In Part 1, we explored Ranjan Parthasarathy’s journey of building distributed teams and leveraging Indian talent for global success. Now, we dive deeper into the strategic aspects of scaling globally—from go-to-market strategies and enterprise SaaS challenges to the unique blend of Swedish innovation and Indian engineering excellence that powers Apica’s growth.
Q. For startups looking to scale from India to the world, what GTM lessons can they learn from Apica’s journey?
Ranjan: It is essential to understand what stage you are in and adjust your GTM accordingly.
What works for a start-up trying to scale from 0-10 million is very different from trying to grow from 10-20 million. Many teams get this aspect wrong.
The other thing I would say is we are living in the age of AI, and it is important to see how you can align with that wave. It is very difficult right now to get attention if AI is not front and centre in your strategy.
It is almost a guaranteed uphill struggle to go without an AI-first approach. India as a market is very difficult to sell new products. It is possible but not easy, so focusing on markets like the US, Europe, etc is best. The US tends to be where the spend is, much faster moving and receptive to new things, so it is the market to focus on if you are an entrepreneur based out of India.
For companies trying to come into the Indian market, I think there is a tremendous opportunity if you can take something well established as a market but make it more efficient, cost-effective, reliable and easy.
This is especially true in the B2C space. You see many success stories in retail, financial services, and food/grocery delivery. Ride sharing is an example. If you are in the enterprise B2B space, it is also important to focus on distribution and channels. It is hard to break in otherwise.
Q. Can Indian teams also own marketing and sales for global customers?
Ranjan: Marketing teams have extensions in India. But when it comes to sales, sales is very, very focused on local play. You need to be very aware of what you are selling and where. The gravity there over time will be more towards selling in India to Indian customers.
They sometimes scale out to go beyond that to the APAC region. But then there are other factors—time zone issues, cultural barriers, and not understanding the language you speak. All of that starts to play a role. Local presence is very important. We’ve seen this with our sales team. Apica has sales teams in the US, and we have a sales team in Europe, and it makes a huge difference.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in selling an enterprise SaaS product globally, and how has Apica navigated them?
Ranjan: Many startups get excited about the size of the Total Addressable Market (TAM), but they often miss that not all of it is truly relevant to them.
Large TAM will become meaningful only when you define which specific customers within it are the right fit.
In our case, it came down to data volume. There is a certain set of customers where data volumes are high, and that is where we focus.
If you take this value proposition to somebody who’s doing low data volumes, sure, they can use you, but they can also use anybody else. Then it becomes an A vs B discussion, and you’re competing in a crowded space on features or pricing.
Versus when you go to the right customer segment and say, ‘Hey, we are solving this problem, and here’s how we’re different,’ the conversation shifts. It’s no longer about comparing A, B, or C. It becomes about why you are uniquely suited to solve their pain point. And those discussions are a lot easier to have than sit in a meeting where you say, ‘I have a product,’ and the first question is, ‘How are you different from X?’ If that differentiator isn’t crystal clear, you’re wasting time from the get-go.
Q. Sweden is known for its deep tech innovation, and India is a powerhouse for engineering talent. How does Apica blend the two?
Ranjan: We are a global company, and we are operating in a global market. We have great people from Sweden, India, the US, and the UK, all contributing to a very dynamic global team, bringing their own experiences into the company and enriching our mutual experiences. It is a great feeling to be part of such a team.
Q. What can Indian tech leaders learn from the Swedish model of innovation and product development?
Ranjan: Sweden is home to many high-tech companies and has a rich history as well, with companies that have innovated in all industries.
For us, the knowledge and expertise that comes from a cultural and historical background of innovation is invaluable in building a world-class enterprise product.