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An unplugged conversation with Freshworks founder and CEO, Girish Mathrubootham

<ul><li><keyword id="2167965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="girish-mathrubootham" source="Orion">Girish Mathrubootham</keyword> is the co-founder and CEO of <keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword>, which is worth nearly $13 billion.</li><li>“The point is you don't have to fight at that point of time, you don't have to react or respond, but to use it to fire to do something creative,” he says. </li><li>The 46-year old Mathrubootham shared stories from his life’s journey, from his parents’ divorce to scornful relatives, and how he dealt with the down moments in his life, in an interview with Business Insider.</li></ul>“I have had relatives who have told me that I am only good enough to be a rickshaw puller,” says Girish Mathrubootham, the man who went on to build Freshworks, one of the biggest software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies in India. With a valuation of $13 billion, Freshworks has become the first decacorn (a startup valued at over $10 billion) in this space and the first Indian SaaS company to<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/freshworks-ipo-the-success-story-of-indias-first-saas-company-to-be-listed-in-us-stock-exchange/articleshow/86453444.cms"> list on Nasdaq</a>. In a candid conversation with Business Insider, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) opened up about his early life and the challenges he overcame. The 46-year old Mathrubootham remembered the scornful remarks from 1992, when he couldn't score high enough in his class 12 and entrance exams for engineering ⁠— not from his parents but his relatives ⁠— while speaking about how he dealt with the down moments in his life. “The point is you don't have to fight (the naysayers) at that point of time, you don't have to react or respond, but to use it to fire to do something creative,” Mathrubootham says. <div type="Video" msid="86606660" hostid="261" title="A candid conversation with Freshworks founder and CEO, Girish Mathubootham" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=86606660"></div> “The other thing to do is truly follow your heart, you will be happy,” he adds, while citing multiple examples from the Indian film industry including Rajkumar Hirani’s blockbuster 3 idiots. “Madhavan [R Madhavan, who plays Farhan in 3 Idiots] says, ‘It’s okay I will not have enough money but so what, I will be happy as a wildlife photographer’,” Mathrubootham recites the dialogue. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> ‘Success is not always about money’ He had moved back to India from the US after the dotcom bubble had burst at the turn of the millennium. From earning $85,000 a year in 2001, he was back in India at a job that only paid him ₹40,000 a month in 2005-06. His father, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/meet-girish-mathrubootham-founder-and-ceo-of-freshworks/articleshow/86453777.cms#:~:text=Girish%20Mathrubootham%20is%20the%20star,so%20that%20his%20employees%20could.">a retired bank officer today</a>, was concerned because in his eyes all of Girish’s friends were successful with well paying jobs and had bought their own house. Girish, on the other hand, only had the in-hand salary and a two-bedroom apartment on a loan. “People’s definition of success is different. I was looking at being happy. So I was going after what made me happy, not chasing money. I was enjoying my career, building products and having fun, my friends knew that but I think that was okay,” he adds. ‘Differentiating the well wishers and well informed’ Mathrubootham doesn’t take advice from everyone. “If you are Sachin Tendulkar, who do you take advice from — Gary Kirsten or the other man who is there in every Tendulkar match with the Indian flag painted on his body,” he says. He was referring to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudhir_Kumar_Chaudhary">Sudhir Gautam</a>, a die-hard fan of Tendulkar and one who would famously be seen in every match that Team India played at home. “The said man (Sudhir Gautam) is a well wisher but Kirsten has more knowledge about this field,” Mathrubootham adds. <div type="image" title="Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller,&amp;quot; shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat" msid="86508163" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Sudhir Gautam&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “I don’t give the key to my happiness to anyone and recommend my wife to do the same,” Mathrubootham says. An early jolt that made him independent Mathrubootham was young when his parents got divorced. "I would just say that experience also made me who I am and so in a very simple sense that I had to kind of fend for myself, take my own decisions and be accountable for those decisions," he says, adding he doesn’t like taking decisions on other peoples’ part including that of his own children. If you take all the decisions for your children until they’re 25, how do you expect them to go out into the world, he adds. “Decision making also needs experience,” he believes. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/meet-girish-mathrubootham-founder-and-ceo-of-freshworks/articleshow/86453777.cms">Girish Mathrubootham, the son of a retired bank officer who built a $13 billion company in just 10 years </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/freshworks-ipo-lists-on-us-exchange-gives-tribute-to-rajinikanth-during-the-listing-ceremony/articleshow/86452943.cms">Landmark moment for this Rajinikanth fan’s SaaS startup on listing at US exchange </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/we-asked-three-spacetech-entrepreneurs-what-it-takes-to-enter-the-field-and-they-listed-out-the-opportunities/articleshow/86484417.cms">We asked three spacetech entrepreneurs what it takes to enter the field and they listed out the opportunities</a>

WATCH: "Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller," shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat

