Updated on Sunday, August 10, 2008, 00:00 IST

New Delhi, Aug 10: World’s largest professional networking website LinkedIn is scouting for partners in India as it aims to bag a lage mindshare for the brand in the country.

“We will be looking for a few strategic local players as partners to further stimulate our growth and solidify our brand in India,” LinkedIn director, International, Elisabeth O’Donnell said.

“Later this year, we aim to proactively address the Indian market with marketing efforts aimed at increasing people’s understanding of LinkedIn,” she added.
The company, which has around 25 million subscribers globally, has estimated the Indian market at around 20 million users as of now. Of the 25 million subscribers, the Indian share is one million.
Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia, Google India managing director Shailesh Rao, Microsoft India managing director Neelam Dhawan, Nasscom chairman Ganesh Natarajan are some of the high profile Indian users of LinkedIn.

Talking about the revenue generation model for LinkedIn, which has been valued at over $1 billion by some PEs, O’Donnell said the company makes money through online job listings, subscriptions, advertising, and corporate solutions among other sources.
The company has a monetization strategy in place to further their expansion plans and has about 325 employees worldwide catering to the huge subscriber base. She said the company expects to clock a revenue between USD 70-100 million this year.
“While we have over six million members in Europe, we have fewer than 10 people in our office in the region. So, we do not face the same high investment costs,” she added.

Bureau Report