As the global
population continues to age rapidly, India stands out with its dynamic and
youthful workforce. Experts project that India will maintain a leading position
in terms of its working-age population for the next 25 to 30 years, making its
youth a key driver of progress. Recognized as both catalysts and beneficiaries
of change, the youth of India hold immense potential to shape the nation’s
future.
The “Crafting Bharat – Season 2” powered by AWS Startups, an initiative by
NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, and production partner – HT Smartcast,
explores how startups are harnessing the power of the cloud to accelerate
growth, optimise operations, and building solutions that will define
the India of Tomorrow. This series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan,
famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently
consulting editor at CNBC (India),
CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times.
In this
episode, we spotlight Dheeraj Pandey, Co-Founder & CEO of DevRev,
who is on a mission to transform how businesses connect with their customers.
He shares his insights on scaling a global AI powerhouse, stretching every
dollar to build resilient companies, and what it truly takes for India to
emerge as a leader in SaaS 2.0 and AI-driven innovation. Discover the inspiring
stories of startups shifting gears and driving innovation across various
sectors, contributing to the mission of transforming India into a developed
nation by 2047 through this series.
Video Link
- https://youtu.be/Qi75GW-UnTM
Edited
Excerpts:
Segment 1:
Ignite
With DevRev you
initially built a Jira alternative but pivoted to focus on customer support and
customer centricity which presented better and more immediate growth
opportunities. So, did the script flip?
We didn’t originally
set out to be a Jira alternative—that’s a misconception. For us, work is simply
work, whether it’s support tasks or development efforts. Traditionally,
companies have operated in silos, but the reality is that 90% of the
engineering behind these systems is fundamentally the same. Whether it’s
Salesforce opportunities, Salesforce tickets, Zendesk tickets, Freshdesk
tickets, or Jira issues, they all follow similar workflows with stages, states,
and approvals. The real magic lies in recognizing that if you were to build
software today—whether for opportunities, tickets, issues, or incidents—90% of
the foundational requirements remain the same.
In terms of
making the funding runway last longer than usual basis the lessons that leading your previous
startup had provided?
Stretching the
dollar is a term I use often. Firstly, I would say is the talent. If you make
the company top-heavy, it will initially create problems among the specialists.
You need to have a lot of synchronization before evolving and passing on the
baton to avoid burning out the funding. Secondly, investing in young talents as
they have the hunger to achieve and learn. By arbitraging this hunger with that other
hunger which is demand and supply coming together is at the core of building
great companies that stretched the dollar.
Segment 2:
Launch
What’s DevRev
doing to democratize data at scale and break organizational silos that exist
even in digitally native businesses to make AI actionable?
My perspective,
and our collective approach, revolve around the concept of team
intelligence—understanding what AI is truly unlocking. In this vision, both the
customer and the AI agent are integral members of the team. This shift
redefines collaboration, ensuring that AI agents enhance rather than replace
jobs, while also bridging the gap between businesses and customers, making them
part of the same ecosystem rather than separate entities.
Sub-segment:
Boost
How do you see
the bond between DevRev and AWS transform the enterprise especially as AI shifts
the focus from code to customer-centric solutions?
I am a big fan
of not just Amazon Web Services (AWS) but Amazon as well. The reason Amazon
became popular is because of their 3 pillars – Convenience, Choice and Pricing.
At DevRev we believe in the same three pillars. AWS has the best sales
engineers and solution architects who talk to our developers in a very low
latency and highly precise way. They have been humbling to us from Day 1 and it
continues. I feel that level of hustle is just unparalleled.
Segment 3:
Orbit
How can India
overcome the hurdles, advance to SaaS 2.0, and emerge as a global AI powerhouse
in line with Mission 2047?
The initial
step is moving beyond prompt engineering. AI starts with prompt-based
approaches using foundation models, but that’s just the beginning. As many
companies offer GPT wrappers, the next critical leap is semantic search and
advanced reasoning. Talented engineers and designers can harness these
capabilities, effectively unleashing AI’s full potential.
India's startup
ecosystem is thriving, powered by a new generation of visionary young talent
who are developing solutions to pressing challenges. Their innovative
approaches not only address key problems but also drive the nation's economy
forward, paving the way for India's transformation into a fully developed and
modern country.
Stay tuned to
Crafting Bharat – Season 2 as we bring you these inspirational entrepreneurs
for insightful and candid discussions with Gautam Srinivasan.
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