Introduction:

Girish Mathrubootham — a man with simple beginnings in Chennai — dared to dream big. He built a global SaaS powerhouse from a dusty warehouse, not by chasing headlines, but by nurturing human bonds, shared purpose, and a relentless belief that culture wins where sheer ambition often falters. This is how Girish Mathrubootham builds cultures that drive faster SaaS growth — and how that belief can transform startups.

When you unpack his journey, you realize it’s not just about code or cloud infrastructure. It’s about trust, empathy, sweat, tears, long nights — and people who believe in something bigger than themselves. creating a space where a junior developer in Chennai can grow, lead teams, and see code they wrote being used by thousands of businesses worldwide. It’s a vivid, living example of organizational culture for growth, of building high-performance SaaS teams, and of putting the customer-first mindset at the heart of every decision.

1. The Humble Beginning: From Warehouse to Vision

1.1 A Modest Start and a Burning Question

In 2010, when most tech founders in India dreamt big, Girish quietly asked a small question — What if enterprise software didn’t have to feel corporate, cold, and intimidating? What if it could feel fresh, human, and made for real users struggling with real problems?

At that time, the company that would become Freshworks existed in a modest space — reportedly a Chennai warehouse ducted by air-conditioners. Founder and team operated with shoes off, humor intact, and hearts full of ambition. Their first product — what later became Freshdesk — aimed simply to fix broken customer-service software. Not to dominate the world, but to make one little corner of it slightly easier.

From that humble beginning, the first goal was to hit US $1 million in revenue. That was their north star. Not IPO dreams. Not global expansion. Just: make a small software product that users love.

This grounded beginning laid the foundation for what would become one of the world’s fastest-growing SaaS companies. It shaped a culture where ambition met humility — and where everyday work felt meaningful.

1.2 Building on Empathy: The Customer‑First Mindset

Girish never framed “customer-first” as a business tactic. For him, it’s personal. He knew many businesses suffered poor customer relationships because tools were unwieldy. He had felt that frustration. Instead of building something flashy, he focused on simplicity, usability, and empathy.

From early on, Freshdesk was built to listen — not just to the loudest, but to the quietest users. The ones struggling, the ones overwhelmed. Freshworks embedded this empathy in every team, from engineering to support, from design to sales. They made it part of their DNA: understand real pain, not just ideal buyer personas.

This was a bold move in an industry driven by features and hype. But it worked. Over time businesses appreciated tools that “just worked,” and human support that treated them as people — not numbers. Over 52,000 customers in 120 countries trusted Freshworks by its IPO in 2021. Forbes

That human-first approach turned into a growth engine — quietly, steadily, but powerfully.

2. Crafting Culture: The Real Engine Behind Growth

2.1 Values over Vanity — A Culture with Soul

Many companies write values on slides. Freshworks embedded them in conversations, rituals, failures, and wins. The core values — customer‑centricity, transparency, ownership, empathy — weren’t slogans. They were lived.

New hires didn’t just get orientation slides; they heard stories. About mopping a messy office floor at 2 a.m. during a product rollout. early engineers working on weekends to help clients. About a junior support rep staying beyond her shift to solve a crisis call. That’s where trust grew. That’s where respect was earned.

When employees saw culture through real, raw stories, it shaped their identity. That sense of belonging made Freshworks more than a company. It became a calling. It turned coders into caretakers, features into experiences, and teams into families.

Girish often said — “We don’t scale people alone. We scale culture.” That mindset drove SaaS culture building principles through every decision. Forbes

2.2 High‑Performance SaaS Teams With Heart

Performance without humanity feels hollow. Freshworks balanced the two beautifully. Engineers, support agents, salespeople — all were judged by metrics, yes. But also by empathy, ownership, and alignment with values.

Teams didn’t just deliver code. They delivered solutions that helped small businesses manage customer support, automate sales, and streamline operations. When clients celebrated success, the team celebrated too — not as a statistic, but as personal victory.

