Scaling a Technology Company Against Major Competitors: Solix CEO Sai Gundavelli (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s switch the questioning. Tell us about how your business has ramped. You started in about 2003 and you’ve, obviously, evolved and maneuvered well strategically. What has been your revenue trajectory? Where are you now? What kind of growth rates are you experiencing?

Sai Gundavelli: For the first five years, we were really struggling. We were trying to build the entire product. We were trying to educate the market. Average typical selling price was about $100,000 to $200,000. Later on, I would say it became around $250,000. With the Big Data product, the deal sizes are north of a million dollars. One deal that we’re signing up right now is about $3 million. This is one of the largest financial institution in the world who clearly said, “I want to use Big Data.” They want to mine the social data. They want to mine the IoT data. They want to get the logs and clicks. They realized that Big Data is really my archive platform.

We provide the captioning. We provide the organizing. This year, the deal sizes are becoming bigger. Just last month alone, Kronos implemented our product. The first days were more of a survival of figuring out what we should do. Once we got established, we can say that the curve was growing. Time will tell how this year and next year will shape up but I would say we are onto something big.

Sramana Mitra: When did you hit the $5 million point? What year was that?

Sai Gundavelli: A few years back. This year has been a turning point. The entire Big Data product emerged last year. We educated the market. Gartner is supporting us. Now, we are starting to see customers calling us. It’s just starting to happen right now.

Sramana Mitra: You’re basically saying that your deal sizes are going up with the Big Data product. That should make a significant impact on your business.

Sai Gundavelli: Exactly.

Sramana Mitra: What do you want to do with this business? You have some angel money and some of your own money. Are you trying to go the regular venture route of selling the company or are you trying to build something for the long term? You’ve been at this for quite a while now.

Sai Gundavelli: Good question. Companies have been tapping us for potential acquisitions. Companies are never sold. They’re always bought. I think we’re looking for that magic moment. At this point in time, this product can make a billion dollars in revenue. I can confidently say that. I’ve got one customer who’s willing to pay $3 million. A lot of these companies are trying to do more than a custom project. We are productizing the entire thing. I don’t know whether we can become another mini-IBM but there is a possibility. Most probably, the company will get acquired. I’m not trying to sell.

Sramana Mitra: You’re not trying to raise money to take this to the next level?

Sai Gundavelli: That’s a good question. That is also on our agenda. What we’re looking for are a few use cases where we’ve sold big ticket items. Obviously, that can help us in our valuation. Taking additional money to take the entire marketing and sales to the next level is a possibility.

Sramana Mitra: Good luck with navigating the next phase of the journey. Thank you for sharing your story.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Scaling a Technology Company Against Major Competitors: Solix CEO Sai Gundavelli
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