Guest: Girish Mathrubootham, Founder and Executive Chairman of Freshworks Host: Karthik Reddy, Co-founder of Blume Ventures
This episode provides deep insights into building a global SaaS company from India, scaling a startup to a public company, and the future of SaaS with AI. Girish Mathrubootham shares his journey from Chennai to NASDAQ, embodying the spirit of "Winning Beyond Boundaries."
Key Topics:
- Girish's background, including his admiration for Superstar Rajinikanth and early entrepreneurial experiences
- The founding story of Freshworks (originally Freshdesk), inspired by a customer service experience
- Building a global SaaS company from Chennai, India, and overcoming cultural barriers
- Freshworks' journey from startup to NASDAQ-listed company, including key funding rounds
- Critical decisions in Freshworks' growth: inbound business model, multi-product strategy, enterprise sales
- Hiring strategies and talent development at different company stages, from campus recruitment to executive hires
- Experience in becoming and running a public company, likened to a "big fat Indian wedding"
- The impact of AI on SaaS and Girish's decision to focus on AI as Executive Chairman
- The growth of the Indian SaaS ecosystem and initiatives like SaaSBoomi to create a "product nation"
- Girish's involvement in Together Fund and supporting the next generation of SaaS founders
- Freshworks' culture and the emergence of a "Freshworks mafia" in the startup ecosystem
- Girish's venture into sports with FC Madras, expanding his influence beyond tech
The episode showcases how Girish Mathrubootham and Freshworks have put India on the global SaaS map, achieving a successful IPO on NASDAQ and creating a blueprint for other Indian SaaS startups. It highlights the importance of "Winning Beyond Boundaries" in building world-class products from India and nurturing the SaaS ecosystem through initiatives like SaaSBoomi.
PS- Special thanks to Ultrahuman for gifting their cutting-edge rings to our guests and to IDFC First Bank for being our annual partner.
Links: Blume podcast transcripts: https://blume.vc/podcasts/blume-podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/227rW4Ee4ob6wRT8U7pJ8s?si=9e43c6b4c7d54ea0
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlumeVenturesIN/
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction of Girish Mathrubootham and Freshworks
2:38 - Girish talks about his love for Superstar Rajinikanth
5:55 - Early days and college friendships that backed Girish's ventures
7:31 - Girish's journey at Zoho (AdventNet) and becoming a product manager
11:57 - Origins of building global products from India
13:20 - The idea and impetus for starting Freshworks
16:23 - Early challenges in building a global company from Chennai
18:47 - Disruptive business model of Freshworks
26:55 - Getting funded by Accel and Tiger Global
36:58 - Key pivotal decisions in Freshworks' journey
39:30 - Going multi-product and choosing what to build
45:33 - Hiring and talent strategies at different stages
52:20 - Experience of becoming a public company
57:48 - Girish's decision to move to Executive Chairman role and focus on AI
1:10:52 - Motivations behind SaaSBoomi and Together Fund
1:15:43 - Pride in seeing the "Freshworks mafia"
1:16:30 - Rapid fire questions