Build story · India · 2010–2021
Freshworks: from a Chennai office to Nasdaq
Inspired by a Hacker News post about a rival's price increase, Girish Mathrubootham built affordable customer-support software from Chennai and listed Freshworks on Nasdaq in 2021.
By Shivam Bhandari · Reviewed 31 October 2026 · How we write
by the numbers
- Founded
- 2010, Chennai
- Nasdaq IPO (2021)
- about $1 billion raised
What happened
In 2010 Girish Mathrubootham, a product manager at Zoho, read a Hacker News thread where customers complained about Zendesk raising prices. He saw an opening for simpler, more affordable customer-support software.
He and Shan Krishnasamy founded Freshdesk in Chennai, selling online to small and mid-sized businesses worldwide with free trials and transparent prices. The company expanded into sales, IT, and marketing software and renamed itself Freshworks.
In September 2021 Freshworks listed on Nasdaq, raising about $1 billion and becoming the first Indian SaaS company to list there. Many employees became shareholders.
Timeline
- 2010
Freshdesk founded.
- 2017
Renamed Freshworks.
- 2021
Nasdaq IPO.
what made it work
- Spotted customer frustration with a rival's pricing.
- Affordable, easy-to-try software.
- Indian cost base serving global customers.
the lesson
Customer complaints about a leader's pricing are a market opportunity for a simpler, cheaper alternative.
Apply it to your business
- 1Watch online forums for complaints about competitors.
- 2Offer free trials and transparent prices.
- 3Build globally from India's talent base.
Laws at work in this story
Figures are rounded and drawn from public reports, company filings and widely cited coverage at the time. Check the company's latest filings before relying on any number.