Let’s be frank about the fact that most employees hate the software they use for work. Business software has a long history of being criticized for being bulky, expensive, demanding to use, and difficult to implement.

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Days are typically spent trying to customize a challenging piece of software to be used for a certain objective chosen by the firm. Sometimes it gets so challenging that the businesses must hire full-time employees to manage the application, which merely adds to the strain on their finances. With the introduction of Freshworks, a one-stop shop for cloud-based company software, all of these may now be avoided.

In Chennai, Girish Mathrubootham, Shan Krishnasamy, and Vijay Shankar started Freshworks in 2010. Every business, according to Freshworks, requires better technology that is ready to use, scalable, inexpensive, and offers some configuration flexibility. All of the business’s products fulfill this promise and are supported by first-rate customer service. The best part is that it is not too expensive to get them to work.

About Freshworks

Freshworks, a global provider of SaaS (Software as a Service)-based software solutions, helps businesses make the most of their software. Freshworks was founded in Chennai, India, and now has its headquarters in San Mateo, California, USA. Freshworks is now trading on the Nasdaq.

Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy launched the firm in Chennai in 2010 in order to exceed the expectations of both clients and staff. It provides a number of product suites, including sales CRM software, recruitment tools, and helpdesk software for customers.

Freshworks develops and distributes easy-to-use SaaS software and works with all of its clients to achieve actual business results, with a focus on helping various large and small enterprises and their expanding needs. Freshdesk, Freshworks, Freshservice, Freshteam, Freshchat, Freshcaller, and other products are available from the company.

The company already supports over 50,000 major and small enterprises both domestically and internationally.

Freshworks, a company based in California, is part of the Business Intelligence Software Industry. In February 2021, the company, which employs over 4,000 employees across all of its websites, announced yearly recurring revenue of more than $300 million.

Freshworks’s intended audience

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Freshworks offers innovative SaaS customer engagement tools for startups and other business professionals. It caters to businesses of all sizes and shapes, making it easier for operating teams to acquire and retain clients over time. Currently, the corporation operates in the United States and India.  

Freshworks will continue to use Google services to acquire new clients and raise global brand awareness. Freshworks plans to use Google Translation Services to become global as its product line expands.

The Startup Story of Freshworks

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The founder of the company worked for Zoho Corporation. Girish stumbled across a Hacker News article about Zendesk raising their pricing from 60% to 300% and how users were outraged. He came across a comment stating that there was a large market opportunity for someone to enter and acquire all of Zendesk’s and eSupport’s clients. He was slapped across the face.

Girish was aware of the opportunity in front of him as well as the metamorphosis that was taking place. He then reasoned that he should enter the SaaS-based customer support business.

The following weeks were difficult. He kept his excitement about this unique thought hidden. Mathrubootham talked about it with his friend Shan Krishnasamy, and they both agreed immediately away. They both left Zoho and joined forces with Vijay Shankar to form Freshworks, which would subsequently become Freshdesk.

The founding trio swiftly erected a 700 sq. ft. warehouse in Chennai to commence their IT support service in 2010. This new company not only changed how customers interacted with businesses on social media, but it also supported businesses in resolving customer complaints through a variety of channels.

It took the company nearly eight years of hard effort to reach the $100 million revenue mark. The subsequent rebranding from Freshdesk to Freshworks was successful, allowing the company to establish its US headquarters, bringing it closer to the majority of its user base.

It took the company nearly eight years of hard effort to reach the $100 million revenue mark. The subsequent rebranding from Freshdesk to Freshworks was successful, allowing the company to establish its US headquarters, bringing it closer to the majority of its user base.

The Founders and Team of Freshworks

Girish Mathrubootham, Shan Krishnasamy, and Vijay Shankar are the creators of Freshworks. It was established in Chennai in 2010.

Girish Mathrubootham

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Girish Mathrubootham began his career as a Member of Technical Staff at HCL Cisco ODC before working as a Senior Software Engineer at eForce, becoming a Lead Engineer, and eventually becoming a Product Manager at AdventNet Inc.

Girish found employment at Zoho Corporation after working there for more than 4 years. He started there as a Director and then rose to the post of Vice President – Product Management. Before launching Freshworks in 2010, Girish Mathrubootham spent more than five years working for Zoho.

One of the largest compensation packages offered to an Indian corporate leader in recent years is Freshworks CEO and Founder Girish Mathrubootham’s $233.41 million in stock awards, which will vest over the following seven years. In 2021, Girish Mathrubootham earned a salary of $611,980; the additional stock award he will get is in addition to that.

Shan Krishnasamy

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Also, the co-founder of Freshworks is Shan Krishnasamy. Prior to helping to create Freshworks, he also served as a Technical Architect for Zoho Corporation for more than 9 years. Shan is currently employed by Freshworks as the Co-Founder and CTO after earning his Bachelor’s degree from TPGIT.

Vijay Shankar

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The co-founder of Freshworks-SaaS (Software as a Service) company and its Director of Solutions Engineering is Vijay Shankar. He serves as the business’s primary solutions consultant. Vijay has expertise in creating numerous high-performance support teams from the start and has been with the company since its inception.

