Abhinav kumar Gupta

#Day23 Mastering Lead Generation and Deal Closure In the ever-evolving world of sales, two challenges remain constant: generating quality leads and closing deals. Recently, I had a conversation with a seasoned sales executive who shared valuable insights on these critical aspects. Pain Points 1. Lead Generation Difficulties • “Lead generation is fairly difficult… You have to refresh your tactics. What’s working for you today might not work tomorrow.” The market is constantly shifting, and reaching the right audience requires continuous adaptation. 2. Challenges in Closing Deals • “There are none tools that help you close the deal… All CRM tools are systems of record, not systems of engagement.” Closing deals isn’t just about tracking data; it’s about engaging customers effectively and demonstrating real value. Overcoming the Challenges 1. Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) • “You need to identify your ideal customer profile, connect with them, and become visible to them.” Knowing exactly who your target customer is allows for more focused and effective outreach. 2. Create Engagement and Visibility • “If you can create engagement and visibility with your customer, your lead generation process becomes very easy.” Utilize platforms like LinkedIn, networking events, and referrals to build genuine connections. 3. Emphasize Value Selling • “Value selling is probably the most important factor… You have to know your competition and your value differentiators.” Focus on how your product or service solves specific problems for your customer. Tailor your messaging to highlight unique value propositions. 4. Adapt to the Educated Customer • “Today, customers understand what the technology does. They already know what they want you to solve for them.” With customers being more informed than ever, it’s crucial to listen carefully to their needs and customize your solutions accordingly.

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Since 2022, I have been reflecting on two key aspects 👇: 1. How did SaaSBoomi Caravan come to be? The idea for SaaSBoomi Caravan originated with Manav Garg, who envisioned the need to build the brand for SaaSBoomi (SB) in the United States. The goal was to ensure that the investor and founder communities in the US knew about SB and the burgeoning IndiaSaaS ecosystem. Vinod Muthukrishnan, with his charm, execution prowess, and leadership skills, became the face of this initiative, helping to organize an impressive first event. Despite being a 10-day event, it was packed with a meticulously planned program. Vinod Muthukrishnan, Priya Ramachandran, Avinash Harsh and I wanted to design the SaaSBoomi Caravan differently. We aimed to build relationships first, with work being a natural byproduct. My understanding of technology and the power of SaaS has been shaped through deep conversations with founders and senior leaders. We wanted to replicate this process with Caravan, so we created smaller, intimate groups where people could learn from each other’s experiences and challenges. Our goal was to "unconference" the typical founder summit experience. 2. What drives the SaaSBoomi Caravan? The primary motivation behind the SaaSBoomi Caravan is to help our founders gain a deeper understanding of the US market, including business practices, market scale, and strategies for building products suited for that market. It serves as an excellent platform to connect with key figures in the India-US corridor. There’s a lot of bonding and learning involved, particularly regarding go-to-market (GTM) strategies for the US. While we provide playbooks for the Indian market, the US market is very different. With good people and luck being on our side, Caravan has evolved into a supportive community for founders building for the US market. Founders come forward to help each other, fostering a collaborative environment. We are now all set for our third edition, with passes available at super early bird pricing that closes soon. Follow the link in the comments to reserve your spot at the Caravan '24. Let's ride! 🙌

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Sunday morning chai reflections ☕️ Been thinking a lot about the shift from SaaS to "services" Do you think being an operationally efficient (e.g. high margin / profitable) recurring Services business would ever be valued higher than a low margin / high burn sometimes recurring SaaS business? The key assumption here is that the "recurring" nature of SaaS is in question, where you still have to earn your renewal every single year. Also AI eating SaaS and putting tech-enabled services at the forefront (read: agents). Curious to hear your thoughts 🧠 #SaaS #Margins #Valuations

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How did Freshworks achieve ARR $597 Million? Recently in a podcast: https://lnkd.in/gXRbFXMt Girish Mathrubootham mentioned how SEO helped them build a huge awareness, eventually resulting in traffic and a lead pipeline Making it possible to do product-led growth. That's how important SEO is for any SaaS business Start investing in SEO today to build a sustainable growth engine #seo #SaaS #marketing

