Happy 6th, WebEngage
On this date, six years ago, Ankit and I set out to build a cute little startup. We called it WebEngage.
Little did I know that years later we’d have created a company out of that startup. As we complete 6 years today, I feel extremely fortunate and lucky to have experienced this journey.
I always used to wonder why most startups would never grow into becoming something meaningful. With all these years in the battlefield, and having survived 2 near death situations, I now know why most startups never become organizations. Building products, hiring people, raising money, making noise, buying free lunches/ping-pong tables — all of those, are way more easier in comparison to building a predictably growing cash-flow engine.
If not for some great mentors like Rajan, Karthik and Aneesh — I’d have lost my way long back. Thank you folks.
For tech businesses, 2011–12 was the beginning of funding euphoria in this country. However, there were no real startup success stories outside of Naukri, MMT, JD etc. A lot of successful founders today started in those times. I consider it a privilege to have lived & built in the times of Warikoo, Ashish G, Ashish K, Girish, Sampad, Zishaan, Saluja, Shivku and over a dozen others that I don’t get to spend as much time as I’d like to. The real success stories are yet to come. But, I am more confident than ever that the stage is all set for those stars to shine.
WebEngage has grown over 250% in that last 12 months. We are scaling fast in otherwise unknown territories of S.E.Asia and the Middle East. If not for an amazing team, such feats would have been impossible. There are a lot of no-names who work hard 24*7 to make things happen and let me take all the credit. I thank all these guys from the bottom of my heart for living a dream.
In all these years, a lot has changed — our DNA, product, market focus etc etc. But one thing has remained constant — our obsession with 2 C’s. Culture & Customers. Do these images reflect that obsession? :-)
Marketing automation is an abused space. In the last decade or so, companies have been sold all sorts of things in the name of automation. There is no coherence in how brands engage with their customers across multiple touch points. Engagement channels like web, email, mobile are managed by marketers in silos. For the small and mid-sized businesses, we want to change that forever. My team lives and breathes that mission each moment. And, I am loving it!
Thanks for being the evangelist that you have been. Until next…
- Avlesh
P.S: A friend just highlighted that this is my first post in the last 12 months. It’s sad. I promise to get better with this.
