Introduction:
It is in this busy tech hub of Chennai that one enterprising entrepreneur, Suresh Sambandam, began his journey toward making an impact on the transformation of the workflow management horizon. Self-taught in the use of technology back in the early 1990s and later building a globally operating SaaS company serving over 10,000 clients, Suresh’s story speaks volumes about tenacity, innovation, and possibly what can be seen as the power of reimagining business processes. This is the story of how KissFlow rose, Phoenix-like, from the bombed-out shell of the failed startup to rise again as the exemplar of leadership in digital workplace solutions.
A Self-Taught Technologist Emerges:
Suresh Sambandam’s entrepreneurial journey took off back in the early 1990s, right after obtaining his bachelor’s degree in commerce. It was then that he started to consciously learn the complexities of technology. This self-driven approach became a signature style that led him through different roles at HP and Selectica before plunging headfirst into entrepreneurship with OrangeScape in 2003.
Leading the Platform-as-a-Service Wave:
Big bets that Suresh had taken with OrangeScape on Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)—the layer that allowed clients to build and manage applications without heavy investments in infrastructure—were beginning to pay off. The company was gathering momentum, even raising $1 million from the Indian Angels Network in 2012. Suresh was hailed as a pioneer in the Indian cloud industry when the tides of this tech world began to shift.
Reinvention in the Face of Adversity
By 2013, Suresh had reached a deciding moment. The PaaS market had not taken off as was projected, and OrangeScape was fighting. With the funds running low and industry whispers writing him off, Suresh took the most audacious of decisions. He sold OrangeScape’s intellectual property for Rs 2 crore, offering a lifeline that would be the fuel of his next play.
Let the Workflow Revolution Begin
Then, in June 2013, as OrangeScape floundered, Suresh set out to launch KissFlow with a singular goal: to alleviate frayed nerves in complicated business workflow management. The new product was intuitively designed, and he had an approach-he called it “keeping it simple, stupid.”- of making workflow automation accessible to users who might not be very technical. This pivot had the makings of a turning point in Suresh’s journey as an entrepreneur.
The $500,000 Deal
The fortunes of KissFlow changed when it signed a $500,000 deal with a prominent, large American corporate house within the packaging industry. This deal testified to the product and brought much-needed cash and confidence to this fledgling company.
Scaling Up: From Chennai to the World
With renewed momentum, KissFlow expanded fast. Suresh’s ingenuity in “Desk Selling & Marketing” (DSM) enabled a small team based out of Chennai to sell to customers in 121 countries. This lean model, combined with inbound marketing strategies, helped KissFlow acquire customers at a fraction of the cost of large competitors.
The KissFlow Advantage: Simplicity Meets Power
The key to the success of KissFlow was the development of a user interface that would not compromise on the functional features. Most of the vendors in the industry called for the services of billion-dollar consulting services. Still, KissFlow managed to come up with a self-service platform that was easy for business users to configure without programming. This development model has worked with hundreds of clients, from startups to the Fortune 500 companies like Airbus, Pepsi, and Disney.
Timeline of Key Events
- Early 1990s: Learnt technology on his own.
- 2003: Founded OrangeScape focusing on Paas
- 2012: OrangeScape raises $1 million from Indian Angels Network
- June 2013: KissFlow launched among OrangeScape’s struggles
- Late 2013: $500,000 offtake from an American corporate customer
- 2014-2019: Blitzscales to 10,000+ customers across 160 countries
- 2019: $10 million ARR
Key Takeaways:
Suresh Sambandam’s journey with KissFlow is testimony. Finally, his ability to pivot from a struggling PaaS model to a high-flying SaaS story shows how critical it is for an entrepreneur to be sensitive to the market. The story of KissFlow gives a really strong example of how much simplicity there is in product design and how far innovative sales approaches like DSM can be taken. Perhaps the most important thing it does is demonstrate the fact that, if one has enough determination and a clear strategy, he can build any sort of leading tech company out of any place in the world, against very long odds.
