Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu on marrying long-term patience with short-term tactics

Vidhya Sivaramakrishnan

18 reads

Vidhya Sivaramakrishnan

18 reads

In the latest edition of ‘CapTable Conversations’, we hear from Sridhar Vembu, the founder of India’s only bootstrapped software-as-a-service company with a billion-dollar top line. He talks about why he’s cautious about the global economic climate, his focus on R&D, fostering a culture of patience

October 10, 2023

15 MINS READ

Key Takeaways

The global economic uncertainty is a cause for concern for Sridhar Vembu, and Zoho is monitoring the situation on a weekly and monthly basis
With more focus on increasing software productivity by increased investments in technologies such as large language models, more Zoho employees will get into customer-facing roles
The company is looking to invest in more deeptech startups, including in cell/battery technologies, but is looking only for patient R&D people and not for flashy exits
Zoho wants to use its core R&D research and prowess to attract talent rather than taking the traditional headhunter approach

If Zoho co-founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu had a dime for each time he uttered the phrase R&D (research and development), he would deploy most of it in… well, R&D. And that's saying something—R&D is the biggest line item for Vembu’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.

Zoho, as we wrote about in detail recently, is on the cusp of transitioning from being a pure-play software company to a tech giant with global aspirations. It is building its own data centres, investing in deeptech startups, and expects these synergies to play out in the next 5-10 years. It’s an exciting time for the bootstrapped Chennai-headquartered firm.

In a one-on-one conversation with The CapTable on the sidelines of a media event where Zoho displayed the new, enhanced capabilities of Cliq, its Teams and Slack challenger, Vembu touched on a number of topics. From global macroeconomic conditions, to structural changes at Zoho, his long-term vision for the company, his views on the venture capital-private equity world, talent and retention strategies, and how he builds up the conviction to make big decisions, there’s little Vembu didn’t cover.

These are edited excerpts of the conversation:

Read this article for free

Sign in using

Or

Sign in using your email

Don't have an account?

Forgot Password?

By signing up for The CapTable you agree to the

and

of the platform.

Smart Information, Better Decisions

We report on the latest and most important developments in India’s biggest tech companies and disruptive startups so you can make better decisions.

Inside View with Org Charts

Know the key decision-makers with Org Charts. We thrive on decoding boardroom conversations so we can bring you a 360° view of what's happening at India's high-growth companies.

Seasoned Team

Tracking the highs and lows of India’s biggest internet companies over the past decade has given us access to the right decision-makers to interpret the latest state of play.