Bengaluru: Startups that are looking to go public in the near future are seeing increasing interest from senior professionals, enticed by the record number of startup IPOs in 2024, including listings like Swiggy that have turned hundreds of their employees into crorepatis overnight. Many of these people, from both within the startup sector and outside, are exploring opportunities at companies that are likely to hit the bourses in the next couple of years, said search firms and startup founders. The lure for them is the potential for wealth creation that successful listings open up.Even in the case of startups where the share prices have fallen since the company's listing, there are enough instances of professionals who have been able to mint big money through stock options."There's a lot of buzz around successful IPOs," according to Anuj Roy, managing partner at executive search firm Fidius Advisory. "One perceptible change that we are seeing (because of this) is that inbound interest has shot up. Instead of us seeking out candidates, many more are reaching out to us."Senior executives from companies including Hindustan Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser and Diageo are among those reaching out, said executive search firms. Most are keen on startups in the growth stage, Series D and beyond. Early-stage companies are generating little interest.115639140Willing to take pay cutsA few candidates, say recruiters, are even willing to take cuts in cash compensation, if there is a strong upside potential from employee stock options. Recently, an executive who joined an ecommerce firm eyeing an IPO took a cut on cash compensation, said a search firm.Some are also willing to relocate from abroad if wea-lth creation opportunities look good.Executive search firm Transearch is working with some pre-IPO companies and candidates it is in touch with are keen to pursue opportunities with these, said senior partner Ashish Sangeria. "People are excited to join pre-IPO companies where stocks look liquid in the next 18-24 months, but not about those companies where a public listing is still far, about four-five years away."Anshuman Das, CEO of executive search firm Longhouse Consulting, said given that most companies are going leaner before hitting the public markets, there isn't much elbow room to add people. But roles in compliance, risk and finance are among those still in demand."There's a lot of interest from candidates but opportunities are comparatively fewer," Das said. "The biggest change is the perception around ESOPs; there are enough and more instances to prove that ESOPs are no longer just paper money."'Liquidity sparse'Ashwin Damera, CEO at Eruditus and Emeritus, agreed. "The biggest challenge in the ecosystem has been that liquidity has been sparse. Recent listings have shown otherwise. Founders, investors, even many employees have made money," he said. "The sentiment has changed."According to Executive Access CEO Agamjeet Dang, this marks the beginning of another wave of interest in the sector, which has seen its fair share of up and down cycles.Many startups have listed on the exchanges this year - the latest being Zinka Logistics Solutions (BlackBuck), which debuted on the bourses Friday, ending 7% lower on the first day. Others that have listed this year include Swiggy, FirstCry, Go Digit General Insurance, Ola Electric, TBO Tek and Unicommerce.