Airbase: From Solo Founder to 8-Figure ARR SaaS

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Thejo Kote is the founder and CEO of Airbase, a spend management platform for mid-market and enterprise companies.

In 2016, following the successful exit of his previous startup, Automatic, Thejo began brainstorming ideas for his next venture.

At Automatic, managing company spending had been a major challenge. This led him to explore potential solutions to this widespread problem.

But instead of diving right into building a new product, Thejo spent 6 months interviewing CFOs to validate his idea and ensure it addressed a real problem.

He hired a freelance designer to create software mockups, which he used to get feedback. After each interview, he iterated and improved the designs.

Once his initial product was built, Thejo was ready to start his sales outreach.

Despite his previous startup success, he faced struggles as potential customers were still apprehensive about trusting an unknown startup.

It took significant persistence and hustle for Thejo to get those initial customers.

Fast forward to today, and Airbase has surpassed 8-figures in ARR, grown to around 300 employees, and has raised over $100 million in funding.

This episode is part of our Enterprise Sales series.

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