Vijay began his career as a tech support engineer at HCL before moving on to work as a pre-sales technical consultant for Zoho Corporation. He later joined Millicent Technologies before launching Freshworks with the other two founders.

The name, logo, and tagline of Freshworks

According to the company’s tagline, “refreshing business software,” Freshworks refers to a “Fresh” helpdesk that develops a customer service management platform to assist businesses in improving the customer experience.

In June 2017, Freshdesk changed its name to “Freshworks” while also developing its goods.

Vision & Mission of Freshworks

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The objective of Freshworks is, according to its mission statement, “to help companies better engage and communicate with their customers and employees through refreshing business software that is easy-to-use, feature-packed, and accessible to businesses of all sizes.”

Freshworks wants to be “One of the most loved companies in the world.”

Model for Freshworks’ business

The premium sales of its items and this company business model are essential. The business utilizes a distinctive worldwide inside sales methodology. Commercial software is pricy and challenging to use. Hours are wasted trying to accomplish things. In the end, businesses engage people to maintain the software.

Freshworks made the decision to offer high-quality, ready-to-use software that is more user-friendly in order to enter this industry. Customers trust Freshworks goods because of this, and they also benefit from outstanding service.

In 2010, Freshworks placed a strong emphasis on producing and marketing products to small and medium-sized businesses. The business started to gain notoriety within larger organizations over time as a result of the simple and efficient solutions it developed.

Freshworks’ broader mission of assisting businesses in gaining customers for life was the catalyst for the transition and evolution of its offerings. Freshworks uses special Indian democratic design principles to produce software that is affordable, scalable, embodies true craftsmanship, and is simple to use, all while empowering businesses to be self-sufficient.

For small and medium-sized firms, independent contractors, and business professionals, Freshworks offers a variety of products. Some of its major products include Freshmarketer, Freshsales, and Freshdesk, which have been bundled into a unified product suite for startups that the company will launch on November 11, 2021. This is a component of the business startup program, which was started in 2019 and has so far successfully onboarded 2,500 companies, 500 of which are now paying clients of the business. According to Freshworks, more than 150 unicorns, or around 20% of all unicorns worldwide, use its products.

Freshworks – Income and Development

The impressive development trajectory of Freshworks is a testament to the company’s ingenuity and persistence as well as how businesses are constantly looking for novel and innovative methods to interact with their customers.

The business stated in mid-February 2021 that its yearly recurring revenues had topped $300 million, increasing by almost 40% year over year even during the difficult, pandemic-stricken times.

The business increased its corporate network by opening offices in Paris, the Netherlands, France, and Utrecht. This came after the present London office’s expansion. Additionally, it held Refresh19 London, which attracted 400 attendees and served as the city’s inaugural gathering.

Additionally, the company collaborated with OrangeOne Corporation, a major tech company in Japan, to increase its footprint in APAC outside of Europe. Currently, Freshworks has offices in Hyderabad, Melbourne, and numerous more cities across the world. These all demonstrate how the company is growing on a larger scale.

Other notable growth achievements of the business include:
  • Over 50,000 large and small businesses all over the world have used Freshworks to exceed client and employee expectations.
  • Over 120 nations use products from Freshworks, both consumers and enterprises.
  • According to Freshworks, it was the first Indian SaaS business to be listed on the US Nasdaq.
  • According to Freshworks, it was the first Indian SaaS startup to be valued at $1 billion.

Following the company’s IPO filing on September 22, 2021, Freshworks CEO and Co-Founder Girish Mathrubootham announced that over 500 employees who owned shares in the company had virtually overnight become crorepatis.

In addition, almost 70 of them are under the age of 30; according to the CEO of Freshworks, “People who have graduated college a few years ago and they fully deserve it for believing in us over the past ten years.” The organization presently claims to have 4,300 employees worldwide.

Financial Works Freshworks

Revenues at Freshworks increased by almost 46% and reached $96.6 million in the third quarter of 2021, which ran from July to September. In the first quarter (Q1) of FY2022, the company reported an increase in total revenue, which was recorded at $114.6 million, demonstrating a 42% YoY gain. With this, the Indian firm, which is listed on the US stock exchange, successfully generated more than $100 mn in revenue for the second time in a row.

The company’s overall losses grew to $107.4 million, including the quarter from July to September 2021, as a result of a sharp increase in expenses of 305% to $214.63 million. Freshworks’ losses for the January-March 2022 quarter were $49.1 million, a significant rise from the net losses of $2.4 million reported for the same period the year prior.  

Future Plans – Freshworks

Currently, Freshworks helps businesses by offering intelligent customer interaction software that boosts their Information Technology operational effectiveness.

The excitement of the trip was increased by the fact that Freshworks staff members got to witness the magic in action. All of this requires chasing larger transactions while also growing our current clientele.

The business has evolved from a small startup making tools for small enterprises to a mid-sized corporation serving larger businesses, forcing them to reevaluate their marketing and sales strategy.

*All of the above images are taken from Google.