Freshworks a conservative company, on verge of profitability, says CEO

It is something that was bound to happen with the intensity we have shown right from the start, says Girish Mathrubootham

Freshworks, formerly Freshdesk, a leader in customer engagement software, set up operations in 2010. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider is now a Unicorn after raising $100 million from investors co-led by Sequoia and Accel, with participation of CapitalG, Alphabet’s (Google’s) growth equity fund. In all, the company has raised $250 million in equity funding so far. In an interaction with Gireesh Babu, Freshworks co-founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham, says that the company, at $1.5 billion in valuation, is on the verge of attaining profitability. Edited excerpts:

What are your initial thoughts on officially joining the Unicorn club?

It is something that was bound to happen with the intensity we have shown right from the start. This milestone, though significant, will not deviate us from the journey to create history. Our growth has been nothing short of what we expected and we set the bar high for ourselves.

What are the plans with the fresh fundraising? When do you go for an IPO?

We have always been a conservative company and on the verge of attaining profitability. We haven’t burnt through most of our funding money. The money raised now will help us in global expansion.  We do believe that we will eventually (go for) IPO but do not have a timeline for it. The focus right now will be to invest in the product and expand internationally.

Would you be looking for further acquisition? If yes, what are the need gaps?

All our acquisitions have been either to fill a technology gap or to bolster our team with the talent acquired. Some of these products go onto join our product rooster or add onto our product features – Konotor became Freshchat, Zarget became Freshmarketer and JoeHukum’s AI/ML capabilities are used extensively within our products. If a similar scenario presents itself, we will definitely consider.

How do you see the journey in the next couple of years? How far are you from the next one billion mark?

At this time, we are expanding in the US, Austraila and New Zealand, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific and Europe markets. We will continue our worldwide expansion. We will also invest in the integrated customer engagement platform experience. As for the next billion, we are already halfway there!