This sense of ownership built high-performance SaaS teams — agile, resilient, committed. People stayed longer. They grew, promoted, mentored — not just for salary, but for purpose. That, more than anything, made Freshworks scale faster than many larger competitors.

Today, even as the company scales globally, that core remains — a tribute to what happens when you treat employees as partners, not cogs.

3. Culture That Scales — From One City to Many

3.1 Growing Pains and Culture Maintenance

Scaling a small startup to a global SaaS company isn’t just about servers and sales. It’s about preserving soul even when headcount multiplies. Freshworks understood that.

As offices stretched beyond Chennai — to California, Europe, Asia — the company didn’t enforce culture. It nurtured it. Through stories, rituals, peer recognition, transparent communication. Leadership kept writing long emails, town halls, informal chats. Empathy didn’t become global speak — it remained local.

That consistency helped build what analysts call organizational culture for growth — a unified belief system across geographies, languages, time zones. People didn’t just work for Freshworks. They felt part of its legacy.

Even when the company crossed 5,000+ employees and 60,000+ customers, the humanity didn’t vanish. Freshworks

3.2 Embedding Culture in Every Process

From hiring to onboarding, from promotions to project assignments — culture guided every process.

New recruits heard not only about job descriptions, but about stories from early days. Product decisions weren’t just feature-based, but empathy-based. Support tickets weren’t treated as tasks— but as opportunities to help real humans.

That is the heart of product‑led culture development — where every process, every team, every decision pulses with purpose. It wasn’t compartmentalized; it was systemic. That systematic embedding helped Freshworks grow fast, but stay grounded.

4. Milestones & Moments — When Culture Met Reality

4.1 IPO Night: Dreams Realised and Lives Changed

On 22 September 2021, Freshworks made history. It became the first Indian SaaS company to list on Nasdaq. The IPO priced at $36 per share — but closed the day around $47.55, giving a market valuation over US $10 billion.

That night, many early employees — coders, customer‑support staff, junior developers — saw their sweat translate into life‑changing wealth. Reports say more than 500 employees became crorepatis or millionaires overnight through stock options.

But for Girish, it wasn’t just a financial victory. It was proof that a dream — rooted in empathy, culture, and human-first values — could go global. It showed that Indian SaaS could stand tall on the world stage.

4.2 Beyond Revenue — The Real Win: Loyalty and Purpose

By 2021, Freshworks served 50,000+ customers across 120 countries, with over 4,000 employees globally, of which around 80% worked out of India.

But despite rapid expansion, attrition remained low, and engagement stayed high. That is rare for fast-scaling startups. Many companies burn out, burn people out. Freshworks refused to.

Why? Because their teams didn’t just work for pay. They believed. belonged. shipped code at odd hours because someone, somewhere, needed help. They launched features on festivals because customers responded with gratitude.

When culture anchors you, growth doesn’t consume you. It carries you forward.

4.3 Facing the Realities — Scaling Doesn’t Mean Losing Yourself

Scaling brings pressure. Expectations. Stakeholders. Demand. And sometimes, dilution of early culture.

Girish openly recognized this. He insisted that “your first salesperson cannot become your Global Head of Sales” simply because they joined early. Ability must match scale. That honesty prevented stagnation, built structure, and preserved meritocracy.

Freshworks introduced structured teams, leadership paths, mentorship. But they never stripped away the core values: empathy, ownership, user-first design. That balance — between structure and soul — kept Freshworks from turning cold and corporate.

5. Why Culture First Matters — The Evidence Behind Emotion

5.1 Data Speaks: Culture Correlates with Performance

It isn’t just romantic to believe culture matters. Research backs it. A study by McKinsey & Company found that companies in the top quartile of “culture health” had three times the Total Shareholder Return (TSR) compared to bottom quartile companies. Their EBITDA rose by 18% within just one year.

Other data suggests companies with engaged employees and aligned values report 20–30% higher innovation rates, lower attrition, and better customer outcomes.

