Bengaluru Entrepreneur Posts ‘Unpaid’ Jobs Ad For His Firm, Clarifies Move After Backlash
Arunagiri’s post sparked backlash online. Some netizens slammed the entrepreneur for his extensive requirements, others compared the entire thing with "slavery and "reality shows".
A Bengaluru-based entrepreneur has courted a controversy and received backlash from the netizens after advertising “unpaid job positions" on LinkedIn.
In his post, Sridhar Arunagiri, the founder of asset management firm 16VC, shared vacancies for four roles- product manager, software engineer, UX developer, and growth marketer— within his company where he mentioned that he would only hire a “top performer" who would be expected to work out of their Bengaluru office, with no remote or hybrid flexibility.
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“This is an unpaid role until you match all the checklist," he wrote adding, “This is not a 9-to-5. this is a high-speed, high-impact opportunity for those who want to build something massive."
He further elaborated that candidates would need to meet an extensive checklist list to be eligible for receiving compensation, with the first month remaining unpaid regardless. “We’re not hiring anyone just because they have the right skills on paper or some outdated projects. Come join us, prove what you can do in a real environment, and from the next month, we’ll make it paid," he said.
Netizens Slammed Arunagiri
Arunagiri’s post sparked backlash online. Some netizens slammed the entrepreneur for his extensive requirements, others compared the entire thing with “slavery and “reality shows".
“The job requirements make it seem like candidates are expected to sign an agreement to endure unlimited pressure in exchange for a salary. Sir, it’s commendable that you’re building something great, but it’s equally important to treat humans as humans and engineers as engineers-not as LLMs running on high-end GPUs," a user commented.
Users have denounced the practice as exploitative and contradictory. One user on X remarked, “Post keeps getting worse with every line." Another described it as “Labour exploitation wrapped into motivational trash." “I’ve seen Slavery conditions better than this," remarked another.
Users also highlighted the inconsistency in Arunagiri’s post, noting that while he expressed a preference to pay above market rates for top performers, he simultaneously labelled the roles as unpaid.
Arunagiri Clarifies
Reacting to the backlash received, the founder clarified in another post that positions were paid one.
“I want to clarify that the intent was never to hire anyone for an unpaid position. The goal was simply to manage application volume more effectively, given the high number of applicants," he said.
Arunagiri further said that the new candidates have been hired and would be paid from day 1.
“We have now successfully hired candidates for these roles, and they will be paid from day 1, as has always been our commitment. We appreciate the feedback and understand the concerns raised. Transparency and fairness in hiring are core to us, and we will ensure better communication in the future," he added.
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