<ul><li><keyword id="2167965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="girish-mathrubootham" source="Orion">Girish Mathrubootham</keyword> is the star of the Indian startup scene, transforming the lives of hundreds of his Freshworks employees who are now crorepatis.</li><li>Mathrubootham says he did not start Freshworks to buy a BMW, but so that his employees could.</li><li>He also has an immense interest in sports and started FC Madras, a football training academy, and hosted the Trichy Premier League in his hometown, Tiruchirappalli.</li></ul>It’s the age of unicorns in India, but seldom does a decacorn emerge that wows the world. Enter Girish Mathrubootham’s Freshworks, which had a blockbuster listing on Nasdaq, going from a valuation of $3.5 billion to $13 billion. In the process, Mathrubootham <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/freshworks-ipo-500-crorepatis-12-billion-market-cap-and-more-that-emerged-from-indias-first-saas-listing-at-nasdaq/articleshow/86445614.cms">helped 500 of his employees turn crorepatis</a>, with 70 of them aged under 30 years. In startup parlance, a unicorn is a private company valued at or more than $1 billion and a decacorn is one worth more than $10 billion. "I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics. We are showing the world what a global product company from India can achieve,” he added, in an <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/freshworks-ipo-creates-more-than-500-crorepatis-in-india-with-70-of-them-aged-below-30-7496681.html">interaction </a>with Moneycontrol. <div type="image" title="Girish 1" msid="86453791" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Girish Mathrubootham with his family during the Freshworks IPO&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Shares of Freshworks were up by over 33%, trading near $48 with a market capitalisation of nearly $13.4 billion. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="‘I’m starting this company so everybody can buy a BMW’" comment="subhead" text="‘I’m starting this company so everybody can buy a BMW’">‘I’m starting this company so everybody can buy a BMW’</cmsannotation> Mathrubootham is the son of a retired bank officer. He founded Freshworks in 2010 along with Shan Krishnasamy. “I’m not starting a company for me to buy a BMW, I’m starting this so that everybody (employees) can do that,” he told his wife at the time of starting the company, as he reveals in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J7zcp0-rOA">freewheeling chat</a> with Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The birth of Freshworks – customer complaints on social media!" comment="subhead" text="The birth of Freshworks – customer complaints on social media!">The birth of Freshworks – customer complaints on social media!</cmsannotation> The idea to start Freshworks was simple, says Mathrubootham. In the past, before the explosion of social media, customers used to simply call the customer care centre to raise an issue or inquire about something. However, the arrival of social media has changed all that, with customers raising issues and posting queries on Twitter and Facebook – this is something that most of us have done at some point. This requires companies to address customer complaints across different channels, and so, having their information like account details, plans/services subscribed to, or payment information, in a quickly accessible manner becomes important. This is where the idea for Freshdesk, the company’s flagship product, was born. Then known as Freshdesk, the company rebranded itself as Freshworks in 2017. It now has tools for sales, marketing, information technology (IT) service management and human resources (HR). It claims to have over 52,000 customers and counts Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital and Accel amongst its investors. That is an amazing feat for someone born in the temple town of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, going on to launch a billion-dollar IPO in the US. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Looking beyond business and addressing the sporting needs of youngsters" comment="subhead" text="Looking beyond business and addressing the sporting needs of youngsters">Looking beyond business and addressing the sporting needs of youngsters</cmsannotation> India is a country of over 1.4 billion people and this leads to a scarcity of many things – including good schools and colleges, and subsequently, jobs. This forces parents to force their kids to study well and land a good job. In the process, the other aspects of a child’s development get ignored. <div type="image" title="FC Madras edited" msid="86454099" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;FC Madras, Freshworks&amp;#39; own football team and academy&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> In Mathrubootham’s case, he tried to address the sporting needs of youngsters by organising events like the Trichy Premier League, a minor cricket league played with tennis balls. “We’ve been an opportunity-scarce country for a long time, but not anymore. So, with that mindset, we made education an enemy of sport,” he said, explaining that we appreciate students who get 100 in math, but not if they are good at football or cricket. “A champion should be celebrated, be it a scientist or a sportsman,” he added. To that end, Mathrubootham’s Freshworks has also started FC Madras with an intention to promote grassroots football in the country. FC Madras has a residential academy and offers free scholarships to talented young players. “The whole idea is to create respect for sports people and celebrate our champions, these children who pursue the sport should be able to succeed as well-rounded human beings even if they don’t become champion footballers,” he said in an interview with <a href="https://yourstory.com/weekender/freshworks-girish-mathrubootham-kicks-off-football-fever-in-chennai-as-fc-madras-comes-alive/amp">YourStory</a>. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/freshworks-ceo-girish-mathrubootham-shares-someone-said-i-will-be-nothing-but-a-rickshaw-puller/articleshow/86507840.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">WATCH: "Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller," shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/videos/a-candid-conversation-with-freshworks-founder-and-ceo-girish-mathubootham/videoshow/86606660.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">A candid conversation with Freshworks founder and CEO, Girish Mathubootham</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/airtel-rights-issue-details-record-date-issue-price-and-more/articleshow/86446419.cms">Airtel rights issue worth ₹21,000 crore opens next month – record date, price, ratio and everything else you need to know</a>

Girish Mathrubootham, the son of a retired bank officer who built a $13 billion company in just 10 years

