For millions of Indians, social media and instant messaging dominate their daily lives. This is where the debates and discussions happen, and often buying decisions.

More than 655 Mn are active users of social media and messaging apps, and in contrast, only 30% of Indian internet users shop online. Clearly, there is a gap between how consumers use social media and how they shop online.

That’s where Gupshup came in, looking to help brands engage with, acquire and retain customers through structured and targetted communication over social media and IM apps.

From starting as an SMS-based social network in 2004 to then moving on to WhatsApp and IM-based messaging for brands, and now adapting to conversational AI in 2024, the SaaS unicorn has continuously shifted itself to align with new paradigms in app-based communications.

This adaptability has allowed Gupshup to build a significant moat over the past two decades. And now the company is ready for the next step.

“In the early days, it was all about survival,” recalls Sheth. “I was involved in everything – from building the product and talking to the customer to hiring and fundraising – whatever it took to keep things moving. Back then, decisions were made on instinct, and we had the flexibility to experiment and fail fast.”

That instinct paid off. Today, Gupshup is a $1.4 Bn company, backed by Tiger Global, Fidelity and a host of marquee VCs and private equity funds, and is charting its route to the stock exchange. Besides India, the company has a strong presence in the US, Europe and the Middle East.

At the group level, Gupshup’s consolidated revenue grew 55% YoY in FY23 to reach $300 Mn, and the company is on track for 2X growth in FY24.

With the wave of IPOs now hitting the Indian public markets, Gupshup is also eyeing an IPO soon, but like in the case of Razorpay and others, there is the matter of redomiciling to India.

“Gupshup has received strong indicative interest from public market investors. However, as a US company, we are trying to figure out the legal, tax, and financial issues around the reverse flipping to India, before an Indian IPO becomes feasible,” Sheth says.

In this edition of Griffin Dialogues, Inc42’s new series featuring conversations with India’s top startup leaders, we sit down with Beerud Sheth to discuss what it takes to meet consumer demands while scaling, how to build a thriving organisational culture, and why agility is the secret weapon for long-term success.

Edited excerpts

Inc42: Gupshup’s journey has been full of bold pivots – from an SMS-based social network to a global leader in conversational AI. You had earlier cofounded Elance. What were some key leadership lessons you learned that shaped your approach at Gupshup?

Beerud Sheth: I had a front-row seat to some of the challenges that come while scaling a company. With Elance, I quickly realised that growing a business isn’t only about the product or the market, but more about managing the people, building a culture of excellence, and figuring out how to keep everything moving. The lessons I learned about building a strong team and adapting to change were foundational for me when I transitioned to Gupshup.

Fast forward to when Gupshup began to scale, the challenges became more complex, and the lessons from Elance became even more relevant. We hit a critical point where we realised our business model wasn’t quite working.

We initially started as a consumer messaging platform, but quickly realised that monetisation was a challenge. That’s when we pivoted towards an enterprise-focussed approach, one of the biggest strategic shifts in Gupshup’s journey. If we hadn’t experimented and adapted quickly, Gupshup might not be what it is today.

Inc42: As Gupshup scaled, how did your leadership evolve? What were some of the biggest shifts you had to make as a founder?

Beerud Sheth: As Gupshup scaled, I had to unlearn a few things. For one, I couldn’t be in every decision anymore.

Another big shift was communication. When you’re 10 people in a room, everyone knows what’s happening. But at scale, alignment isn’t automatic. We expanded rapidly across markets like Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and suddenly, different teams had different priorities.

That’s when I learned the importance of over-communication, repeating the mission, reinforcing priorities, and ensuring clarity at every level. One thing I always say now is ‘if you’re tired of repeating yourself, you’re just getting started’.

Most importantly, I had to get comfortable making bigger, more irreversible decisions. Taking the risk is one thing when you are small, but when you have hundreds of employees and thousands of customers relying on you, the stakes are high. One of the hardest calls was making an aggressive expansion in international markets.

© Inc42