Appinventiv, a bootstrapped product development company, has grown from 10 to 1000 employees in a short span of seven years. Appinventiv today works with the biggest names in the tech industry at domestic and global levels. Some of their key clients include KFC, Dominos, IKEA, Asian Bank, Adidas, Qatar government, and ABP News. Appinventiv’s digital media vertical is in strategic partnership with the government of India, and multiple state governments, and has successfully led campaigns like ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’.
In 2021-2022, India saw the rise of over 60 unicorns with a total valuation of over $120 billion. But out of a total of 107 unicorns in the country, only 23 unicorns are actually profitable. The reason for this stark ratio is that most startups run after a higher valuation to get listed as a unicorn. Valuation is market-driven. However, profitability runs, to a large extent, by strong business fundamentals.
“We have been part of the startup growth chapter in India, and we understand the nuances behind running one. From being a bootstrapped startup to scaling the company steadily, we have experienced the highs and lows of running a business. The only thing that kept us going was the vision and foresight. Despite the impact COVID-19 had on other companies, we were still able to scale our revenue by 127%. We retained our employees, offered three rounds of appraisals, and offset the COVID impact on them and their families,” says Saurabh Singh, CEO, Appinventiv.
As for the startup ecosystem, there are only 25% that are currently profitable, bringing us back to a bigger question- does valuation trump profitability?
“Appinventiv has had a clear vision in terms of growth and scalability. We have always aimed at chasing profitability, customer satisfaction, and steady revenue generation. When we focus on making an organisation profitable, we measure its success on the basis of its expense ratio vis-à-vis the current and future market trends. As an organisation, we have given weightage to strategically and cohesively tackling challenges that we may face within our organisation. This has helped us wade through the toughest storms without getting affected by the valuation game,” says Singh.
He went on to emphasise the valuation game is just a bubble that is waiting to burst. Today, global investors are reserving their wallets from funding because of uncertainty looming high. But valuation does not directly correlate to a startup's ability to generate cash flows and make profits. Businesses have to refine their business models, and their approach, and take a relook at their culture to become profitable.
Appinventiv is being led from the front by Saurabh Singh, Sudeep Srivastava, Prateek Saxena, Peeyush Singh, and Dileep Gupta to demarcate its service offerings amid the crowded business and startup landscape.
The unique approach adopted by Singh to build a successful organisation from scratch led him to feature on the cover page of Forbes India as an Iconic Leader of 2021. The company was also bestowed with the prestigious App Development Company of the year 2020 by The Entrepreneur.