In short — when people feel valued, see purpose, and trust leadership — they deliver. And they stick around.

5.2 Freshworks’ Numbers: Beyond Profits, Toward People

By the time of its IPO, Freshworks reported quarterly revenue of US $168.9 million (first half of 2021), up from US $110.5 million the previous year.Forbes

Despite growth, the company avoided bloated headcount or hasty scaling. Instead, it grew carefully — hiring only when necessary, investing in teams that aligned with values.

That discipline turned mythic dreams into stable success. It proved that with the right culture, growth doesn’t have to hurt.

6. What Founders Can Learn — The Human Lessons Behind the SaaS Story

6.1 Build Culture First, Product Later

It’s tempting to rush to product-market fit, funding, valuations. But culture — the invisible wiring inside your company — matters most. Girish built culture before Betas. He prioritised empathy before expansion. That foundation carried him through global scale.

If you are building a startup, focus first on values: empathy, ownership, transparency, trust. Then build products around those values.

6.2 Lead With Heart, Not Just Strategy

Paid ambitions can build businesses. But heartfelt purpose builds brands. As a leader, what you do when no one watches shapes culture. Transparency in failure, humility in success — these speak louder than any mission statement.

People join movements, not companies. They stay when they believe in values.

6.3 Scale Gradually, But Intentionally

Growth often forces hard tradeoffs. But scaling doesn’t mean losing identity. Freshworks scaled one city at a time, one culture ritual at a time. They grew processes carefully, honoured employees, and stayed connected. If you scale — ensure your soul scales with you.

7. When Culture Meets Digital Amplification: Modern Growth Tools

7.1 Sharing Your Story Authentically

Today, your culture can live beyond your walls. Tools like Hobo.Video let startups narrate their culture through UGC videos, real faces, real voices, real stories.

Imagine a short video with a Freshworks engineer in Chennai, sharing “why I stay here.” Or a customer in a small European startup explaining how Freshdesk solved their chaos. That authenticity resonates. It builds trust before product demos start.

It turns internal values into external credibility.

7.2 Reaching Wider with Influencer-Led Branding

A top influencer marketing company can help spread these narratives. Engage famous Instagram influencers or niche tech storytellers. Show behind‑the‑scenes, team celebrations, remote‑work realities, product launches. Let real humans talk about real value.

That’s not marketing fluff. It’s culture marketing — honest, human, effective.

7.3 Measuring What Matters — Beyond Downloads & Clicks

When you amplify culture, measure right. Instead of vanity metrics like “video views,” track:

• Employee referral rates
• Candidate quality and fit from campaigns
• Early user retention post-launch
• Customer feedback scores linked to campaigns

These meaningful growth metrics tell you whether culture and marketing align, or just create noise.

8. Storm Clouds & Rebirth: Challenges Even Strong Cultures Face

8.1 Market Headwinds and External Pressures

Even culture-driven firms face turbulence. Markets shift. Customer demand fluctuates. Economic downturns hit hard. Freshworks too felt the tremors. Reports in 2024 revealed a dip in SMB client growth and churn pressures.

But culture gave resilience. The same teams who built culture could lean on it — trust, empathy, and shared purpose helped them navigate uncertainty with dignity and clarity.

8.2 Risk of Dilution: When Growth Outpaces Culture

Rapid hiring, diverse geographies, investor pressure — all threaten to dilute founding culture. But systems help. Freshworks resisted quick promotions. It structured growth carefully. It refused to compromise values for speed. That discipline avoided the trap many hyper-growth firms fall into.

When growth comes, culture must grow with it — intentionally, thoughtfully.

8.3 Evolving Expectations: Culture Is a Living Organism

Culture isn’t static. What worked in 2010 may not work in 2025. Teams shift, roles change, global pressures mount. Leaders must nurture culture actively — through communication, feedback loops, empathy. That’s what keeps it alive.

Girish always acknowledged that: “Culture manages people only when it evolves.”

