New Delhi, Feb. 27 -- In India's startup ecosystem, hiring has traditionally rewarded technical skill, experience, and cultural fit. Deepinder Goyal is now stretching that definition at his new venture, Temple.

Temple, which is building a high-precision wearable for elite performance athletes, has opened recruitment with an unusual condition: applicants must meet defined body fat benchmarks alongside technical requirements. Men are expected to be under 16% body fat; women, under 26%. Candidates who do not meet the criteria can still apply, but only with a commitment to reach the threshold within three months, during a probation period.

The logic, as outlined by Goyal, is simple. A team building tools for athletes who push their bodies t...