‘I used to think Indian talent is quite poor,’ Anupam Mittal says India has come a long way in last 20 years

In a candid LinkedIn post, entrepreneur Anupam Mittal admitted that earlier, he had a notion that Indian talent is “quite poor”.

Anupam Mittal says India has come from importing to manufacturing

He shared that about 20 years ago, when he was building Shaadi.com, the hiring process in India seemed like a “nightmare” to him.

“We didn’t have Product Managers, Devs or UX designers,” Mittal said. “We had project managers, graphic designers, journalists & PR folks whom I had to bribe with tea and dreams to help me build a website.”

He further added, “If you could speak English and didn't blink for ten minutes, you were hired. Literally”.

However, Shark Tank India’s popular judge said that while recently hiring for the mid and senior levels at his company, he realised the depth of Indian talent has not just got better, but it has become world-class.

“People who would’ve stayed in Silicon Valley a decade ago are now landing in Bengaluru and Mumbai, not because they have to, but because the work here is inspiring,” he said.

Anupam Mittal remarked that tighter immigration policies abroad have helped, but the main shift came from “what we built here over 20 years”.

The Shaadi.com founder listed:

Internet-first companies.

Real product cultures.

Designers who think like builders.

Engineers who’ve scaled from 0 to millions.

Operators who survived chaos & shipped.

He reasoned that earlier India used to import talent, but now it is manufacturing and scaling it.

Mittal said, “Reverse migration is a headline. The digital ecosystem is the plot.”

He concluded the post with: “Are we finally over the settling abroad obsession, or have we just found a better reason to stay?”

Also read: Microsoft, TCS, Reliance, Adani, Yotta and others commit over $360 billion to India at AI Impact Summit 2026 (startuppedia.in)

Netizens respond

"Strong reflection, the real story is how India built the ecosystem that now attracts and retains world class talent," commented a user.

"This is such an enlightening perspective on the evolution of talent in India! It’s incredible to see how far we’ve come from the early days of hiring challenges to now having a world-class talent pool," wrote another user.

Another individual said, "As a student and job seeker, this post is truly motivating,Anupam Mittal. It gives confidence to people like me who are working hard to build skills and grow in today’s competitive world."

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