A candid conversation with Freshworks founder and CEO, Girish Mathubootham

<ul><li><keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> made its debut in the US-based Nasdaq on September 22 and it is the first Indian SaaS company to do so.</li><li>Freshworks was the first Indian SaaS company to achieve a billion dollar valuation, in 2019.</li><li>The company has now crossed a $10 billion valuation, thanks to its public listing.</li></ul>The Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry had already been growing exponentially since last year, but Freshworks’ public listing at Nasdaq has taken it all to another level. The company, which makes customer engagement software for businesses, was valued at a whopping<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/freshworks-ipo-500-crorepatis-12-billion-market-cap-and-more-that-emerged-from-indias-first-saas-listing-at-nasdaq/articleshow/86445614.cms"> $12.2 billion </a>after it opened 21% above the initial offering price of $36 apiece. Freshworks sold 28.5 million common shares, hitting an intraday high of $48.75 on September 22. Freshworks was founded over a decade ago by <keyword id="2167965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="girish-mathrubootham" source="Orion">Girish Mathrubootham</keyword> and <keyword id="2167964" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shan-krishnasamy" source="Orion">Shan Krishnasamy</keyword>. Both the co-founders were former employees of Zoho Corp, which too is one of the biggest SaaS companies in India. Both Zoho Corp and Freshworks are rivals and the biggest players in this industry. Here is a glimpse of Freshworks’ journey so far: <table class="redcator-table-advance" style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; box-shadow: none; width: 910.922px; font-family: Merriweather; padding-bottom: 10px !important; background-image: inherit !important; background-position: inherit !important; background-size: inherit !important; background-repeat: inherit !important; background-attachment: inherit !important; background-origin: inherit !important; background-clip: inherit !important;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Year </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Development </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Early 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Girish Mathrubootham decided to start his entrepreneurial journey. Shan Krishnasamy too decided to join this venture as a co-founder. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">October 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Mathrubootham and Krishnasamy resigned from Zoho Corp. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks, then known as Freshdesk, incorporated in the USA due to lack of recurring payment solutions in India. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">March 2011 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Created a team of six people — three developers, one UI/UX designer, one customer acquisition/support engineer and Mathrubootham himself as product manager and CEO. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2011 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Raised $1 million in a funding* round led by Accel. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2015 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Acquired co-browsing and live video chat provider 1CLICK.io. This was Freshdesk’s first acquisition. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2015 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The company crossed 50,000 customers. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">June 2017 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshdesk rebranded to Freshworks. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">June 2017 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The platform was used by 100,000 companies in 145 countries. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2018 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks turned unicorn, after raising $100 million at a valuation of more than a billion dollars. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">November 2019 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks valued at $3.5 billion, after raising $150 million. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">November 2019 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">It crossed 150,000 customers. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">March 2020 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Zoho Corp filed a lawsuit alleging that Freshworks stole confidential information and built a business out of it. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2021 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks filed for $100 million IPO in USA </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">September 2021 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks made its debut on Nasdaq and its valuation touched $12 billion. </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>*Freshworks has raised one funding round every year since 2011. There was a year-long break in 2017, when the SaaS firm did not raise any capital. Freshworks and Zoho’s rivalry took a serious turn in 2020, when Zoho filed a lawsuit <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/zoho-says-freshworks-intentionally-accessed-database-in-new-us-lawsuit/articleshow/79413070.cms">alleging</a> that Freshworks stole confidential information and built a business out of it. Vembu-led company has also accused Freshworks of poaching its employees and customers. The battle is still ongoing. According to a report by investment firm Chiratae Ventures and consulting firm Zinnov last month, the Indian SaaS segment has the potential to clock a total turnover of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-software-service-sector-needs-more-than-200000-employees-by-2025/articleshow/84632003.cms">$75 billion</a> by 2025. Companies like Zoho, Freshworks, and others are expected to be at the forefront of it. Freshworks was the first Indian SaaS company to achieve a billion dollar valuation, in 2019. A year later, the company closed another round at a valuation of $3.5 billion. It is backed by some of the prominent investors across the globe — Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Accel, Steadview, CapitalG and more. The company raised another billion dollars through its public issue. It’s valuation also increased over three times to $12.2 billion. The SaaS giant has acquired 13 companies to date including AnswerI1Q, Flint, CanvasFlip, Natero, and Zarget, among others. "I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics. We are showing the world what a global product company from India can achieve,” Mathrubootham said, in an <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/freshworks-ipo-creates-more-than-500-crorepatis-in-india-with-70-of-them-aged-below-30-7496681.html">interaction </a>with Moneycontrol. He further claimed that the <keyword id="11167545" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks-ipo" source="Orion">Freshworks IPO</keyword> has made 500 crorepatis in India, 70 of which are under 30. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-and-airtel-need-tariff-hikes-agr-moratorium-might-not-be-enough-say-analysts/articleshow/86285450.cms">Vodafone Idea and Airtel need tariff hikes, AGR moratorium might not be enough, say analysts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-vodafone-idea-and-jio-welcome-telecom-relief-package-but-analysts-are-divided-on-whether-it-is-enough/articleshow/86252002.cms">Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Jio welcome telecom relief package, but analysts are divided on whether it is enough</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/airtel-challenges-telecom-departments-demand-of-1400-crore/articleshow/86260516.cms">Airtel challenges telecom department's demand of ₹1,400 crore</a>