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Highperformr.ai Bags $3.5 Mn To Give An AI Boost To B2B Marketing 🔥🥳 Highperformr.AI, a marketing SaaS startup floated by former Freshworks executives Ramesh Ravishankar and Srivatsan Venkatesan, has raised $3.5 Mn (INR 29.2 Cr) in a seed funding round led by Venture Highway, with participation from The Neon Fund, Matrix Partners-anchored DeVC and other angel investors. Founded in July 2023, Highperformr.AI leverages generative AI and LLMs for a social media management platform that helps businesses maximise return on investment (ROI) from social media campaigns. 👉 Ex- Freshworks executives led Highperformr.AI bagged the fresh capital in a seed funding round led by Venture Highway and with participation of Neon, DeVC and other angel investors 👉 The startup’s first product, Highperformr for Teams, leverages generative AI and LLMs to help B2B businesses maximise their return on investment (ROI) on social media campaigns 👉 The fresh capital will be deployed to further the startup's research and development activity, build the platform's native AI capabilities, and expand its distribution network “The large TAM and the incumbents’ pre-GenAI era solutions leave a significant opportunity for Highperformr to innovate and disrupt the social CRM market,” said Priya Mohan, partner at Venture Highway. According to Inc42, the Indian GenAI space is projected to grow exponentially in the next few years, surpassing $17 Bn by 2030 from $1.1 Bn in 2023. A large trend in industries like fintech, enterprise tech, healthcare, among others, has been companies introducing GenAI mechanisms in smoothening and automating how they communicate with their end customers. Follow FounderHub for more... #startup #startupnews #news #ai #marketing #b2b #Genai #funding

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Resonates with our approach at Expertia AI

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🎉 The Clientell Family has some exciting news to share 🎉 We're thrilled to announce that Clientell has successfully raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Blume Ventures, with participations from our existing investors, including Chiratae Ventures, Artha Venture Fund and from Z5 Capital. https://lnkd.in/gZukPBUg This investment marks a significant milestone in our journey to redefine Revenue Operations. At Clientell, we envision a future where autonomous AI agents handle the entire spectrum of RevOps tasks. These AI-driven agents will serve as copilots, enhancing productivity and efficiency for RevOps teams everywhere. While our vision is expansive, the road ahead is filled with opportunities for innovation and growth. We are gearing up to dive deep into the development phase and are enthusiastic about the impact we as a team can create in this space. We're hiring! To realize our ambitious goals, we are expanding our team. We are looking for passionate, innovative minds ready to join us in shaping the future of RevOps through cutting-edge technology. If you are excited about AI and making a significant impact, we would love to hear from you. Career's page: https://lnkd.in/gwPXQhjZ A special thank you to Venkatesh Peddi from Chiratae Ventures for taking an early bets on us in our first round as well as being the pillar of strength and voice of reason across the pivots and hard decisions. Lastly, the only thing that I'm really proud about here is the stellar team we have who are building this company. It's a whirlwind ride it wouldn't have been possible if any one of them wasn't there. Since it's their company as well so won't say thank you, but I really appreciate the opportunity of building a company with each one of them: Aryan Trip. Ruthuparna K. Prathik Shetty Sayak Samaddar Shivraj N. Ayush Singh Chauhan Palak Jani Penchala Tharun 🚀 Kirti Bhatia Malaya Sahoo Ankit Deshwal To our investors, partners, and the entire Clientell community, thank you for your trust and support. It is an exciting journey and we look for to sharing the same with you all. #Clientell #FundingNews #RevOps #AI #StartUpLife #WeAreHiring #Innovation

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The SaaSBoomi Caravan got concluded recently, and wow, what an experience! It felt like an exchange program for SaaS founders, bringing us from India to the heart of Silicon Valley. We dove deep into crucial areas for SaaS success: GTM strategies, sales techniques, fund raising, personal growth, and hiring practices and a lot more. The knowledge shared was both practical and immediately applicable. The speaker lineup was phenomenal, featuring a mix of industry titans, innovators, and rising stars: • John Chambers (CEO, JC2 Ventures | Chairman Emeritus, Cisco) • Girish Mathrubootham (Freshworks) • Rishi Bhargava (Demisto, Descope) • Mahesh Ram (Zoom) • Muddu Sudhakar (AI expert) • Sahil Aggarwal (Rattle) • Peter Kim (WestBridge Capital) • Surojit Chatterjee (Ema) • Dhiraj Sharma (Simpplr Inc) • Raj Sabhlok(Bessemer Venture Partners) • Arvind Parthiban (SuperOps) • Kalyan Varma of Almabase 🎓 • Ankit Oberoi(Geniee International Group) • Ajit Ghuman(Monetizely) • Nishant Malhotra (DC Advisory) I am sure I have missed some names ! What set this apart was the warmth of the Indian diaspora. Successful founders like Vinod Muthukrishnan and Beerud Sheth opened their homes, creating intimate settings for deeper connections. The networking was incredible. I've made friends and connections that I'm sure will last well beyond this event. SaaSBOOMi Caravan was transformative. It provided insights into the SaaS industry, connected us with leaders, and fostered genuine friendships. The mix of practical advice, personal stories of grit, and exposure to radical ideas has given me a new perspective on my entrepreneurial journey. To any SaaS founder looking to expand their horizons and tap into the spirit of Silicon Valley, I can't recommend SaaSBOOMi Caravan enough. It's an experience that will inspire you to push your business to new heights. All credit goes to SaaSBoomi organizing team, volunteers and community leader Avinash Raghava #SaaSBOOMi

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Something BIG is cooking in Interactive Cares with Sumit Saha & Learn with Sumit - LWS . Stay Tuned.

