Our core values

Own it.

Be your best, even when no one is looking. High standards are contagious. Generate discipline. Drive for results. See the needful and do it.

Act with intention.

Do the work to get clear. Buck convention. Big goals start with small steps; step with purpose.

Find the adventure.

Changing the world should be fun. Inject romance into the everyday. Be bold. Dream loud. Swashbuckle.

Be a whole person.

We’re more than our work. Seek balance and health. Learn from differences. Unlock your potential.

One team.

Teammates come first. Mood is infectious. Listen loudly. Feedback is a gift. “We” instead of “I”. When the team wins, we all win.


Join Us!

Want to play at the cutting edge of technology and human capital?
Do you believe that talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity isn’t?
Are you passionate about building great teams?
Want to play at the cutting edge of technology, human capital, startups, and social enterprise?
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No fit right now? We’re always looking for great talent.

INTRODUCE YOURSELF!


Our funders & investors


Our team

Manager, Client Success
Carolyn Ogott
Data Analytics Manager
Anshul Kamath
Talent Analyst
Mariam Karim
Talent Advisor
Mehndi Shivdasani
Business Operations Manager
Edinah Lidonde
Sr. Talent Consultant
Shriya Gera
Software Engineer
Tanuj Sanwal
Manager, Operations
Eva Wacera
Director, Assessments
Rhea Batliboi
Software Engineer
Souvik Dasgupta
Co-founder & Chief Customer Officer
Simon Desjardins
Director of Operations and Client Success, India
Lotika Baruah
Chief of Staff & Director of Strategic Initiatives
Olivia Wold
Chief Technology Officer
Sudheer Bandaru
CEO and Co-Founder
Paul Breloff
Marketing & Communications Associate
Yvonne Mueni Kilonzo
Customer Care Manager
Prashant Mishra
Project Manager
Sattwika Saha
Senior Product Advisor
Rachel Steinberg
Lead Engineer
Himan Reddy
QA Engineer
Vemuri Venkateswara Rao
Sr. Talent Consultant
Pranay Merchant
Office Manager
Nizam Shaikh
Talent Consultant
Maria Saldanha
Finance Manager
Alvin Mukabwa
Administration Officer, Kenya
Mercy Igoke
Sr Lead Engineer
Niranjan Pujari
Applicant Care Associate
Brenda Akinyi
Managing Director, India
Mridvika Raisinghani
Senior QA Automation Engineer
Talasri Kotikalapudi
Lead Engineer
Tilak Tirumalanagaram
Recruitment Account Manager
Ceverene Mureithi
Managing Director, Africa
Ariane Fisher
UI/UX DESIGNER
Poonam Patel
Co-founder and Chairman
Matt Schnuck
Sr. Talent Consultant
Sayak Ray
Talent Analyst
Moosa Khan
Software Engineer
Siva Kumar
Assessments Manager
Lynette Mbugua
Training Manager
Lucy Irungu
Software Engineer
Ashwani Choudhary
Senior Training Associate
Paul Gitau
Instructional Designer - Assessments
Veronica Lalwani
Senior Product Manager
Adhip Somanna
Data Analyst Intern
Sahej Kumar
Recruitment Account Manager
Sarah Ndegwa
Head of Business & Partnerships
Doris Muigei
Product Manager
Austen Stranahan
Accounts Assistant
Naomi Terer
Office Assistant
Margaret Otieno
Head of Executive Search, Africa.
Maggy Mushira


The Shortlist journey (so far)…

September 1996

Co-Founders Matt and Paul meet freshman year at Amherst College. They talk about how maybe they’ll someday start a company together…

August 2009

Co-Founder Simon (while at Shell Foundation) meets Paul (while at SKS Microfinance in Hyderabad) in India, and they start working together to distribute cookstoves and solar lights through microfinance partnerships across India.

January 2012

Matt sells his digital marketing business Trouvé Media to Bankrate, and starts wondering what’s next. He begins to hunt for a big idea that can change the world around the theme of human potential.
Dummy Image

April 2013

Simon, Paul (now Founder of Accion Venture Lab), and their friend Ross Baird (Founder of Village Capital) realize that their portfolio companies are really, really struggling to hire great people. Brainstorming ensues: “Wouldn’t it be great if there was an easier way to recruit?”

December 2013

Simon, Paul, and Ross start learning more about recruiting in India and Kenya. They talk to many recruiters. They post jobs for their portfolio companies and screen thousands of CVs. They decide that there has got to be a better way than just looking at and relying on CVs.

March 2015

Matt, Simon, and Paul sit down to figure out how they could help great companies hire better, and even more importantly, how they could help unlock the professional potential of the next generation in emerging markets.

March 2015

An entity is born, registered initially as “First Cut, Inc.” Now we just need a product and some customers!

April 2015

The early “team” assembles to brainstorm First Cut’s mission, vision, and initial go-to-market approach.

July 2015

The team decides First Cut sounds like a hair salon; the hunt begins for a better name. Many terrible ideas followed. Finally, over dinner, M-Kopa Co-Founder Jesse Moore suggests: “How about Shortlist?” The clouds part and the angels sing.

September 2015

The team expands to include Ben Lane (Director of Special Projects) and Birma Ram (Product Manager)

September 2015

Sets up shop in donated office space in Mumbai – thank you Samir Shah!

October 2015

Shortlist starts working with its initial customers, including Husk Power, Varthana and Envirofit. We have a lot to learn from them!

February 2016

Shortlist Kenya is launched! Work begins with some of our first customers, like M-KOPA.

February 2016

A brave set of early funders agree to support Shortlist through its early experimental period. Thank you Shell Centenary Scholarship Fund, Lundin Foundation, and Blue Haven Initiative!

April 2016

Our India team, now at 10, goes on a boat trip wearing wigs. Hilarity ensues.

April 2016

Winners are announced in the Argidius-ANDE Talent Challenge, selected for its “promising solutions to the human capital constraints.” And we’re one of them!

July 2016

We work with our 20th employer!

August 2016

We shift from our co-working space in Andheri to our first “real” office. We worry the space is too much, only to find 6 months later that we’ve almost outgrown it!

October 2016

We created values! We believe that values must bubble up from the team, but be defined, lived, and breathed by our leadership. We headed off for a head-clearing weekend in Varkala, Kerala to write down what’s important.

November 2016

Town Halls start!

January 2017

We screen our 50,000th candidate!

January 2017

Career development and personal growth retreat, thanks co-founder Matt. - take text from timeline

February 2017

Kenya turns 1!

April 2017

We sign our biggest client!

May 2017

We screen our 100,000th candidate!

August 2017

We announce a US$1,000,000 round of funding from investors like University Ventures, Zephyr Acorn, FARM Ventures, and angel investor Samir Shah, and others.

Learn more.

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