Money Forward is a $2B publicly listed fintech company in Japan, serving
15M+ users across
personal finance, accounting, and HR software.
In 2023, the company launched its India engineering center to support global product
development.
The mandate was ambitious and clear: Hire 100 engineers in 12 months.
The talent team, led by Selva K, hit their target. But the journey nearly broke before it
started.
The Problem: No Technical Panel & A Broken Funnel
When Selva joined Money Forward India in May 2024, one issue surfaced
immediately.
There was no real technical panel available to run first-level interviews.
“We did not have enough technical people to evaluate candidates,” Selva explains. “Most
developers were focused on production work. We couldn’t pull them into the interviews.”
To bridge the gap, the team had partnered with an external interview platform. On paper, it
solved the problem. In reality, it created a bigger one.
Reschedules were constant. Panels were mismatched. Junior engineers were being evaluated by
highly senior interviewers, while senior candidates slipped through with surface-level
assessments.
“A 2-year experienced candidate was being evaluated by a 20-year experienced interviewer,”
Selva says. “Completely disproportionate.”
The platform had been running for 8–10 months. Roles remained open. More
critically,
internal stakeholders had stopped trusting the outcomes.
Selva asked for the data. What he saw stopped everything.
Out of 1,800 candidates interviewed, just 6 had been selected. That’s a
0.3% conversion
rate.
At that point, it was clear: this wasn’t a sourcing issue. The entire evaluation
layer was broken.
The Proof
Selva didn't immediately change vendors. He needed proof.
For one role, he bypassed the platform and ran interviews in-house. 10 interviews. 6
candidates selected.
The problem was undeniable: it wasn't the talent pool or the JDs, it was the evaluation
layer. Armed with data, Selva went to the market.
Testing Three Platforms
Selva shortlisted 3 platforms and bought 200 credits from each: Intervue,
Fl*******, and the
incumbent vendor (In*******).
Fl******* was eliminated fast. "No understanding of technologies, no coordination," Selva
says. "We didn't even use the remaining 120 credits."
In******* showed the same issues: vague feedback, slow turnaround.
But Intervue was different.
Straightforward communication. Detailed reports that highlighted gaps and
flagged integrity
issues. In one case, a report identified a critical skill gap internal interviews had
missed. And when evaluations felt off, their account manager Nijo would immediately help
recalibrate.
"Whenever I ping over Slack, he immediately responds," Sherin George, TA team member, adds.
The no-show rate dropped to 11.8% within weeks. Integration with Zoho
(their ATS) was
smooth.
The decision was obvious.
The Impact
The operational load disappeared almost overnight.
"The simplification was immediate," Selva says. "I upload a JD. I don't follow up on panel
members. I don't worry about calibration calls. Scheduling is on time."
But the bigger shift was trust. Internal teams started relying on L1
results. Candidates
reaching internal rounds were genuinely prepared.
Instead of chasing a high select percentage, the team optimised for predictability. Roughly
1 in 3 Intervue-cleared candidates cleared all internal rounds
The numbers tell the story:
- Time-to-hire reduced by 20-25 days on average
- Reschedules dropped by over 60%
- RPO phased out entirely
- 100 engineers hired in 12 months
Selva's Advice to TA Leaders
1. Anchor hiring to business outcomes.
"Have clear clarity on which business you're supporting and how hiring impacts it. Only then
can you strategise."
2. Equip yourself with technology.
"AI plays a heavy role now. Enhance yourself, using AI tools, understanding technical
jargons, speaking your stakeholders' language."
3. Be realistic.
"Be clear about what you can and cannot do in the timeframe. Don't over-promise. Don't
under-promise."
The Bottom Line
When Selva joined Money Forward India, the evaluation layer was broken, and the business was
stalled.
He didn't panic. He didn't blame the market.
He asked for the data, ran an internal experiment, proved where the breakdown was happening,
and fixed it.
Today, Money Forward India has a hiring engine that scales. A TA team that's confident. And
a technical screening process that internal stakeholders actually trust.
"If you invest heavily but there's no one to work, no one to bring those ideas to life, it's
all just on paper," Selva says.
Money Forward India isn't on paper anymore. The signal is loud and clear.
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