Girish Mathrubootham: The Visionary Who Transformed Customer Support Into An ₹80,000 Crore Legacy
Girish Mathrubootham’s story isn’t your run-of-the-mill tech success tale.
It’s the journey of a man who turned challenges into stepping stones, transforming an underdog dream into an ₹80,000 crore reality. From being mocked for his academic struggles to leading India’s first software company to a NASDAQ listing, Girish’s trajectory is both inspiring and humbling.
The man who would later build Freshworks, a global leader in cloud-based software, began his career in the unlikeliest of circumstances. When his Class 12 grades disappointed, relatives snidely referred to him as a “rickshaw puller.” But if there’s one thing Girish Mathrubootham proved over the years, it’s that resilience beats ridicule every time.
After completing his education, Girish began his professional journey at HCL Cisco and then moved to Zoho. At Zoho, he quickly made a mark by spearheading one of its most successful ventures: ManageEngine. Rising to the role of Vice President of Product Management by 2007, it seemed like he had everything one could wish for. A secure, well-paying job at a top tech company and a respected position in the industry.
But life had a bigger plan. A simple online comment on Hacker News sparked the idea that would forever change Girish’s destiny. Zendesk, a dominant player in customer support software, had massively hiked its prices, leaving customers disgruntled. For Girish Mathrubootham, this wasn’t just an amusing anecdote from a tech forum. It was a business opportunity.
Girish Mathrubootham decided to take the leap. He left his stable role at Zoho and rented a small, 700-square-foot space in Chennai. With just six team members, he set out to create a product that was fresh in every sense of the word. Freshdesk, as it was initially known, promised something revolutionary: a cloud-based platform that converted customer interactions into streamlined tickets. It offered companies a straightforward, efficient way to manage customer support queries, no matter how they came in—calls, emails, or messages.
The early days were anything but glamorous. It took eight months before Freshdesk landed its first customer, Atwell College in Australia. But from that moment on, things began to pick up speed. Over the next 200 days, Freshdesk added 200 clients, proving that Girish Mathrubootham and his team were onto something big.
Investors took note. In December 2011, Freshdesk raised ₹5 crore from Accel. By 2012, Tiger Global came aboard, injecting ₹35 crore. With this support, Freshdesk hit the 1,000-customer milestone and began scaling rapidly. But Girish Mathrubootham wasn’t content to rest on his initial success. He saw an opportunity to expand beyond customer support. Recognizing that internal IT teams faced many of the same challenges, he launched Freshservice in 2014. It was an instant hit, achieving a million-dollar revenue run rate within just ten months.
By 2015, Freshdesk had over 50,000 users and was raising more significant funding rounds. But Girish Mathrubootham knew that to grow further, he needed to simplify the company’s identity. Freshdesk offered multiple products, and this sometimes caused confusion. So in 2017, the company rebranded as Freshworks, signaling a broader mission and a unified platform for businesses of all sizes.
That clarity of purpose paid off. In 2018, Freshworks surpassed the 100,000-customer mark across 125 countries. Its revenue soared to ₹700 crore, and the company achieved unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation. It seemed like every year brought fresh milestones. By 2020, revenue reached ₹1,500 crore, and Freshworks added another 200,000 customers to its roster.
But the defining moment came in September 2021. Freshworks became the first Indian SaaS company to list on NASDAQ, with a market capitalization of ₹80,000 crore. It wasn’t just a financial achievement; it was a cultural milestone, signaling that Indian startups could compete on the global stage. The IPO was a boon not just for the company but also for its employees. Over 500 employees became crorepatis overnight, a testament to Girish’s belief in sharing success.
Today, Freshworks continues to grow under Girish’s leadership. The company now generates over ₹4,000 crore in annual revenue, boasts a global workforce of 5,400, and offers a suite of six products that simplify customer support, sales, and IT management. Beyond the numbers, Girish Mathrubootham has created a company culture that values innovation, inclusion, and customer delight.
Girish Mathrubootham Mathrubootham’s journey from being underestimated to building one of India’s most respected tech companies is a reminder that resilience, vision, and empathy can transform not just businesses but entire industries. His story isn’t just about building an ₹80,000 crore company; it’s about redefining what’s possible when one dares to dream big and work tirelessly to make it happen.
