CEO Insights Magazine

India has one of the largest workforces of 450 million plus people. Almost, 81 percent of this workforce is employed in the informal sector. For this talent in the informal sector, finding a job can be a challenging process. Not only are they more likely to be unemployed or under employed, but are likely to be exposed to harassment and exploitation during the job search process. Recognizing this need, Surinder Bhagat, the Founder, and CEO of Gigin have made it his mission to create a secure digital platform focused on the informal workforce.

With over 50 percent of this workforce earning less than Rs. 10,000 per month, finding employment opportunities at speed is crucial for their livelihoods. Surinder is leading,a team of the brightest professionals at Gigin who are committed to creating a technology platform to facilitate smooth connections with employers, while solving other ecosystem problems of safety, high cost, and low efficiency thereby transforming the way people find jobs and work in a trusted environment.

Below is an excerpt of Surinder Bhagat’s exclusive interaction with CEO Insights magazine.

As a new age leader, what is the motivation that fuels your daily routines?
Before starting as CEO of Gigin, I worked in senior leadership positions with some companies that were global leaders in their own domains. There, I acquired deep leadership experience in designing people strategies, developing strong leaders and teams, leading complex mergers and acquisitions, designing organizations, and delivering steep business rampups.

I am driven to leverage my expertise, knowledge, and skills to make a positive impact on society. I feel I owe it back to people.

Why was Bangalore chosen to be the breeding ground of your company?
I arrived in Bangalore in 2014, with an opportunity to work with Flipkart and this was the best decision of my career. This was the time of hyper growth at Flipkart and I was lucky to work with the early leadership team and founders that ignited my passion for startups.

The city's dynamic ecosystem is full of people striving to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship. With over 50 percent of India's unicorns based here, Bangalore is widely known as the startup capital of India.

Of approximately 5 million Tech Professionals in India; 1.5 million have made Bangalore their home. This talent attraction is not only because of the presence of startups and global tech giants but because of the world’s best product and tech innovation culture too.

Obviously, there couldn’t have been a better place than Bangalore to have a startup dream and give it a life.

How would you define Gigin Technologies as an organization and its current position in the market
Gigin is dedicated to improving the lives of gig workers.The team, of three founders Mahesh Kumar, Majed Al Tassan and myself, share a deep sense of purpose and a commitment to this vision. At Gigin we have conducted extensive research, talking to over 1000s of employers, employees, and vendors before delivering a user friendly, conversational app with video workflow which obviously was well-received by our users.

Gigin was selected by NASSCOM and MeitY as part of a delegation to represent India in a globaltech forum LEAP23 at Riyad. Gigins efforts were also recognized by Entrepreneurs India, which awarded the 'Best Use of Mobile for Social

and Economic Development' for 2023 to Gigin. These are good testaments that we are on the right path.

How has your professional journey been and what is your success mantra?
To me, success is not a destination but a journey of big and small milestones.

Here are a few of my milestones, when I look back: There was a strategic team rampup goal, for a company I worked for. It was looking impossible in the beginning but I delivered the goal ahead of time bringing exponential business growth.

Being part of Flipkart's leadership team during the time of its hyper growth and leading some strategic projects of the country’s e-commerce ecosystem is another one.

Due to macroeconomic conditions, we were shutting down a team of 100s of employees in one company I worked for in past. As a leadership team, we ensured that all impacted employees were outplaced into good companies. I recall it as a painful milestone but as a leader, you need to ensure good for your people during bad times too.

Many of the bright people who have reported to me in past are heads of HR now, looks like I was able to mentor them well.

Would like to mention two things on this topic. First, all big milestones are achieved by teams and not individuals. I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of all the bright people who have been part of my teams and have helped in delivering awesome results.

Second, I believe that true success does not come from having big ideas but from executing them patiently and flawlessly while remaining grounded.

Surinder Bhagat Founder & CEO Gigin Technologies
Surinder Bhagat is a seasoned leader and has made a mark in the HR fraternity. He served as Vice President of Human Resources at Flipkart, as the CHRO for Lenskart, and was South-Asia Head of HR for Sabre. He holds a degree in Computer Science & Engineering, an MBA from UBS, Panjab University, and has completed an Executive Program in Management from Columbia Business School.