The success story of India’s first SaaS company to be listed in Nasdaq

Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) company <keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> has laid off nearly 90 employees, or 2 per cent of its total workforce, citing rough global conditions behind the move. The company's Founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham told employees in an email that this is not a company-wide layoff but "a structural change". "In all the changes we undertook we have deployed and retained the majority of our teammates, however a few around 2 per cent of 5,200 people or approximately 90 employees for whom we do not have a readily available open position," Mathrubootham wrote in the email. The CEO said that Freshworks will help impacted employees by providing them healthcare coverage and outplacement services. "While we have reported a strong quarter, we are not immune to this slower economy. While new businesses picked up, expansion slowed down even as we reduced our growth forecasts and headcount needs," he wrote. Freshworks joins a growing list of tech companies that have laid off employees amid global macro-economic conditions. The Nasdaq-listed firm was valued at $12.2 billion after it opened 21 per cent above the initial offering price of $36 apiece in September last year. Mathrubootham, in interviews with media outlets, highlighted that the IPO created a lot of wealth for its employees as more than 500 of its employees turned crorepatis (millionaires). He further added that about 70, of these 500 employees, are under the age of 30. The company was valued at $3.5 billion when it raised $150 million funding from investors like <keyword id="122716" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sequoia-capital" source="Orion">Sequoia Capital</keyword>, CapitalG and Accel in November 2019. Founded by Mathrubootham and <keyword id="2167964" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shan-krishnasamy" source="Orion">Shan Krishnasamy</keyword> as Freshdesk in Chennai in 2010, the company started its journey as a helpdesk software for customer support. It decided to rebrand itself to Freshworks in June 2017 to incorporate the company's growing software suite. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/honda-to-hike-vehicle-prices-by-up-to-30000-from-jan/articleshow/96271533.cms">Honda to hike vehicle prices by up to ₹30,000 from Jan</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/be-prepared-for-export-tariff-walls-by-nations-undergoing-green-transition-fm-nirmala-sitharaman/articleshow/96270382.cms">Be prepared for export tariff walls by nations undergoing green transition: FM Nirmala Sitharaman</a>

Indian SaaS firm Freshworks lays off 90 employees

<ul><li><keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> made its trading debut on US stock exchange Nasdaq on Wednesday and its valuation touched $12 billion.</li><li>The company sold 28.5 million common shares, raising $1 billion in proceeds.</li><li>The CEO says that the IPO created 500 crorepatis in India, 70 of which are under 30.</li></ul>Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm Freshworks made its trading debut on US stock exchange Nasdaq on Wednesday and it was a strong one. The company was valued at $12.2 billion after it opened 21% above the initial offering price of $36 apiece. Shares of Freshworks opened at $43.5. The stock hit an<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/freshworks-stock-price-ipo-nasdaq-debut-salesforce-software-crm-2021-9"> intraday high</a> of $48.75 on September 22. Freshworks sold 28.5 million common shares, raising $1 billion in proceeds. Girish Mathrubootham, in interviews with several media outlets, highlighted that the Freshworks initial public offering (IPO) created a lot of wealth for its employees as more than 500 of its employees turned crorepatis (millionaires). He further added that about 70, of these 500 employees, are under the age of 30. "I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics. We are showing the world what a global product company from India can achieve,” he added, in an <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/freshworks-ipo-creates-more-than-500-crorepatis-in-india-with-70-of-them-aged-below-30-7496681.html">interaction </a>with Moneycontrol. The company was valued at $3.5 billion when it raised $150 million funding from investors like Sequoia Capital, CapitalG and Accel in November 2019. The company is also backed by Steadview Capital and Tiger Global Management. It plans to use the proceeds from the offering to acquire complementary businesses, products, services or technology. A part will also be used for general corporate purposes like working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditure. Founded by Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy as Freshdesk in 2010, the company started its journey as a helpdesk software for customer support. It decided to rebrand itself to Freshworks in June 2017 to incorporate the company’s growing software suite. Freshworks claims to have over 52,500 customers across the globe and it reported a revenue of $169 million in the first half of 2021. Compared to the first half of 2020, the company’s revenue has grown by nearly $60 million. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/south-koreas-crypto-regulations-are-tightening-around-investors-and-exchanges-alike/articleshow/86426452.cms">South Korea’s crypto regulations are tightening around investors and exchanges alike</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/paras-defence-and-space-technologies-ipo-gets-blockbuster-demand-from-investors/articleshow/86422668.cms">Paras Defence and Space Technologies IPO gets blockbuster demand from investor</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/experts-say-karnatakas-ban-on-games-of-chance-like-dream11-and-mpl-may-face-a-legal-test/articleshow/86419697.cms">Experts say Karnataka’s ban on games of chance like Dream11 and MPL may face a legal test</a>

Freshworks IPO — 500 crorepatis, $12 billion market cap and more that emerged from India’s first SaaS listing at Nasdaq

