Empowering Hiring 150+ countries: Sagar Khatri, Multiplier | Founder's Deep Dive E21 | SaaSBoomi Podcast

This episode is special because its the first time we are having a founder from Singapore join the SaaSBoomi Podcast! 

Suresh Sambandam, CEO of KissFlow has a virtual sit down with none other than Sagar Khatri, the founder of Multiplier, a Sequoia surge backed SaaS business that helps business hire talent globally. We dive deep to talk about Sagar’s motivations to start Multiplier, how AI disrupts his offering and his dream of running a public company.

Key Takeaways

00:19 - Multiplier and Sagar’s intro

01:50 - Multiplier's value prop and its benefits

16:15 - Sagar's story behind starting Multiplier and why it's a SaaS business

21:14 - Sagar's vision for making payroll an employee-driven phenomenon

26:02 - How Multiplier deals with legalities and potential challenges in their business model

36:48 - Importance of having a strong product background for Platform dev

39:27 - How AI influences Sagar's business

46:10 - Role of governments in employment and the gig economy's effect on social contributions

53:15 - Sagar's go-to-market strategy and their sales cycle for inbound and outbound leads

56:09 - Sagar's thoughts on "The Ride of a Lifetime" by Bob Iger

57:10 - What Sagar envisions for the future of Multiplier and his dream of running a public company

Key Mentions

• Amazon: Sagar mentioned employment use cases with companies like Amazon and Orange.
• Orange: Sagar mentioned employment use cases with companies like Amazon and Orange.
• Sequoia: Sequoia has been an investor in Sagar's previous startup and was indirectly involved in his experiences that led to the founding of Multiplier.
• GCP: Sagar talked about the shift from having server rooms to using cloud solutions like GCP.
• Azure: Sagar discussed the shift from having server rooms to using solutions like Azure.
• Kissflow: A platform that Sagar mentioned his company Multiplier uses for their backend.
• ADP: ADP was mentioned as a traditional payroll processing company that Multiplier aims to outpace with its more modern, employee-driven approach.
• Tiger Global Management: Tiger Global Management is an investor in Multiplier for their Series B round.
• DST Global: DST Global is an investor in Multiplier for their Series B round.
• Pine Labs: Pine Labs is another investor in Multiplier.
• IIT Bombay: The co-founders of Multiplier are both alumni of IIT Bombay.
• Kelly Services: Kelly Services was mentioned as a traditional staffing services firm similar to what Multiplier aims to disrupt with their platform.
• Talent Wiki: Sagar mentioned that they have created a Talent Wiki of 150 countries to help customers with labor law information.
• Ranstad: Ranstad was mentioned as a traditional staffing services firm similar to what Multiplier aims to disrupt with their platform.
• Robert Walters: Robert Walters is a recruitment agency where Am Paul Sing, Co-founder of Multiplier, previously worked.
• Lazada: Lazada is an e-commerce company in Southeast Asia where Multiplier’s CTO previously worked as SVP of Engineering.
• Freshworks: Sagar compared his company's go-to-market model with that of Freshworks.
• MTR: A restaurant in India that Sagar loves, mentioned while discussing a meeting in Chennai with Suresh.
• Sangeetha Restaurants: A restaurant in Chennai that Suresh suggested Sagar visit when he comes to the city.
   

Multiplier is a platform that allows companies to hire talent globally without the need to set up legal entities in each country. With coverage in 150 countries, Multiplier handles all aspects of employment such as contracts, payroll, benefits, taxes, and social contributions, allowing companies to focus on sourcing the right talent. Although Multiplier itself does not do recruitment, it provides the infrastructure necessary for a company to hire globally.

The employee is technically on Multiplier's payroll since the legal entity belongs to Multiplier. What seems to matter more is the work relationship and the emotional connection that employees have with their team and their work, not the legal specifics.