9. Advanced Techniques to Scale Culture Globally

9.1 Embedding Culture in Remote Teams

As Freshworks expanded globally, the challenge wasn’t coding or servers—it was preserving the essence of culture. Offices spread across California, Europe, Singapore, and Dubai, yet the customer-first mindset in SaaS remained the heartbeat.

Girish emphasized structured rituals: weekly all-hands, town halls with Q&A, and storytelling sessions. Employees shared challenges, solutions, and successes. This humanized the global workforce. Every remote team could feel the Chennai energy and vision. It’s how Girish Mathrubootham builds cultures that drive faster SaaS growth: by ensuring empathy, values, and rituals travel alongside expansion. (freshworks.com)

9.2 Mentorship and Knowledge Sharing

Freshworks invested heavily in mentorship programs. Senior engineers and leaders mentored new hires in both technical and cultural fluency. This cultivated high-performance SaaS teams that understood not just how to build products but why those products mattered to users.

Knowledge sharing wasn’t limited to technical know-how. Stories about early mistakes, customer pain points, and solutions became teaching tools. This reinforced SaaS culture-building techniques across all levels, ensuring new employees imbibed the Freshworks ethos from day one.

9.3 Feedback Loops as Growth Drivers

Regular feedback loops — for product, customers, and employees — became central to Freshworks’ culture. Teams celebrated wins, dissected failures, and iterated fast. Such organizational culture for growth allows startups to stay agile, innovate consistently, and reduce internal friction.

By institutionalizing feedback, Freshworks embedded product-led culture development, ensuring the company evolved alongside customer needs.

10. Metrics That Matter: Quantifying Culture-Driven Growth

10.1 Employee Engagement and Retention

Culture manifests in tangible metrics. Freshworks tracks engagement scores, voluntary attrition, and employee referrals. Consistently high engagement shows that the culture inspires loyalty, trust, and ownership.

By fostering high-performance SaaS teams, Freshworks ensures productivity scales alongside growth. Data shows companies in the top quartile for culture health see 3x higher Total Shareholder Return (TSR).

10.2 Customer Success Metrics

Customer-first culture drives customer success. Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), retention rates, and product adoption rates reflect how customer-first mindset in SaaS translates to real-world impact.

Freshworks’ NPS has historically hovered above 50 — a remarkable feat for a global SaaS company — indicating deep alignment between culture, product, and customer expectations.

10.3 Productivity and Innovation Metrics

Freshworks measures:

• Product release velocity
• Cross-functional project success
• Adoption of new features

These meaningful growth metrics quantify the output of product-led culture development and ensure culture directly fuels scalable SaaS growth.

11. Step-by-Step Guide: Culture That Scales With Growth

1. Define Core Values Clearly
   Identify principles aligned with your vision and communicate them through stories, not slides.
2. Embed Culture in Processes
   Recruitment, onboarding, promotions, and performance reviews must reflect company values.
3. Empower Teams with Autonomy
   Encourage ownership, accountability, and decision-making at all levels.
4. Measure and Adapt
   Track engagement, retention, and customer metrics to gauge cultural health.
5. Amplify Culture Externally
   Platforms like Hobo.Video showcase employee stories and customer success throughUGC videos, extending culture to your brand audience.

Following these steps ensures how Girish Mathrubootham builds cultures that drive faster SaaS growth becomes replicable for startups seeking long-term scalability.

12. Lessons for Founders and Leaders

12.1 Culture Is Your True Competitive Advantage

A compelling SaaS culture-building principle can differentiate your company more than features or funding. Culture accelerates retention, productivity, and innovation.

12.2 Leadership Is Storytelling

Girish’s leadership shows that storytelling — about values, early struggles, and wins — motivates teams more than directives. Leaders must live values, not just preach them.

12.3 Growth Must Respect Identity

Scaling fast doesn’t mean abandoning values. Freshworks grew globally while keeping its organizational culture for growth intact. Intentional, value-driven scaling ensures longevity and employee loyalty.

About Hobo.Video

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