No talent timeline of Flipkart can be conceived without doffing a hat to Flipsters — the people of Flipkart.
Flipkart’s history is not merely one of great achievements, audacious risks and big bets. It is a history of people. Significant people.
It is a history of talent, endeavor and caliber. Every business decision, every strategic move, every path-breaking risk taken at Flipkart has sprung from the minds of people.
People who thought out of the box, people who executed on big, ridiculous, seemingly impossible ideas, and made them happen.
People who set big, hairy goals and who were committed to solving complex problems. People who made mistakes, often costly ones, but who always stayed the course to snatch bigger, more significant victories from the jaws of imminent defeat. People who went on to forge from these failures a gritty, tenacious and never-say-die company, a truly homegrown Indian brand, which wears its battle scars like medals.
Flipsters past and present share some traits: they embody values that have since been ingrained in Flipkart’s DNA. Customer First, Bias for Action, Ownership — these are not mere buzzwords at Flipkart. They are badges that each employee at Flipkart wears within and without, be they Flipsters past or present.
The people who shaped Flipkart’s growth at every step have left their indelible imprint on the timeline of what has been, arguably, Indian industry’s most dynamic decade — the Startup Decade. Here’s looking back on 10 years of Flipkart’s talent timeline.
The Flipkart Talent Timeline
2007
Flipkart is founded. Co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, both of whom hailed from Chandigarh, had never met until their final year at IIT-Delhi. A brief summer project brought them together, but the seeds of Flipkart were sown only a few years later when the two hatched the idea in Bengaluru. Read the story
2009
Flipkart hires its first employee — Ambur Iyyappa. An out-of-work Iyyappa, who knocked on Flipkart’s door, was hired for a modest four-figure salary. In years to come, Flipkart’s first employee became indispensable to Flipkart, so much that Flipkart’s first order management system was modeled on the machinations of his mind. Read the story
2010
Renuka Khandelwal, the first woman engineer, joins Flipkart.
2010
Flipkart launches its employee stock options program
2011
Flipkart’s people strength crosses the 1000 mark
2012
Flipkart values formally launched — Customer First and Bias For Action continue to be the guiding light for Flipsters to this day
2013
Flipkart starts its campus recruitment program — 100 graduate trainees and management trainees join the company
2014
Flipkart launches ‘Buddy Program’ as part of induction to provide world-class onboarding experience to new joinees
2015
Flipkart launches industry-leading benefits for its employees including maternity and paternity policies and adoption policies
Flipkart breaks away from conventional hiring approaches and introduces interview-less hiring approach in collaboration with Udacity
Flipskool, Flipkart’s very own training academy, is launched. Flipkart’s Chief Learning Officer Stefaan Van Hooydonk was instrumental in starting up this initiative. Read this FlipTales interview with Stefaan
2016
Flipkart ranked as the best company in India for “attracting and keeping top talent”, according to a LinkedIn Top Attractors List
Flipkart gets ‘Best Employer Brand’ award from People Matters
Happiness Academy, an interest-based engagement program, is launched.
Families of newly promoted Flipsters get a pleasant surprise — a thank-you letter from CEO Binny Bansal and a box of chocolates. Read the story
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Talent Timeline infographic by Sadhna Prasad | Flipkart Stories