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The Indian term Indicorns are the true measure of success in India’s startup ecosystem. The new term propounded by the Kunal Bahal, Titan Capital. An alternative to 'unicorns', they represent profitable companies that have shot past the ₹100 crore revenue milestone as of FY 2023. Founded within the last 15 years, these startups exemplify remarkable growth and innovation—whether bootstrapped, acquired, or publicly listed. Here's a look at the diverse sectors where indicorns are showcasing the best of Indian innovation and entrepreneurial excellence.

Co-lead a workshop (with Sumathi my business partner and Komal lath of Tute Consult) on branding and communication and why/how its' strategic & important for the portfolio companies of an early stage growth focused PE fund in Mumbai this noon. very interactive session. lots of takeaways. one of the biggest benefits of doing such workshops with founders and CXOs of growth companies is that you get to first hand understand their pain points and priorities. which makes you realize there is a long road ahead laden with great opportunity for those in PR & comms if we take off our hats and look at it from their perspective.

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Learnings from discussions with early stage founders in the enterprise segment reveal that sales doesn't operate in silos. Enterprise B2B buying is intricate and non-linear, involving various stakeholders, decision-makers, users, sponsors, influencers, and partners. Drawing from my management consulting background, influence mapping is crucial for effective enterprise B2B selling. Taking cues from product user experience, it is essential to meticulously design the buying process similar to the product experience. "Aha" moments are vital at different stages of the journey for various personas—end users, decision-makers, and evaluators. Gartner's research study outlines four stages of B2B buying, each presenting multiple interactions and opportunities to establish genuine connections. Leveraging the new generation of AI tools can facilitate the creation of a scalable experience tailored to the digital preferences of modern enterprises. #EnterpriseSales #B2B #SalesStrategy #AI #DigitalTransformation

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Meeting SaaS leaders at SaaStr has been an enriching experience, Growth projections for SaaS look very promising - Global market projections → US $908B by 2030 Projected CAGR → 18.7% SaaS spending → US $232B by the end of 2024 This will mark a 17.7% increase from the previous year. By 2025, 85% of business applications will be SaaS-based, up from 70% in 2023 What’s behind these changes? → AI Integration: AI is now integral—transforming user experiences and operational efficiency across SaaS platforms. → Power of Personalization: 75% of leaders link personalization with better performance, and 90% of customers are willing to pay more for tailored experiences. → Focus on Customer Success: With the customer success market expected to reach US $31B by 2026, 72% of businesses are prioritizing this area. → Cybersecurity Imperative: As cloud adoption expands, securing data is increasingly critical - more than just a best practice, it's essential. → Commitment to Sustainability: 44% of consumers are now favoring brands with clear ESG commitments - sustainability is key. What’s on the horizon? → Vertical SaaS Growth: Specialized services for niche markets are set to expand, offering more precise solutions. → Low/No-Code Platforms: Expected to drive 65% of app development by 2024, these platforms are democratizing technology creation → Micro-SaaS Expansion: Niche solutions with low entry barriers are booming, fostering innovation at a granular level. → Regulatory Compliance: As data privacy and network security become crucial, adherence to regulations is non-negotiable. → AI as a Catalyst: Projected to reach US$ 1,811B by 2030, AI is poised to revolutionize operations and drive significant innovation.  Here’s the bottom line - The future of SaaS is filled with both tremendous opportunities and significant challenges. Navigating these waters requires agility and foresight - Today's challenges are indeed shaping the leaders of tomorrow. #SaaS #AI #Innovation #FutureOfSaaS

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Future Founders BLR - Thursday, Aug 22, 6pm @ Indiranagar WHAT IS FF: Future Founders is our IRL event focused on non-frills Q&A around the (-1 to 0) and (0 to 1) stages of building based on our experience in intimately observing this across 100+ companies - lots of do's and dont's that we believe are needle moving for every early team. WHAT WE WILL DO: I'll be there with a few of our portco founders to primarily focus on answering questions with real examples, and frameworks we use at Better Captial. WHY FF: Just yesterday I spent 2 hours with one of our founders who spent 18 months to finally arrive at the version of our vision that is finally seeing "pull" -- and the one thing he had to say was "I'm sure we could have saved at least 9 months if not more and looking back it is so clear what we shouldn't have done and what we should have" -- and this is a founder with a successful exit under his belt. WHO IS IT FOR: All early builders from the ideation stage to early MVP irrespective of segment or category. REGISTRATION & MORE: Registration link in the first comment -- we have 25 spots and we are keeping these small so the conversation can be richer and focused. The registration will be open until we hit the registration limit with a buffer. Thanks to Surbhi and Pallav for helping make this happen. We are nothing without our community of founders :) See you there!