<ul><li>Freshworks became the first Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm to get listed on a US exchange by raising $13 billion on its debut day.</li><li>The IPO created 500 crorepatis in India, 70 of them are under the age of 30.</li><li>There are many more reasons why the startup industry is cheering for the <keyword id="11167545" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks-ipo" source="Orion">Freshworks IPO</keyword>.</li></ul>Apparently, the startup world can’t keep calm because not everyday does an Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm get listed on a US exchange by raising $13 billion dollars on its debut day. Icing on the cake is that the Freshworks IPO has also created a whole lot of wealth for its employees. 500 crorepatis (millionaires) in India, 70 of them are under the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/freshworks-ipo-500-crorepatis-12-billion-market-cap-and-more-that-emerged-from-indias-first-saas-listing-at-nasdaq/articleshow/86445614.cms">age of 30</a>. Interestingly, Girish Mathrubootham, co-founder and chief executive officer of Freshworks, who is a big fan of Rajinikanth, names the opening ceremony event on Nasdaq as ‘Project Superstar’ in tribute to the famous Indian actor. There are many more reasons why the startup industry is cheering for the Freshworks IPO launch. Here are a few reactions from the India Inc: Freshworks IPO is a ‘snowball moment’ for India’s SaaS industry "An IPO is one more feather in Freshwork and Girish's hat! I strong believe they would build a long standing institution. The most gratifying part is to see the wealth created for their team, and energy they have helped propel in the India SAAS ecosystem - installing confidence in founders /to-be founders that great companies can be built from scratch. This is a snowball moment for India SAAS, and I am excited that we at Speciale are live and investing in this vibrant and growing startup ecosystem,” — Vishesh Rajaram, founder and managing partner of Speciale Invest This startup accelerator feels this is a Neeraj Chopra moment for the industry "Salesforce was the first SaaS IPO in the world in 2004. It served as a big inflection point for the entire SaaS Industry and which today, after 15 years, has an enterprise value of $2 trillion dollars. Freshworks - as the first Indian SaaS company to go IPO - acts as a similar inspiration to a growing number of SaaS startups from India. Every Indian SaaS founder is cherishing this moment just like the nation celebrated Neeraj Chopra winning Gold at the Olympics,” — Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, partner at Upekkha Value SaaS Accelerator Now the important question is who will achieve this feat next? "Successful listing of Freshworks on NASDAQ is a “Eureka” moment for the B2B SaaS sector in India which will inspire many upcoming start-ups to spread Indian product software across the globe. This feat by Freshworks showcases the potential for Indian SaaS start-ups to build globally disruptive technology product companies. It also showcases an immense amount of talent and the passion for entrepreneurship &amp; execution the Freshworks team embodies, and we (as in the Indian startup ecosystem) are eager to find out who will achieve this feat next,” — Ankur Bansal, cofounder and director at BlackSoil “Every SaaS founder in India would have a story or two about how they got inspired by Girish and the Freshworks story. Freshworks IPO makes the story they believed and got inspired by all the more real and their aspirations all the more possible. To the next 10 Indian SaaS IPOs!,” — Mayank Agarwal, cofounder at SendX “Freshworks has paved the path for future SaaS Companies that are building from India and selling globally. This is just a start of what we can see in the upcoming decade where a ton of Indian SaaS Companies will be going public. As Girish had mentioned yesterday that he feels like winning an Olympic medal, it is equivalent or more and motivates the next generation of SaaS Founders to build and go public,” — Harshit Agarwal, chief executive officer at Appknox SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/freshworks-ipo-500-crorepatis-12-billion-market-cap-and-more-that-emerged-from-indias-first-saas-listing-at-nasdaq/articleshow/86445614.cms">Freshworks IPO — 500 crorepatis, $12 billion market cap and more that emerged from India’s first SaaS listing at Nasdaq</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/voltas-havells-india-and-blue-star-stocks-have-gained-10-24-on-hopes-of-strong-demand-this-festive-season/articleshow/86448471.cms">Air conditioner brands Voltas, Blue Star, Havells rally ahead of festive season</a>

Landmark moment for this Rajinikanth fan’s SaaS startup on listing at US exchange

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Shares of Indian software firm <keyword id="12153608" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> jumped as much as 36% in their trading debut on Wednesday. </li><li>The firm priced its initial public offering at $36 per share Tuesday evening.</li><li>Freshworks aims to compete with <keyword id="11892769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="salesforce" source="Orion">Salesforce</keyword> as it tries to disrupt the <keyword id="12153610" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="customer-relationship-management" source="Orion">customer relationship management</keyword> market.</li></ul>Shares of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/frsh-stock">Freshworks</a> jumped as much as 36% on Wednesday during its Nasdaq debut.The stock hit an intraday high of $48.75 Wednesday. Freshworks on Nasdaq trades under the ticker "FRSH." The firm priced its initial public offering at $36 per share Tuesday evening. Freshworks sold <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/freshworks-announces-pricing-of-initial-public-offering-301382238.html?tc=eml_cleartime">28.5 million common shares</a>, raising $1 billion in proceeds and garnering a valuation of over $10 billion valuation. Founded in India, Freshworks, now a San Mateo, California-based software company, builds customer management platforms that have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-atlassian-exec-jose-morales-freshworks-2020-10">gained the attention of clients</a> including Honda, Cisco, and American Express.Its business <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-new-cmo-stacey-epstein-growth-2021-3">boomed during the pandemic</a> as companies rushed to digitize most of their customer operations to cater to the growing demand of clients whose employees were mostly stuck at home as large swathes of the world shutdown, founder CEO and Girish Mathrubootham <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-ceo-huge-opportunity-to-disrupt-customer-service-market-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previously told Insider.</a>Freshworks aims to compete with software behemoth Salesforce as it tries to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-new-cmo-stacey-epstein-growth-2021-3">disrupt the customer relationship management </a>market, Mathrubootham <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-ceo-huge-opportunity-to-disrupt-customer-service-market-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">added.</a> Though Freshworks is based in the US, the majority of its employees are based in Chennai, India. It has other offices in 10 other locations, including London, Berlin, and Sydney.The idea of Freshworks was borne out of Mathrubootham's frustration with the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-ceo-huge-opportunity-to-disrupt-customer-service-market-2019-11">lack of response from a moving company</a>, which damaged his television during the process in 2010. More than a decade later, he has grown his firm from just focusing on customer support to one that provides software for every customer interaction."We started in a 700 square foot warehouse in Chennai in 2010," Mathrubootham said in the <a href="https://sec.report/Document/0001628280-21-018866/0001628280-21-018866.txt">regulatory filing</a>. "We didn't plan nor expect to change the world. Our dreams came in increments, each building on the next and expanding our vision over time."Today, the company, among India's first unicorns - startups worth more than $1 billion - and is one of the country's best-known software-as-a-service firms.Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Bank of America Securities acted as lead book-runners for the offering.

