Rajkumar Selvaraj — Head of Talent

Been in the startup ecosystem since 2019, building and scaling People Operations from the ground up across diverse sectors - AI (HyperVerge), Web3 (Pillow) and Quick Commerce (Swish) Across bootstrapped and venture-funded companies, I’ve consistently been the first People Ops person, setting up everything from hiring engines and payroll systems to culture frameworks and compliance structures. I thrive where things don’t exist yet - creating scalable systems that allow founders and teams to grow at speed without losing culture or clarity. Some highlights of my journey: * HyperVerge (2019–2022): Built People Ops for one of the top AI companies in India, leading talent acquisition during a hypergrowth phase * Pillow (2022–2023): First People Ops hire in a Web3 startup; designed policies, culture practices and people systems in a fast-moving, global environment. * Advisory (2024): Partnered with 6+ early-stage founders to translate my learnings into their org-building playbooks * Swish (2025–present): Scaling People Ops from scratch in one of India’s fastest-growing quick commerce startups My focus has always been on making People Ops a strategic lever - not just an administrative function - by building frameworks where business growth, team culture and operational rigor move in sync. Always open to conversations with founders, operators and fellow People leaders about the craft of scaling teams and culture in high-growth environments.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a strategic People Operations leader in the startup ecosystem.

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Experience: 19 yrs 11 mos

Skills

People Operations
Talent Management
Talent Acquisition Strategy
Talent Acquisition

Career Highlights

Built People Ops from scratch in multiple startups.
Led talent acquisition during hypergrowth phases.
Translating learnings into org-building playbooks.

Work Experience

Swish

Head of People Operations (1 yr 2 mos)

HyperVerge

Talent Advisor (2 yrs 2 mos)

Loop AI - Delivery Intelligence Platform

Strategic Advisor (1 yr 2 mos)

Career Break

Travel (4 mos)

The Talent Deck

Community Volunteer (2 yrs 11 mos)

Pillow - DeFi For Everyone

Head of People Operations (1 yr 4 mos)

HyperVerge Inc.

Talent Acquisition Leader (2 yrs 11 mos)

Export House

Entrepreneur/Founder (1 yr 10 mos)

Convergys

Talent Acquisition Supervisor (2 yrs 2 mos)

KG Invicta Services (KGiS)

Client Engagement Lead (7 yrs 10 mos)

Allsec Technologies Limited

Customer Support Officer (1 yr 1 mo)

Rajkumar Selvaraj

Head of Talent

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India19 yrs 11 mos experience

Key Highlights

Built People Ops from scratch in multiple startups.
Led talent acquisition during hypergrowth phases.
Translating learnings into org-building playbooks.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a strategic People Operations leader in the startup ecosystem.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

People OperationsTalent ManagementTalent Acquisition StrategyTalent Acquisition

Other Skills

ATSBoolean LogicBoolean SearchingClient RelationsClient SatisfactionClient ServicesContract RecruitmentCulture BuildingEmployer BrandingGlobal Client ManagementIT RecruitmentInterpersonal SkillsLeadershipManagementOrg Design & Culture Building

About

Experience

Swish

Head of People Operations

Jan 2025 – Present · 1 yr 2 mos · Greater Bengaluru Area · On-site

At Swish, we’re building more than just a 10-minute food delivery company. We’re building a culture where ambitious people come together to solve tough problems at incredible speed.
What excites me here is:
The talent density: brilliant minds from diverse backgrounds - from operators to engineers to chefs - who thrive in a high-ownership environment
The culture of speed & experimentation: nothing is set in stone; we’re constantly iterating, challenging assumptions, and moving fast
The scale of challenges: expanding kitchens, launching new cities, building ops and tech systems in real time - it pushes all of us to learn and grow every day
The spirit of collaboration: no matter the function, the mindset is “we’re in this together” - and that’s what makes it a great place to work
Swish is still early in its journey, and that’s what makes it special. We’re shaping the DNA of a company that could define the future of quick commerce in India

People OperationsOrg Design & Culture BuildingTalent Management

Hyperverge

Talent Advisor

Jan 2024 – Present · 2 yrs 2 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · Hybrid

Loop ai - delivery intelligence platform

Strategic Advisor

Dec 2023 – Feb 2025 · 1 yr 2 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · On-site

Career break

Travel

Aug 2023 – Dec 2023 · 4 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

The talent deck

Community Volunteer

Apr 2023 – Present · 2 yrs 11 mos · Greater Bengaluru Area · On-site

Pillow - defi for everyone

Head of People Operations

Mar 2022 – Jul 2023 · 1 yr 4 mos · Greater Bengaluru Area · On-site

Hyperverge inc.

Talent Acquisition Leader

Mar 2019 – Feb 2022 · 2 yrs 11 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · On-site

HyperVerge is among the top AI teams in the world with accuracy that surpass big players. It is a result of an amazing set of people who have the right attitude when it comes to solving challenging problems and have the necessary aptitude to solve them. This is what enables HyperVerge to stand as a profitable, financially independent, fast growing and contributing organization.
First People Ops hire, joining as the 25th employee and building the function from scratch
Scaled the company from 25 → 150+ employees across tech, product, and business teams during a phase of rapid growth
Designed and implemented the end-to-end hiring engine — from structured interview processes and scorecards to candidate experience frameworks
Partnered with founders and leadership to define org structure, talent strategy, and hiring roadmaps aligned with business goals
Built a strong employer brand, ensuring HyperVerge attracted and retained top talent in a highly competitive AI ecosystem

Export house

Entrepreneur/Founder

Apr 2017 – Feb 2019 · 1 yr 10 mos

Founded a garment export start-up to take sustainable products to the world. One of our core interest was to make Bamboo made garments.
Extreme Comfort
Anti-Odor
Lightweight
Breathable
No Chemicals
Moisture Wicking
UPF 50+

Talent AcquisitionRecruitment Strategy

Convergys

Talent Acquisition Supervisor

Jan 2015 – Mar 2017 · 2 yrs 2 mos · Greater Bengaluru Area · On-site

Built a Talent Acquisition Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bangalore, driving global tech and corporate hiring
Launched an in-house recruitment practice for Convergys GTS, significantly reducing dependency on external search firms
Designed and executed proactive recruiting strategies to anticipate openings and support multiple business units
Partnered with global hiring managers to shape sourcing strategies, evaluate senior candidates, and deliver compelling offers
Managed senior-level and highly confidential positions with trust and discretion
Impact: Achieved a 90% reduction in external recruitment costs within 9 months, while establishing a scalable, sustainable in-house hiring capability

Kg invicta services (kgis)

Client Engagement Lead

Feb 2007 – Dec 2014 · 7 yrs 10 mos · Greater Coimbatore Area · On-site

I began my career in the Executive Talent Acquisition Group (eTAG) - known in the market as KGTiger, a specialized unit within KGiSL (now KG Invicta Services). Unlike traditional recruiting shops, this was a rigorous and structured program: every recruiter had to complete formal training and certification before handling client work.
Spent nearly 9 years recruiting across multiple geographies - the U.S., Europe and Asia - gaining a global perspective on talent practices
Partnered with Fortune 500 companies and directly worked with Heads of Talent Acquisition worldwide
Consistently ranked as a top performer, recognized for delivery in high-stakes, complex hiring environments
Gained mastery in structured recruitment, candidate assessments, and senior stakeholder engagement
Learned to build long-term client and candidate trust across cultural and geographical contexts
✨ This experience laid the foundation for my career in People & Talent, and the discipline, process and global exposure I gained here continue to shape how I scale People Ops in startups today.

Talent AcquisitionRecruitment Strategy