Aneesh Reddy — “The SaaS whisperer” — #JeenaIsiKaNaamHain

One of my favourite films growing up was a movie called “The Horse Whisperer”. It was a movie about a person with a magical ability to speak to horses, especially those that are injured or traumatised, through whispering. What was particularly poignant to me, more than the magic, was the fact that this person had an uncanny level of empathy towards living beings who couldn’t communicate their pain and troubles.

One of my favourite founders is Aneesh Reddy, the founder of Capillary Technologies, a leading retail CRM startup with 250 customers who account for some 120,000 stores around the world. I like to think of Aneesh as “The SaaS Whisperer”!

Let me tell you why I believe he deserves this title.

I first met Aneesh at the NASSCOM Emerge 50 pitch session more than a decade ago. We remained in touch over the next couple of years. Later, when I joined iSPIRT, it took very little time (not more than 30 minutes, I think) to convince him about iSPIRT’s mission, and he readily agreed to be a donor. He has always been like that. If an idea is impactful, then he takes decisions very quickly and goes all out to support it. Absolutely no half measures!

Not only did Aneesh become a generous donor, he was equally generous with his time and counsel. I had the privilege of travelling with him all across India, conducting workshops and roundtables on various aspects of product management. I am amazed and impressed with the clockwork precision that he demonstrated planning and conducting these meetings and his lessons benefited many generations of Indian SaaS founders — mind you, this was at a time when our community was still very nascent and there was hardly any support in general for young startups.

I also learnt how committed Aneesh was to building the entrepreneurship cell at his alma mater, IIT Kharagpur. He is an inspiration to the students there. After seeing him, every third or fourth person apparently now wants to be an entrepreneur. Aneesh was a great supporter of entrepreneurship long before the concept of starting up was sexy. His take on entrepreneurship though is quite different from most others. He believes while starting up, the team is of greater importance than the idea. This idea is not so much a religious opinion about what is right or wrong as it is about enjoying the process and journey of entrepreneurship. Aneesh believes that there is no point trying to achieve something big unless you relish the journey and share it with people that you care about.

Aneesh didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk as well. He himself partnered with his IIT batch mates when he started up. He did this without having firmed up any specific idea. He says that if you wait for that brilliant idea before starting up, it may never come. With a team that comprises members with complementary skills, ideation will happen organically, and execution will follow as you go deeper and learn more about any market.

Aneesh and his team took Capillary to great heights raising nearly $150m in funding from marquee investors and achieving well over $50m in ARR, acquiring many startups in India and all over the world in the process and growing to a team of 800 people.

But it was not all smooth sailing. Both the company and the management team went through some tumultuous times and I have seen how Aneesh has evolved over this period.

When I first met Aneesh, he often came across as being an aggressive go-getter. Clear about what he wants but ruthless in his execution.

But now, he has softened a lot and when I say “softened” I don’t mean weakened at all. He has truly evolved as a human being and has metamorphosed into “The SaaS Whisperer” — an extraordinarily empathetic individual who focuses on well-being, both physical & mental, with other people just as much as he does for himself.

Equally, he remains highly focused on business, and there’s no relenting there. It must have taken him a massive amount of hard work and soul-searching to make this shift. It’s extremely rare to see both qualities in an individual. Often what we see is one at the cost of the other. He hasn’t “mellowed” down one bit. He has spiritually evolved as much as he has made great progress as an inspirational business leader with razor-sharp acumen.

Another unique thing about Aneesh is he is excellent as a people connector. Whether it comes to resolving conflicts between people or using his own vast rolodex to connect people in his network for mutually beneficial partnerships.

Finally, Aneesh deserves the moniker of the SaaS Whisperer because he is incredibly vulnerable — he will not shy away from transparently sharing his thoughts and feelings, even his weaknesses. I have witnessed how Aneesh uses this strength with large audiences and gotten them to open up without feeling any insecurity or fear by simply mirroring what Aneesh was displaying.

It has been a privilege to see Aneesh learn and spread the gospel of physical and mental wellness. From eating and sleeping right to exercising to expanding your mind, Aneesh’s outlook in life is almost spiritual in nature.

It is quite surreal to see how Aneesh is a monk in these respects and still a mercenary in some ways when it comes to running a startup.

I can also safely say that I have worked with Aneesh on initiatives more than any other individual in my 20+ years of community building. He always had the time and energy — despite his incredibly hectic schedule — to support the community.

The ecosystem owes a lot to Aneesh and I for one, have always looked up to him as a great source of inspiration.

Thank you Aneesh, I cherish the hours spent with you. Our friendship has blossomed over the years, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the very best in life ahead and great health as well.

Please keep “whispering” your sage thoughts to everyone who needs a sage hand on their shoulders.