Freshworks jumps 36% in trading debut after pricing IPO at $36 per share

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Freshwork's CEO Girish Mathrubootham sees a massive opportunity to disrupt the customer engagement market, and has created a company that provides software for all the interactions a company might have with a customer. </li><li>"Customers are used to having a platform and then integrating all these tools. So today if you walk into any company, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/crm">CRM</a> stack is unwieldy...so what we believe is the exciting opportunity of the future is building the CRM platform of the future," Mathrubootham told Business Insider. </li><li>The company just raised $150 million in Series H funding, in a round led by Accel, Sequoia, and CapitalG, to continue growing. </li><li>Sameer Gandhi, a partner at Accel said Freshworks offers a unique product that helps businesses manage every step of interaction with a customer in one platform, as opposed to many, and offers a use-friendly way to do so. </li><li>Freshworks has 250,000 customers globally and many are small to medium sized businesses or mid-market businesses.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summarymary">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>In 2010, Freshwork's CEO Girish Mathrubootham saw a massive opportunity to change the way companies do customer support. He was moving back to India from Austin, Texas in 2009, where he had been working as an engineer for Zoho. During the move his TV was damaged by the moving company, and he had no luck getting a response or solution from the moving company. At that point he said he got frustrated and shared his experience in an online forum. That post changed everything. He noticed how engaged the online community was in solving the issue - enough that the moving company eventually reimbursed him for his damaged TV. "That's when I realized something was changing in the world of customer support, where I realized that as a customer I had a newfound power to take on a company," Mathrubootham said. He realized he had to capitalize on this opportunity and started a customer support company called Freshdesk in 2010.In the 10 years since, Mathrubootham has grown the company from its customer support focus, which India is a hub for, into a platform that provides software to help manage every interaction a customer has with a company, from marketing to customer support. The company is now called Freshworks and is headquartered in San Mateo, California, although the majority of its employees are still based in India, with offices in 10 other locations, including London, Berlin, and Sydney.His goal with Freshworks is to create a new customer relationship management platform that includes everything needed for a company to interact with a customer from beginning to end. This includes marketing and sales automation, messaging and email campaign management, among other things, to help manage relationships with customers. He said he saw a need for a streamlined, user-friendly tool for companies to be able to do this that didn't yet exist in the market."Customers are used to having a platform and then integrating all these tools. So today if you walk into any company, the CRM stack is unwieldy...so what we believe is the exciting opportunity of the future is building the CRM platform of the future," Mathrubootham told Business Insider. The company just raised $150 million in Series H funding, led by existing investors Sequoia Capital, CapitalG, and Accel, to continue growing. This new funding gives Freshworks a valuation of $3.5 billion, as it targets a potential IPO next year, although it doesn't have a set timeline yet, Mathrubootham said. Accel's India arm gave Freshworks its seed funding of $1 million in 2011. <h2>Salesforce is a giant, but there's room for competition</h2>In the CRM market, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/salesforce">Salesforce</a> is the big behemoth, but Mathrubootham thinks there is room to disrupt. "It's been almost 20 years since anything new happened in CRM, so there is room for a technology refresh," he said. He added that he thinks there is a better solution where customers don't need to integrate services on top of a "bare bones" CRM platform. Sameer Gandhi, a partner at Accel who led this funding round, agreed, and said that he thinks the market is big enough for many different options, and it is not a "winner take all" market."We really think Freshworks can be incredibly successful in this market, and it doesn't have to be at the expense of a Salesforce. Frankly there's a lot of other vendors out there too," Gandhi told Business Insider. He said what drew Accel to Freshworks was that it was doing something unique in the CRM space. Mathrubootham had created a tool that was simple and intuitive to use, in a way that other products in the sector weren't. And the product is well targeted toward the type of small to medium sized businesses that mainly use the platform. "It's a really unique approach that you'd have to stitch together with a bunch of different kinds of solutions in other cases," Gandhi said. Freshworks has 250,000 customers globally. Many of these are small to medium sized businesses or mid-market businesses. However, Gandhi said the product is also popular with smaller groups within large businesses. Some larger companies that use the product are Sotheby's, Bridgestone, DISH, Sling, and Vonage.Mathrubootham said the company plans to use the money raised in this round to continue growing before looking towards an IPO.