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SaaS GTM: The Mechanics of Exponential Growth by Santosh Sharan - a youtube video with incredible value that only got 161 views (shocker). In case you didn't know, Santosh is the COO of Retention.com, mastermind behind RB2B, ex-VP Product/Growth at ZoomInfo & advised a load of data SaaS companies you've definitely used, including Gong... I like to geek out on GTM strategies, and this one SLAPS. Here's a little Google Doc I've put together (in collaboration with Samuel Svestka & ChatGPT) which summarizes the hour long video: https://lnkd.in/d4r7EEnn ✅ Drop a like if I should share some of my other findings on SaaS GTM strategies. ✅ Don't forget to drop Adam Robinson & Santosh Sharan a follow, their approach to building in public is defining a new paradigm in B2B SaaS.

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🚀 GoKinda's Journey to Finding Product-Market Fit: A LeapSheep Success Story If there's one thing we believe at LeapSheep, it's that every startup deserves the best chance of success, and that starts with understanding your customer—truly knowing them and their deepest needs. This belief has been at the core of our work with GoKinda, a startup committed to revolutionizing the way travellers find stylish, sustainable hotels. Dominic Michaelis and Alison Greer, the founders of GoKinda, approached us with a clear mission but were grappling with the complex transition from corporate roles to the unpredictable startup world. Dom came from a service-oriented background and Alison had extensive experience in travel, but neither had built a startup before. They knew their industry well but needed help translating that knowledge into the startup ecosystem. That’s where we came in. When we first connected, Alison had just started investing in ads—an area that, intuitively, she knew wasn’t the right move at that stage of their journey. Our first step together was to realign their focus from premature scaling tactics to truly understanding their niche market. We introduced them to our disruptive innovation journey, and soon enough, they found clarity on how to target their customer and hone their go-to-market strategy. One of the defining moments for GoKinda was the realization that true startup success lies not in the product itself but in understanding and serving the customer. Alison shared that what made LeapSheep the right partner was our relentless focus on the customer—not just paying lip service, but digging deep into what their ideal customer truly wants and needs. Together with their LeapSheep advisor Sarah, Dom and Alison began to test different hypotheses, reposition their offering, and continuously refine their approach—all while staying focused on their end customer.  Today, GoKinda is steadily moving towards product-market fit, equipped with a well-researched market strategy and the tools to iterate quickly. They’ve fully embraced the journey of building with their customers at the heart of everything they do. If you’re a startup founder reading this, ask yourself: Are you building with your customers in mind? Are you prepared to make the tough pivots when necessary? Most importantly, are you ready to put in the work to give your startup the best possible chance of success?   At LeapSheep, we’re not here to build your startup for you—but we will equip you with the tools, strategies, and confidence to do it yourself, successfully. Ready to start your journey with a team who does this every day? Book a strategy session and let’s make it happen together: Book Now #StartupJourney #ClientSuccess #FounderSpotlight #StartupBuilder 

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Supporting & Hooting for Shruti Agarwal and folks for launching the first dedicated community to solve for all things exports and working on the mission to solve for India's trade deficit by empowering our SMEs with an integrated ecosystem What is XportCircle:  XportCircle is a non-profit in India aiding businesses to grow exports by offering a supportive ecosystem. The community has been formed by couple of industry experts with a single mission to make this one of the largest exports community in the country. Why Us:  XportCircle empowers Indian businesses for global success by bridging knowledge gaps, offering support, and fostering collaboration. This drives significant export growth, benefiting the economy and all sectors involved. Vision: XportCircle aims to position India as a global export leader by focusing on several key initiatives. We share vital insights on international trade, provide training to enhance export capabilities, foster collaboration among industry professionals, advocate for export-friendly policies, and support businesses in accessing new markets through research and connections. Through these efforts, we empower Indian businesses to thrive in the global marketplace. Join Now : https://lnkd.in/dZ2FFenu

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Dawn of the new era of B2B review sites We've made significant strides in B2B SaaS, revolutionizing how discovery is done over last decade. In our recent conversation with Vinay Bhagat, founder of TrustRadius we explored the buying patterns of the new age buyers. New age buyers are discerning and well-informed about the challenges they face and the solutions they require. There are diverse pathways to pinpoint vendors specializing in specific problem domains, whether it is through B2B evaluation platforms or other mediums. Going beyond discovery and arming the buyers with right information is critical. Right information can be distilled by integrating personalization to specific buyer specifications - Determining the best solution for your specific needs - Building confidence in a solution that is easy to maintain and will be effective for you - Ensuring seamless integration with your current technology stack When effectively communicated to the customer, these crucial components can improve the effectiveness of the sales process.

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