Freshthoughts

To all the guests on our show, thank you.

Silo Mentality - two words that are loud enough to cause panic in most corporates. As one scales up from a startup, how does a company break the silo within different teams? How do we embrace a simple yet effective agile framework? In this Episode of Freshtalks, our Senior VP of Engineering STS. Prasad talks to us on how at Freshworks large teams work like a startup and deliver world-class products to our customers. We dig deep and talk about the Freshwave model - An inhouse initiative to help/support our engineering teams. This agile Framework consistently helps us deliver ‘WoW’ moments to our customers and helped build a solid foundation for our engineering teams. If you are someone who is an engineer, a business who is just about to scale up or someone with a keen interest in the SaaS industry, this episode is for you.

From enhancing the customer-4-life experience to creating and overseeing a product cycle life span, product management is essential and one of the most important functions in an organization. In this episode, Smrithi talks us through the whole cycle of product management. She takes us through the thought process of a Product Director, the challenges, the learnings and talks about the team behind creating a product. We discuss in detail her move from Engineering to Product Management. The evolution of this enormous and crucial function is definitely an interesting topic to listen to. If you are someone who loves product management, if you are someone who is yearning to create one, if you are a startup that is just about to work on your first product, this podcast that will motivate you and help you understand the world of product management and creating a niche product.

Marketing has come a long way, from billboards to radio and then television ads. Today most of our customers are on the web and marketing has moved to the internet. Digital marketing has changed the way we market our products. In this episode of Freshthoughts, we speak to Ramesh Ravishankar, our director of digital marketing about this journey. We talk about various digital tactics and trends, and campaigns that affect our marketing. We also talk about various aspects of digital marketing and what one should do to excel in the field. It is a brilliant episode for anyone who wants to be a part of the industry and also for anyone who has a product and is selling it online.

Managing customers has changed significantly over the past decade and we've come to believe that retaining them has become one of the most crucial aspects of Customer Success. In this edition of Freshthoughts, Kalyanaraman Parthasarathi, Director Customer Success Management, Freshworks and I have a chat on the importance of Customer Success in an organization. He gets to the root of the matter and gives us insights on "why CSM matters?” and how Customer Success has evolved in the SaaS industry. He also contextualizes it to Freshworks and throws light on our "being a friend to our customer" philosophy. We also touch upon topics revolving engaging with customers and being available when we're needed, reducing churn and driving revenue. It is a great Podcast for anyone who works with customers day in and out!

In this edition of Freshthoughts, Suman Gopalan, the CHRO at Freshworks, talks about how a startup can go about nurturing its organizational culture. She shares her thoughts on how young companies can develop an engaged and involved workforce, what leaders must look at while hiring people, and how they can foster a culture of entrepreneurship within the organization. She shares stories about how Freshworks cultivated a unique culture in the company and her learnings from her 20-odd year long career in the field of Human Resources.

Branding is a continuous process that breathes life into the product. We could have a great product, but without branding it and marketing it, it goes unnoticed and under-appreciated. Without the right marketing ingredients, your product will seem bland - what’s the point in cooking up a feast fit for royalty, but forgetting to add the salt? Branding not only creates the right impression of our products, it also tells our clients what we advocate. Arvind Parthiban, our Director of Marketing here at Freshworks, gives us pro tips and invaluable insights into the world of branding and marketing done right. He shares with us his experiences on how to play by ear and prioritize what’s important. We also get a glimpse into Arvind, the sports-enthusiast, and how he relates teamwork and disciple with sports. At Freshworks, we advocate the culture of ‘Practice Craftsmanship’. Simply put, we don’t believe in boiling the ocean, we believe is being realistic and of course, quality over quantity. This podcast is for people who want to enhance their potential as marketers and learn things from a man who has seen it all in the startup world. This is for all of you out there who want to sharpen your craftsmanship and conquer the world of branding.

In our 5th Episode, we spoke to Aishwarya & Prashanthini about their journey from college to Freshworks, Independent women in Chennai, What Freshworks means to them. However, what makes this Podcast interesting is this - A & P host their own podcast and it is all about Harry Porter! So, say a spell, climb on the Firebolt and lets go on a spin!

In the 4th Episode, Krish.R - Director Channel Sales shares his thoughts about Languages, his travels, what he learnt about culture while traveling and about Partnerships at Freshworks.

In our 3rd Episode Alan Berkson our Global Director of Community Outreach / Analyst Relations and I talk about How to bring story telling into your Business,Corporate Narrative, how to get Innovative in your business and much more.

Vignesh Vijayakumar (Body) is the Program Manager - People Experience at Freshworks. He talks about his journey from a college kid to the huge world of corporate. His learnings, escapades and much more.

In our First Episode Vinod Chandramouli our Global Pre-Sales Head talks about Pre-sales in an Organisation, his take on parenting, mindfulness while riding a bike and his thoughts on empathy, failure and starting over.

At Freshworks, we are building business software the world needs. And as the world changes around us, we find ourselves increasingly involved in the conversation around work, life, and software. This is what our podcast is about. About what we call work-life integration. Listen to our people talk about life, love, work, sport, and how they manage the work-life integration that keeps them happy, productive, and engaged.