The Neon Show 8 Years Without Funding to $100M Raise & Now A Category Leader | Shivku Ganesan ,Exotel
A 14-year journey from bootstrap to scale.
Exotel’s story is one of India’s most remarkable SaaS journeys. Shivakumar Ganesan, started Exotel in 2011, bootstrapping it from the ground up. In 2012, he raised a seed round of ₹2.5 crore, but for the next eight years, the company grew without any external funding. Then came COVID and revenue went from $10M to $5M and what followed were bold strategic moves.
3 funding rounds, 2 major acquisitions, and the decision to stay focused on the Indian market despite advice to go global first. Today, Exotel powers calls for delivery executives, cab drivers, and banking relationship managers across the country.
In this conversation, Shivku shares what it’s like to tackle India’s unique AI challenge of building voicebots in 30+ languages, and how automation could reduce contact center jobs by as much as 80%. He talks about the tough transition from serving SMBs to enterprise customers and how he has built a ₹2500 crore+ business without leaving India.
If you’re interested in B2B companies built from India, this episode is full of insights on timing, reading the market, and creating deep moats in overlooked opportunities.
0:00 – Trailer
0:42 – Exotel enabling 2 Billion Calls Monthly
5:04 – 4 Fundraises & 2 M&A’s in 18 Months
12:06 – How Acquisitions Affect Company Finances
18:11 – Why 90% of M&As Fail
22:02 – Why Acquisitions Are Extremely Hard
22:59 – How AI Will Change Customer Relations
26:46 – How Customer Spending Will Shift with AI
29:10 – AI Could Reduce 80% of Jobs
30:27 – Where AI Offers Hope
31:47 – India’s Unique AI Challenges
34:60 → Actually 35:00 – Building in India for the US Market
38:17 – Why Exotel Didn’t Enter the US Market
39:49 – Indian SaaS Co’s Should Go Public
42:50 – The Mega Cycles of Tech Transformation
45:37 – Customer Segments: SMBs to Startups to Enterprise
56:45 – Find Large Uniquely Indian Markets to Solve
59:44 – India’s Shift from Price to Quality Is 20 Years Away
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Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
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This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.