“If you build it, they will come,” is a myth that everyone falls for pretty quickly. But businesses are slow to realise an important truth, “If you don’t talk to them, they will never convert.”
But this is what the founders of Gallabox noticed from the decades of experience generating leads for businesses. They got to experience first-hand what it means to be a small and medium-sized business (SMB) and how difficult it is for them to attract customers and grow their sales.
The first step to lead conversion is conversation but many businesses fail at this first step. Lead conversion is a real test of a business’ potential to grow. Selling to your network, up-selling and cross selling plateaus real fast. And the businesses never develop the muscle to convert a prospect.
“We were entrepreneurial but never entrepreneurs. We didn’t know what SaaS was. But we knew how to solve problems. And if SaaS is how you solve this problem then we will do SaaS.”
And so they launched Gallabox––a no-code platform that helps businesses automate customer interactions and convert conversations into transactions. Gallabox’s platform enables businesses to effectively market, sell, and support via WhatsApp, addressing the gap between traditional CRMs and modern communication needs. It’s a stack built for both marketing and sales teams, helping them convert LEADS to DEALS.
Their understanding of the market was so deep that Gallabox got its first 100 customers in the first 100 days. That’s when they realised the magnitude of the opportunity.
Today, with a team size of 50, Gallabox serves more than 1,600 customers across 40 countries. It earns more than half of its standalone monthly revenues from non-Indian geographies, receiving great traction from the Middle Eastern and Latin American markets.
Gallabox is building the future of conversational commerce. A future where the customer is truly the king and gets things done with minimal effort.
During our first meeting, Karthik said, “Why do I have to login to an app to book a flight ticket? Why can’t I just type a WhatsApp message saying, “Hey, book me a ticket from Bangalore to San Francisco on this day on this flight within this budget range?”’ Why do I have to learn where is what in the app? Apps are dying. CRMs are dying. The future is a conversational web and we will lead that change.”
Karthik says that the Gallabox team approaches its mission with controlled aggression. I always feel both energised and calm when I am in conversation with Karthik, Yathindhar and Yogesh. So, it feels fair that they are the ones to transform the world of conversational commerce.
Gallabox has an ambitious journey ahead of them, as they endeavour to lead a market valued at $7.5B+ in 2024, one that is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3%. Neon is excited to be a part of their journey as they scale new heights and redefine customer communication for SMBs.
To learn more about Gallabox’s journey, listen to Karthik on The Neon Show below:
Founder's Word
Karthik JagannathanCo-Founder & CEO Gallabox
Siddhartha Ahluwalia
I am Managing Partner at Neon Fund, B2B SaaS Fund investing in pre seed and seed stage B2B SaaS companies built by Indian founders and building for US Market. I am also host of Neon Show podcast, which I & Nansi started in 2018, one of the most listened podcast in the Indian Startup Ecosystem. I started Adddodoc, B2B SaaS CRM for Pediatricians in 2012, which got acquired by Sheroes in 2017. In 2019 I worked for VC firm Prime Ventures and in 2020 I worked for Amazon Web Services as the Head of SaaS Ecosystem for India for Startup BD India team My skills are starting companies from 0-1, and Go to Market in the US for B2B SaaS startups from 0 to $10M ARR is my forte. We are the only few VC funds globally that are practitioners of GTM ourselves.
