team to senior management," said Co-Founder, and CEO at Gramophone. Gramophone started as an agronomy-led, agriculture input commerce company in 2016 by IIT and IIM alumni. Both founders had stints in agriculture tech companies and venture capital funds before starting Gramophone. The company provides agronomy services and input and output products in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan by way of an e-commerce marketplace. To date, the platform has raised $20 million from Info Edge, pact, capital, and Z3 Partners, along with new investors like from the erstwhile Sunrise Group, from Verity, and Family Office of Have more Group. In October 2021, Gramophone raised $10 million, led by Z3Partners. The startup had, in May 2017, raised $1.5 million in angel funding from a clutch of individual investors. In December 2020, it raised $3.4 million, led by capital. In the past few months, Indian startups have been exploring creative ways to hire and retain staff, including expanding their ESOPs, as they battle each other and more established companies for talent. The startups have also been more agile in conducting ESOP buyback programs.
You must be logged in to post a comment.