At APAC Media’s Monday Founding Stories, we spotlight journeys that redefine innovation and entrepreneurship. One such inspiring tale is the Freshworks success story, a shining example of how an idea from Chennai grew into one of the Top SaaS startups in Chennai and ultimately became a Top SaaS company in India.
Back in 2010, Freshworks Founders Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy set out to solve a universal challenge: making customer support software simple, affordable, and user-friendly. The spark came when Freshworks CEO Girish faced poor service during a TV relocation, highlighting the urgent need for better customer experience solutions.
What began as Freshdesk, a helpdesk tool, soon evolved into Freshworks, offering a complete suite of SaaS products that empower businesses in sales, marketing, IT, and customer engagement. With a strong focus on SaaS innovation, Freshworks scaled rapidly, crossing $100M in annual recurring revenue by 2018.
A historic milestone came in 2021 with the Freshworks Nasdaq listing, making it the first Indian SaaS company to achieve this feat. This moment positioned Freshworks among the Indian SaaS unicorns, inspiring countless SaaS startups in India to aim for global recognition.
Today, Freshworks serves over 65,000 customers worldwide, helping startups and enterprises alike streamline operations and enhance customer satisfaction with powerful cloud-based solutions.
The Freshworks success story proves that world-class innovation can emerge from anywhere. From a modest Chennai apartment to the Nasdaq, Freshworks continues to inspire a new wave of Indian SaaS startups, showing that with vision, resilience, and customer-first thinking, global success is within reach.
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