The CEO of Freshworks had an idea 10 years ago when his TV was damaged by movers. Now his startup is worth $3.5 billion and is threatening Salesforce.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The CEO of the software firm Freshworks says his workers are using OpenAI's ChatGPT to write code.</li><li>Girish Mathrubootham told Fortune some tasks that usually took 8 to 10 weeks were completed in a few days.</li></ul>The CEO of the software company Freshworks says his employees are using OpenAI's ChatGPT to write code — and it's saving them a ton of time."We use ChatGPT to write code," Girish Mathrubootham <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/05/23/generative-ai-chatgpt-uses-ceos-business-book-travel-write-code/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Fortune</a>. Software development that "used to take anywhere from eight to 10 weeks… now can be done in less than a week," he said.Generative AI's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-ai-technology-end-of-coding-software-developers-jobs-2023-4">impressive coding skills</a> are making it easier for people to develop software across the board. Some VCs and startup founders told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/generative-ai-threat-to-saas-companies-software-as-a-service-2023-5">Insider's Stephanie Palazzolo</a> that this could disrupt the way software was created, distributed, and used.A representative for Freshworks did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside normal business hours.Freshworks isn't the only example of companies using this new technology to increase productivity.The CEO of Octopus Energy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-work-automation-octopus-energy-greg-jackson-2023-5">said artificial intelligence was doing the work of hundreds</a> of people at the company. Greg Jackson wrote for <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ai-is-like-going-from-muskets-to-missiles-everywhere-all-at-once-3kx5v0kn9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Times of London</a> that the company had been using AI for months and that emails written by these tools delivered better customer satisfaction than those from trained workers.Workers are also taking it upon themselves to leverage AI to increase their productivity and output behind their bosses' backs. One worker — speaking under the pseudonym Ben — <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7begx/overemployed-hustlers-exploit-chatgpt-to-take-on-even-more-full-time-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">told Vice</a> that ChatGPT did around 80% of their job.The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-ai-chaos-openia-google-creatives-academics-2023-1">recent popularity</a> of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT is stoking employee fears about the automation of jobs, especially amid a wave of layoffs affecting <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=layoffs+business+insider&amp;oq=layoffs+business+insider&amp;aqs=chrome.0.0i512j0i22i30l4j69i61j69i60l2.5443j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several industries</a>. A March report from Goldman Sachs said that generative AI tools like ChatGPT could lead to "significant disruption" in the labor market and affect around <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/generative-ai-chatpgt-300-million-full-time-jobs-goldman-sachs-2023-3" rel="">300 million full-time jobs globally</a>.

Software company CEO says using ChatGPT cuts the time it takes to complete coding tasks from around 9 weeks to just a few days

