Different Technologies, one of Australia’s hottest new global startups, has once again changed the corporate landscape in Sri Lanka.
Starting in January 2021, the company is offering all permanent employees equity in the firm, which is backed by Australia’s largest VC firm AirTree Ventures, and Silicon Valley’s Foundation Capital. The company is taking this decisive step because it believes that investing in its employees and ensuring their stability and security is not only the right thing to do but also a smart business decision.
“Particularly in the uncertain economic climate that has arisen in the aftermath of COVID-19, we want our employees to think like owners,” said Co-founder of Different, Ruwin Perera, a former Director at Softbank.
“Different has always been a great company to work for, but the new equity offer is just straight up amazing,” said Deegha Galkissa, a member of the Engineering team at Different’s Colombo office.
This sentiment was also echoed by Mark Sinnathamby, another member of the Engineering team. “Giving equity to all employees is not something you see every day in Sri Lanka and I’m just proud to be a part of the company that has made it happen. Coming into work feels different, now that I’m a shareholder in my company!”
Different’s VP of Engineering, Hasitha Liyanage is no stranger to start-ups that eventually became big names in Sri Lanka, like MIT, Sysco Labs. Liyanage spoke more on the rationale behind sharing equity and how it is also a personal decision for him.
Different’s Country HR Business Partner, Kalpika Abayasekera explained that all current staff are automatically enrolled in this scheme, with a specific up-front entitlement to the equity on offer, “We felt it was necessary to reward the team that has been through the growing pains of a start-up. These shares are issued on a four-year maturity which also encourages the team to see their tenure as quite literally a long-term investment.”
“We are following the same format adopted in Silicon Valley and our Australian office, and thought it was about time that our Sri Lankan crew reap the same benefits as their counterparts abroad,” said Perera
Different recently reaffirmed its commitment to Sri Lanka by doubling its stake in the country through a multi-million dollar investment in its Colombo office.
“The increased investment into the Colombo office, coupled with our new equity offer to employees underlines Different’s commitment to harnessing the best minds in Sri Lanka to build a world-class technology company that places Sri Lanka very firmly on the world tech map”, said Perera.
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