Southeast Asia Startup Talent Report 2023 lists Vietnam as a hub for tech talent. (Photo Courtesy Hill Ventures (MHV) and Glints) The second iteration of the report, which is launched by Monk's Hill Ventures(MHV) and Glints, provides a deeper dive into hiring trends, salary and equitydata for founders, C-suite and startup talent from over 10,000 data points and30 interviews with startup founders across Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.
“With a young skilled population steeped in STEM education and its hugeservices industry ripe for digital innovations, Vietnam continues to be astrong tech talent market despite the current economic slowdown,” said JustinNguyen, general partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures.
“There is a steady rise of Vietnamese engineering-centric founders who havepropelled product-centric cultures. This is behind the growth of someformidable companies and a big reason behind Vietnam turning into a majorstartup tech hub. The workforce here is one to be reckoned with and it’sincreasingly the case that Vietnam is where regional champions go to buildtheir high-performing tech teams,” he said.
The report finds that startups will look to invest in more revenue-generatingroles such as sales, business development, and marketing and PR in 2023 ascompanies refocus on paths to profitability.
Additionally, while salaries continue to increase, the growth rate will be muchlower than in previous years from upwards of 30% to 5-7% per annum.
“The best coders in Vietnam are compensated competitively to those based inSingapore. The report we hope equips local startups with the tools they need tohire, attract, and retain talent and empowers talent to grow and scale withinthe maturing startup ecosystem,” said Bryan Lee, general manager of GlintsVietnam.
According to the report, the tech talent crunch persists in Southeast Asia,with tech roles remaining high in demand, earning on average 38% more thannon-tech roles.
Cash still prevails over equity in the region. While 86% of companies surveyedoffer ESOP, on average, ESOP is only made available to one-third of theirtalent.
The median CEO base salary grew 2.4 times for those that raised up to 5 millionUSD compared to 2021, as companies raise larger rounds. More CEOs are takinggreater equity dilution, likely due to current headwinds. The report found a 5%drop in equity for CEOs in the 5-10 million USD funding stage compared to 2021.
Engineering remains the most sought-after tech function. Specialised skillssuch as product and data are also highly attractive to employers. Afterengineering, talent in product and data are the highest paid.
Product managers saw the biggest salary increase, making 27% more than in 2021.
Hybrid work is becoming the status quo, with 45% of startups offering hybridwork and 12% offering remote work options to employees across markets.
As companies focus on the path to profitability and positive cash flow thisyear, the top three functions that companies prioritise hiring for in 2023across markets are engineering, BD & sales, and marketing & PR, thereport said.
Glints is the leading talent ecosystem in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, Monk’s Hill Ventures (‘MHV’) is a venture capital firm investing inearly-stage technology companies, primarily pre-Series A and Series A, inSoutheast Asia. /.
VNA
