Kovai.co, a Coimbatore-based multi product SaaS company, is not willing to play the valuation game and wants to take the traditional path to a unicorn status.
The company hopes to attain $100 million revenue in the next 10 years by when it hopes to become a unicorn as well. In 2020, Kovai.co reported revenues of $10 million.
The bootstrapped company, founded in 2010 by Saravanan Kumar, who is also its CEO, has over 2,000 customers and a 250-strong team. It operates in the enterprise integration and knowledge management space and has been a profitable from day one.
‘Realistic approach’
“I prefer a more realistic approach,” he told BusinessLine when asked if 20 years were too long to become a unicorn at a time six-month-old startups are attaining that target. “I do not want to get into the valuation game. It is a perceived value,” he added. Five good products each generating a revenue of $20 million or more is a much better pathway to the unicorn club, in his view. He hopes to take Kovai.co’s revenue to $30 million in the next three years.
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“We are the market leader in the enterprise integration space with our BizTalk360 product among the top five in the space that Document360 operates. We segment the market and find a space for ourselves in terms of pricing and service rather than competing with the bigger players,” he said.
‘Re-investing profits’
Saravanan is open to raising money. “I will look for investors when there is need for funds. Right now we are re-investing our profits. I would like to attain a scale before seeking funds from outside,” he added. So far, Saravanan has invested $25 million in the company.
As regards to IPO, he said it will come later as an exit route for investors.
Saravanan chose to set up the business in Coimbatore to put the city where he hails from, on the global map. The company faced initial challenges in attracting talent. Having built a name, things have now become a tad easier, he said. “We offer our employees the full package — interesting work as we develop world class products, good pay on par with those offered in Bengaluru or Chennai, a family culture, a great work environment and a work-life balance,” he explained.
The company inaugurated a 40,000 sq ft state-of-the-art new office, set up at a cost of $1.3 million, on Wednesday.
