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