Sri, co-founder and CEO of Rocketlane, shares his insights on the importance of category creation, the challenges of building a startup, and the future of the industry. Sri's experience as a multiple-time founder provides valuable lessons for entrepreneurs looking to make their mark in the tech world.
I have a t-shirt that says “Problem > Product”, because I want to remind myself and remind others that it's not about what product you build, but about problem you're trying to solve. Focusing on that is more important.
Meet Sri
Sri’s the co-founder and CEO of Rocketlane, a company that has shot to prominence as a leader in the professional services automation (PSA) space as the go-to platform for customer-facing projects.
In just a couple of years since launch, they count the professional services teams in SaaS giants like Mixmax, Drift, Clarity, Vidyard, Uniphore amongst their customers.
He has successfully navigated the Asia-US tech corridor twice now, the first time with his previous company Konotor that got acquired by Freshworks.
With this track record, I absolutely had to track him down to speak with him.
Also, Sri plays badminton. That automatically makes him my kinda guy.
Designing for the Right Problem: Lessons from the Past
Sri reflected on his previous startup, Konotor, and the valuable lesson he learned about designing for the right problem.
He emphasized the importance of understanding both the market size and the priority of the problem being solved. This time around, he and his team spent three months (!!) exclusively on customer interviews and problem discovery before coding even began.
Sri described their approach to problem discovery, involving open-ended questions to unearth the deeper pain points and priorities of prospective customers. He highlighted how essential it was to align the problem with the perspectives of investors, board members, founders, and functional leaders.
The Implications of a Thoughtful Approach to Product Development
Sri compared his experience with Konotor, where they prioritized a consumer-centric experience, to Rocketlane's more targeted approach. He acknowledged that Konotor's consumer experience was ahead of its time and didn't align with business priorities at that stage. In contrast, Rocketlane zeroed in on solving a specific issue for SaaS companies, which resonated strongly with their intended market.
Sri stressed the importance of taking the necessary time to build the right product rather than hastily launching an MVP. He shared that Rocketlane took an entire year (!!!) to develop their offering, ensuring it was a comprehensive solution that would provide immediate value to customers. This approach attracted mid-market customers early and showcased the full vision of their product.
Seriously, ONE YEAR without revenue?
You really gotta have major cojones to pull that off.
That brought me to probe on the next section.
The Second-Time Founder Advantage
As a second-time founder, Sri outlined the benefits he had in securing funding and bringing in top-tier talent.
His previous successful startup journey and solid reputation enabled him to build a strong team and gain investor confidence.
He was able to identify talented folks from Freshworks who bought into his new mission to join him, and investors already knew him.
Still, he emphasized the importance of clearly communicating their unique product development approach to investors and team members.
He even drafted a memo detailing their product-building philosophy, helping investors grasp their strategy and the reasoning behind their method.
This is smart, and good stakeholder management.
Sri also ensured his team was in alignment with their vision and comprehended the product roadmap. Leveraging their strengths, including team expertise and cost advantages from building in India, Rocketlane navigated the challenges of constructing a product without immediate revenue and was able to stretch out their runway to make it happen.
Navigating Different Tech Stacks: The North America vs. Asia Perspective
We also discussed the variations between the North American and Asian markets concerning tech stacks and infrastructure.
In my experience, Asian companies tended to have more greenfield in their tech stacks which made an all-in-one solution more attractive.
But American companies usually already have some incumbent tech adjacent to the space, or already doing parts of what an all-in-one solution would do. This made implementation involve ripping and replacing parts of their infrastructure, which in my mind would delay sales cycles and introduce friction.
Sri found though that by focusing on a specific niche, SaaS companies in both regions generally had similar tech stacks.
He did note a critical mindset difference, with the U.S. market prioritizing systems while the Indian market often was comfortable with manual processes and spreadsheets.
While the North American market was more open to adopting new tools, the Indian market leaned towards cost-efficiency and might be less willing to invest in software solutions. Sri acknowledged the challenges of global expansion and highlighted the need to understand the unique requirements and language of each target market.
The Go-to-Market Strategy: Investing in Category Creation
Rocketlane's go-to-market strategy focused mainly on a top-down approach, seeking buy-in from leadership as well as the end-users. Sri explained that they aimed to showcase their product's value to the entire customer organization, ensuring that the teams who would use Rocketlane were excited about its benefits.
In terms of inbound channels, Sri pointed to their successful thought leadership and brand-building initiatives. They invested in creating original content, cultivating a community, hosting events, and even staging their own conference. These strategies generated inbound leads and attracted customers interested in Rocketlane's unique approach.
Sri delved into the complex topic of category creation, stating it wasn't the right move for every startup. He stressed the need for both the appetite and the resources to tackle the challenges inherent in category creation. Rocketlane found themselves in a sector with few competitors and little thought leadership, offering an opportunity to establish a new category.
He acknowledged the intense effort required, including team sacrifices and significant investment in marketing and thought leadership. Sri advised entrepreneurs to evaluate carefully whether category creation was in line with their resources and goals before taking that step.
Conclusion: Counter-Intuitive Lessons from a Seasoned Founder
This chat really made me think.
Some of my takeaways from the conversation fly in the face of conventional startup wisdom, but yet are grounded in practicality.
Also, it’s clearly worked for Rocketlane.
Here are three lessons I’ve distilled:
Deep Dive into Problem Discovery Before You Code:
Schedule a minimum of 20-30 in-depth customer interviews focusing on their pain points, needs, and workflows. Use open-ended questions like, "Can you walk me through a day where this problem was extremely pressing?" This ensures you're coding a solution that the market actually needs.
[CT’s thoughts] This is very much in line with product management best practices, so it was a good reminder for me!
Methodical Product Development Over Quick MVPs:
Adopt a 'feature complete' philosophy, focusing on building at least one full cycle of your core value proposition. For example, if you're building a project management tool, don't just build task creation—build task assignment, status tracking, and reporting features as well. This full-featured approach will attract higher-quality customers who see your product's holistic value.
[CT’s thoughts] Rocketlane did this incredibly well, but my observation is that it worked because they picked an extremely focused niche to do this in (professional services teams in SaaS companies). This allowed them to really nail the problem they were solving.
Invest in Thought Leadership and Community Building as Inbound Channels:
Early on, allocate budget and resources to create original content, podcasts, or webinars that address key issues in your industry. Simultaneously, start building a community through social media groups or specialized forums. The goal is to be seen as an authority in your field, which will not only help in brand building but also generate quality inbound leads.
[CT’s thoughts] Sri gave some caveats around this about needing both the appetite and resources to stomach the revenue gap from doing this, but when I reflected on it after our conversation I was reminded that this was exactly how we started EngageRocket too. In fact, with buyers today swamped with marketing messages everywhere, this is maybe the only way to stand out from the crowd and form deep connections with your customers.
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How to Dominate a Category in Two Years from a Second-time Founder