EP26: Value SaaS, Indian SaaS landscape and why its the best time to build SaaS {Prasanna of Upekkha}

Stars & Startups

EP26: {Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, Partner & CEO of Upekkha}

My guest from EP04 Krishi Fawani had spoken highly about Upekkha Accelerator that his company Hashtag Loyalty was participating in. Had a chance meeting with Prasanna and loved what they had to say and invited him to be on the Podcast.

We talk about what it means to build a Value SaaS business, Pricing for SaaS, exploring some concepts of Effectuation as popularized by Dr. Saras Sarasvathy, and also what it is to be a startup in itself. There is a lot one can take away from this podcast and if you are a SaaS founder the deadline to apply for their next batch starting early Sep ends on Aug 15th!

Book recco from Prasanna: {Monetizing Innovation - Madhavan Ramanujam}

More info at : https://upekkha.io/

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→ Full episode of the podcast is available on my YouTube Channel

→ We also have a coffee giveaway that's still open (31st July is the last day) from EP20! All you have to do is sign up the Newsletter & tag me & the Podcast on social media of your choice, Linkedin / Instagram/FB wherever! Just these 2 things for you to win a bag of coffee from BlueTokaiCoffee! And possibly a Zoom chat with Matt, co-founder of BTC!

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About Prasanna:

Worked intensely with 120+ startups to make them successful at Microsoft Accelerator India. Helped pick the right startups for Investors & Microsoft & as a founder going through similar ups & downs, he helps other founders push through.

What is Upekkha?

"We work with B2B SaaS startups to get you through the valley of death, to a place with predictable, scalable, profitable growth. Whether you want to build a $10M revenue business, or the next $1B SaaS unicorn, we help you accelerate."

Timeline:

01:00 - Intro to Prasanna

02:15 - Upekkha becoming the YC of Indian SaaS companies

04:50 - Value SaaS is the opposite of Vanity SaaS

10:55 - Software is eating Software

15:00 - Shift in power dynamic in the world of SaaS

18:30 - Changing VC investment thesis towards SaaS

23:58 - Starting Upekkha

28:17 - Raising money for Upekkha; Rajan, Shekhar, Prasanna

33:25 - Purchase behaviour in a Do it for Me market

38:00 - Should I send a developer to fast track the process? An example.

42:30 - Pricing SaaS products

49:53 - Effectuation Concept by Dr. Saras Sarasvathy