So when people who have founded companies announce their hiring needs on social media, they usually discuss what types of roles they’re looking to fill, what type of skills or qualifications are needed for the position, and even a little bit about company culture. 

But Deepinder Goyal decided to push a “kyun, hila daala na,” on social media, when he shared a hiring post for his startup “Temple.” 

When he recently posted about the hiring needed for his new health-tech startup, Temple, the thing that totally took the focus away from all of those things was that he stated that candidates applying for engineering positions had to possess a certain (and rather unusual) level of body fat percentage in order to be considered. 

The fat kid inside me is offended btw, Goyal bhai. 

So, what does the role demand? (kitna body fat) 

According to his post, male engineers applying at Temple must possess a body fat percentage of 16% or less to qualify and female engineers applying must possess a body fat percentage of 26% or less to qualify. This will be a very metric that has caught fire all over social media and resulted in some funny reactions as well as some serious discussions about hiring practices in the tech industry.

What is Temple building? 

Deepinder Goyal stated in his post that Temple is developing a next-generation wearable for elite performance athletes. He stated that the device is currently still at prototype stage, but the “vision” for the product to be developed is huge. 

Woh toh tab hi pata chal gaya tha, jab bhai ne maathe pe temple chipkaake internet phaad ke rakh diya tha…

In his post announcing hiring needs at his company, Goyal stated, “At Temple, we are creating the ultimate wearable for elite performance athletes – a device that can measure what no other wearable in the world can measure, with a level of precision that has not yet existed.”

Deepinder Goyal invented a continuous and real-time measurement of cerebral perfusion index (blood flow to the brain) that will have greater accuracy than current wearable monitors available today.

Temple also hopes to study the relationship between cerebral perfusion index and how it may affect aging and longevity, a subject of growing interest among the biohacking community and globally in health technology.

Deepinder noted that his experience with biohacking is what drove him to create the Temple device after performing health optimization experiments (blood markers) for performing arts; fasting, community meditations, hyperbaric chamber programmes, and supplementing to enhance and maintain body health and longevity.

Deepinder Goyal believes that those building a product based on performance should reflect the same approach as their customers. He wrote:

“People who train reach their limits, and strive to be a representation of this.” Then they are those who want to push the boundaries by using our device.”

Temple has described the kind of person they are looking to hire as someone who is both an engineer and/or a scientist as well as being an active participant in sports. They further define their ideal candidate as:

“An athlete also who is an engineer and/or a scientist that doesn’t have any idea what he really is.”

Seedha seedha bol do na, Rajnikanth chahiye. 

The company is looking for applicants that can perform both active testing of and stress testing on the wearable device, which explains, in part, the strict body composition requirements. Interestingly, Deepinder Goyal also indicated some potential applicants not meeting the body fat threshold can still apply, with one caveat, they must either reach the body fat target within three months or remain in a probationary period until they achieve that physical requirement.

If you were looking for weight-loss motivation, here’s the most CRAZZZYYY one. 

And silly me thought gym crushes were like the highest motivators for weight loss, mai bhi na! Teehee

“….stop using Zomato” Internet Reacts 

Upon seeing the recruitment posting circulate through various online platforms, individuals began making light of the unusual body fat requirement for employment.

Kaam karna bhot mushkil hai aur mazaak udaana bohot aasaan, and that’s why, hum internet pe sirf mazaak udaate hain 🙂 

One post received an extensive number of engagements through the following comment:

“We really got body fat as our hiring criteria before GTA 6.”

Another user posted that in order to meet the requirement, applicants may need to discontinue the use of Goyal’s own food delivery platform.

“Fun fact – to be less than 16 per cent body fat, a male would need to stop using Zomato.”

Deepinder bhai be like, “Ye kaisa uno reverse hai?” 

Some users have speculated on how rejection emails for prospective employees would sound following the stated requirements by sharing their mock nonlinear rejections with others. Here is an example of what a mock rejection message could sound like:

“Hey, you came off as extremely strong. The depth you demonstrated in embedded systems was outstanding. You also provided the opportunity for us to view your background in direct correlation to the requirements of the position, however… there appears to be a small gap in… your embedded abs.”

ROFLinnnggggg

Reddit reactions were 😳😳😳

Unlike at X (formerly Twitter) where people responded with jokes and memes, Redditors had a more thorough, and often critical, discussion regarding the hiring policy.

Yeah, because THIS is the day Reddit decided to get serious. 

One Reddit user questioned the relevance of having a body fat percentage with engineering jobs. They wrote:

“I am here to write code or build products, not compete in the Olympics.”

Another Redditor bluntly states the hiring requirement:

“Literally, ‘stay f*****g out if you’re a fatty.’ “

Many Redditors were concerned with the practicality of meeting this level of fitness and working long hours at a tech job.

One Redditor mentioned:

“They should at least allow for a good work/life balance to allow people to be fit since sitting at a computer all day is not going to be easy to do.”

A Redditor highlighted the limitations of using only a person’s body fat percentage to determine a person’s health.

“How does one solely use bodyfat as an indicator of fitness?”

Many Redditors highlighted that work culture contributes to tech workers gaining body fat.

“Many people have gained bodyfat due to a lack of work/life balance.”

Some of the Redditors indicated that it is not even reasonable for most to maintain such an extremely low body fat percentage.

“Most people can’t maintain an under 16% body fat naturally.”

Us bro us.

Temple’s Vision & Fundings

In spite of the controversy surrounding the startup, Temple has captured considerable investor interest. In simple words, maaldaar party hai 🙂 

Temple has received $54 million in funding from around the world, with a post-money valuation of approximately $190 million.

Temple’s funding source list includes:

• Steadview Capital

• Peak XV Partners

• InfoEdge Ventures

• Dharana Capital

Some of the most recognized founders of startups have also participated as angel investors, including:

• Vijay Shekhar Sharma (of Paytm)

• Kunal Shah (of CRED)

• Nithin Kamath (of Zerodha)

• Nikhil Kamath (of Zerodha)

Additionally, there were reportedly more than 30 employees involved in the last round of funding at this same valuation, which suggests that those within the organization remain confident in the overall vision of the company.