Exotel prioritises talent acquisition and retention to continue on its strong trajectory; to hire 500 new professionals across growth and technology functions.
Having achieved a CAGR of 70% and annual recurring revenue of $60 million, the company boasts of its work quality, incubating 42 entrepreneurs and employees joining back in hundreds.
With the Indian start-up ecosystem witnessing an unprecedented wave of layoffs, one SaaS company is investing in retaining and hiring as part of its hyper-growth strategy. Exotel, a Bengaluru-based customer engagement platform, made the announcement while celebrating business milestones such as a CAGR of 70% in FY22 and ARR (annual recurring revenue) of $60 million. It also took the time to highlight the team’s role in its success and growth over the last 11 years.
Known for powering masked calling between customers and cab drivers or delivery partners, Exotel has been the quintessential start-up story, full of highs and lows. From almost shutting down twice, the company emerged as a bootstrap champion in the Indian startup space powering unified communications to 83% of India’s B2C unicorns and raising $100 Mn last FY. Sustainability and strong unit economics have been the watchwords for everyone at the organisation – from the founding team down to the junior-most employees.
At the same time, to retain and attract the best talent, Exotel has made its workplace fun and conducive to learning and solving interesting problems. The strategy has delivered results; most of Exotel’s senior talent has been with the company for 6-10 years, turning it into a global communications juggernaut catering to over 7,000 customers in 62 countries. The focus on innovation has also turned the company into something of an entrepreneurial hub, with 42 of its first 300 employees later launching their own business ventures.
“People are the foundation on which business success is built – and no business, perhaps, will agree with it more than us. Exotel is one of the few high-growth companies with strong unit economics and a clear value proposition for our clients. This success has been achieved and sustained because we have the best talent in the industry,” Ishwar Sridharan, Co-founder and COO – Exotel, said. “We prioritise our people and give them interesting challenges to solve. This focus on strong work culture, employee enablement, and high quality of work is why more than 100 people have rejoined Exotel after leaving. We call them ‘Boomerang Gauls’.”
With its recent merger with Ameyo, acquisition of CognoAI, and a new virtual telecom operator license, the Exotel team is now gearing up to achieve an ARR of $200 million in the next four years. This growth-oriented outlook comes with solid recruitment and growth plans for existing and new employees, including hiring 500 professionals across business and tech functions from all over India. The company already has over 1,200 employees across three offices. The recruitment will support its expansion in the emerging markets of West, Middle East and Southeast Asia with its full-stack approach while consolidating its market leadership in the Indian market.
Speaking on Exotel’s team growth plans, Ishwar added, “Given the current market uncertainties, as a well-funded and profitable company, we are delighted to continue investing in all functions, specifically growth and engineering. With an infinite cash runway, we can provide high-growth opportunities to our top performers while also becoming an attractive destination for top talent looking to create an impact and carve a name for themselves.”
About Exotel:
Exotel is the emerging market’s leading full stack customer engagement platform and business-focused virtual telecom operator. Incorporated in 2011, Exotel’s cloud-based product suite powers 50 million daily engagements across voice, video and messaging channels. The integrated stack powers unified customer engagement to over 7000 companies in 60+ countries, including India, SE Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Today, some of the fastest-growing companies in the emerging markets (Ola, Swiggy, Flipkart, GoJek, Byju’s, Urban Company, HDFC Bank, Zomato, Oyo, etc.) manage their customer engagement with Exotel’s suite of a communication APIs, Ameyo’s omnichannel contact centre (merger), and Cogno AI‘s conversational AI platform (acquisition). They’re a $100 million Series D funded company with $60 million in ARR.