We made it to the middle of the week, friends. I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and I'm a pretty calm person. I love writing the newsletter, but wanting it to be perfect makes me quite stressed out and anxious sometimes.This unease is surprisingly common. Almost half of Gen Zers feel that way all or most of the time at work, according to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-feel-stressed-anxious-at-work-deloitte-survey-2023-5">new study from Deloitte</a>.My colleague <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/sawdah-bhaimiya">Sawdah Bhaimiya</a> broke down the survey findings. And she highlighted how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-feel-stressed-anxious-at-work-deloitte-survey-2023-5">Gen Zers and millennials are equally struggling to perform to their best abilities</a>.This is pretty bleak given that we <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-changing-america-shop-live-work-millennials-2023-2">still have full careers ahead of us</a>. So to prevent burnout, I try improving my mental health with work-life boundaries (which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-gen-z-go-down-greatest-generation-mental-health-2022-9">Mark Cuban is super into</a>, by the way!)Now, let's dive into today's tech.If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-in-tech">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a href="https://link.insider.com/click/27645591.160803/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zaWRlci5jb20vYXBwP25yX2VtYWlsX3JlZmVyZXI9MSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPVNhaWx0aHJ1JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9T3BlbmluZ19iZWxs/62667762063d6b9bef0cffb3Bf9c9aa56" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-employees-blast-pay-morale-internal-messages-2023-5"></a>1. "Microsoft is currently a terrible place to work." Leaked messages revealed that employees are internally expressing their unhappiness over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-wont-raise-salaries-for-full-time-employees-this-year-2023-5">pay cuts</a> and low morale. They're directly questioning executives through a variety of methods.<ul><li>Some upset employees have shared their grievances via internal messaging boards. Others have posed anonymous — and pretty pointed — questions during all-hands meetings.</li><li>"Why do they think it's appropriate to screw over their employees like this?" one employee asked. Another wondered what the leadership team planned to do about low morale, while adding that "denial is not a strategy."</li><li>My colleague <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ashley-stewart">Ashley Stewart</a> obtained a slew of leaked screenshots that show the internal ire at Microsoft.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-employees-blast-pay-morale-internal-messages-2023-5">Read their angry messages and questions here.</a>In other news:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-best-early-stage-seed-vc-investors-startups-2023-5"></a><div type="image" title="Text that says: Insider Seed 100, In partnership with Tribe Capital. Photos of Aileen Lee, Ameet Shah, Serena Williams, Dan Teran" height="1500" width="2000" msid="100475652" hostid="261" sizebytes="290256"></div>2. Insider's annual Seed 100. Serena Williams, Peter Thiel, and other major names made the list of top, early-stage investors. Each has a proven track record of picking startups that become successful. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/100-best-early-stage-seed-vc-investors-startups-2023-5">Get the full list here.</a>3. Apple will make hundreds of millions of dollars from ChatGPT. The iPhone maker isn't a leader in generative AI. But it'll still bring in big bucks from companies like OpenAI by taking 30% of whatever they reap from iOS apps. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-chatgpt-ai-app-store-tax-openai-ios-2023-5">More on Apple's AI tax here.</a>4. How to make money on social media with as few as 2,300 followers. Dozens of influencers shared with Insider how they make money from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-influencers-get-paid-on-instagram-tiktok-youtube">Check out their top strategies and tips here.</a>5. Amazon employees are giving up their stock. Stock forfeiture is a hidden metric that reveals turnover rates at companies. It's very high for Amazon. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-employee-stock-poor-retention-tool-2023-5">More on the employee exodus index here.</a> Bonus: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-staff-plan-walk-off-job-return-to-office-report-2023-5">Amazon employees reportedly plan a one-day walkout in Seattle.</a>6. Small banks are booming with belief. After Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic both collapsed, many experts thought only big banks could survive. But many entrepreneurs are now forming brand new small banks. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/founders-new-banks-after-collapse-of-svb">Check out the optimistic trend here.</a>7. Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook/Meta are among the least reputable brands. Meanwhile, the study placed Apple and Amazon near the top. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/patagonia-costco-rank-most-reputable-brand-twitter-ftx-trump-lowest-2023-5">Get the list of most and least reputable brands here.</a> Bonus: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-plummets-50-spots-survey-musk-most-reputable-brands-ford-2023-5">Tesla plummeted 50 spots on the reputable brand list.</a>8. ChatGPT helps employees complete weeks-long coding tasks within days. Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham said the company uses ChatGPT to write code. It's the latest example of how AI is making software development much more efficient. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-coding-openai-ceo-save-time-ai-jobs-software-2023-5">More on the rapidfire coding here.</a>Odds and ends:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-software-legal-tricks-subscriptions-customers-money-pay-death-ownership-2023-5"></a><div type="image" title="Someone holding a phone in the center and all of their belongings disappearing" height="850" width="1133" msid="100475653" hostid="261" sizebytes="57134"></div>9. Say goodbye to ownership. Companies — think Peloton or Apple — now commonly hold repairs and paid software over people's heads. It prevents them from truly ever owning the devices. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-software-legal-tricks-subscriptions-customers-money-pay-death-ownership-2023-5">More on the growing trend here.</a>10. The 15 cheapest US cities. These cities (like South Bend, Indiana and Greenville, South Carolina) sit at the intersection of quality and affordability. They boast hiking trails, great schools, and other urban amenities. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cheapest-most-affordable-cities-in-us-places-to-live-2023-5">Get the full list of cities here.</a>What we're watching today:<ul><li>Sony is hosting its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9z0atV8VDk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PlayStation Showcase</a> today. The event will highlight a variety of games currently in development around the world.</li><li>South Korea is launching its <a href="https://www.kari.re.kr/eng.do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first commercial-grade satellite</a>. It's called the KSLV-2 and carries NEXTSat 2 technology.</li><li><a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=ARABSAT-BADR-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX is launching a Falcon 9 rocket</a>. It'll carry the Badr 8 satellite for Saudi Arabia.</li><li>Quarterly earnings for Nvidia, Snowflake, and other companies. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar">Keep up with earnings here</a>.</li><li>Happy birthday, Bob Dylan! Hope you find <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gsDBuHwqbM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shelter from the Storm</a>.</li></ul>Curated by Diamond Naga Siu in San Diego. (Feedback or tips? Email <a href="mailto:dsiu@insider.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dsiu@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="http://www.twitter.com/diamondnagasiu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@diamondnagasiu</a>) Edited by Alistair Barr (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/alistairmbarr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@alistairmbarr</a>) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/hallam_bullock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@hallam_bullock</a>) in London.

You Searched For "Girish freshworks" and got 12 results

An unplugged conversation with Freshworks founder and CEO, Girish Mathrubootham

Business Insider India

WATCH: "Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller," shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat

Kritti Bhalla

Girish Mathrubootham, the son of a retired bank officer who built a $13 billion company in just 10 years

Rounak Jain

A candid conversation with Freshworks founder and CEO, Girish Mathubootham

Business Insider India

The success story of India’s first SaaS company to be listed in Nasdaq

Kritti Bhalla

Indian SaaS firm Freshworks lays off 90 employees

IANS

Freshworks IPO — 500 crorepatis, $12 billion market cap and more that emerged from India’s first SaaS listing at Nasdaq

Kritti Bhalla

Landmark moment for this Rajinikanth fan’s SaaS startup on listing at US exchange

Bhakti Makwana

Freshworks jumps 36% in trading debut after pricing IPO at $36 per share

Isabelle Lee

The CEO of Freshworks had an idea 10 years ago when his TV was damaged by movers. Now his startup is worth $3.5 billion and is threatening Salesforce.

Paayal Zaveri

Software company CEO says using ChatGPT cuts the time it takes to complete coding tasks from around 9 weeks to just a few days

Beatrice Nolan

10 Things in Tech: How to make money on social media, Apple’s AI tax, and ChatGPT helps employees code faster

Diamond Naga Siu

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