Xccelerate Stories: Planto Finds Their Match

In this case study we talk to Ankit Suri, Co-Founder and CEO of Planto about their experience in hiring before and after Xccelerate

Tell us about Planto and what you are looking to achieve with your app

Planto is a data driven digital financial advisor that helps millennials achieve financial greatness. We are on a mission to make 600 millennials across Asia feel confident about their finances. The app helps users plan their finances holistically and stay on top of their plans by automatically tracking their finances. Users can track across 50+ financial institutions in Hong Kong on the app right from their credit cards, saving accounts, MPF, loans, investments and mortgages and receive personalised insights, advice and alerts towards a healthier financial life.

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Do you think that Hong Kong has enough tech talent that are equipped with the market skill demands of today?

I was a Computer Science major myself so I think I understand the problem other Computer Science majors face. Unless you are working in a technology firm that is encouraging you to work with the latest developments, upskilling oneself is an engagement one must take outside the already long working hours. HK traditionally has had technology talent work with large corporates and incumbents with legacy infrastructure but this is quickly changing so I am optimistic about the future. I think the only way to keep up your skills with technology is to work with a firm that is agile and not traditional in that sense.

What would you say are the challenges when it comes to hiring in the traditional way and why you might think it didn't work for your company?

Hiring is broken because it is time consuming. And if time is the only resource a startup is optimising for, then the hiring way of hiring simply doesn't work. At Planto, we grew from just 3 about a year ago to 17 today - expanding with quality talent with limited budget almost forces us to think outside the box.

How did you hear about Xccelerate?

I heard about Xccelerate from my (then) boss when I was working for another startup previous to founding Planto. The startup was looking to hire aggressively and Xccelerate was making available a group of technologists who were keen to learn and wanted to work in a fast pace startup.

How did Xccelerate help you in finding the Digital Marketing Specialist that you were looking for?

Xccelerate provides resourceful and much-needed skill-specific data science & machine learning courses for people who want to reinvent themselves. We appreciate the work that Xccelerate is doing; allowing eager individuals to up their games in the new digital economy, with many tech-centric trajectories such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.

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Testimonials

Ankit Suri, Co-Founder & CEO, Planto

“I will reach out when Planto hires again! Excited to see Xccelerate grow particularly to teach more and more people to code. ”

Find your next great tech hire like Ankit and Planto. Email hello@xccelerate.co to connect and talk about your hiring needs directly.