Freshworks yesterday created history by becoming the first Indian SaaS company to list on the NASDAQ, and the listing was spectacular — Freshworks’ IPO price was set at $36, but its stock rallied through the day, finally ending up at $47 per share. “I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics,” gushed Freshworks founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham. But the Freshwork IPO has also managed to strike gold for the company’s investors, employees, and Mathrubootham himself.
Girish Mathrubootham’s net worth
Girish Mathrubootham had founded Freshdesk in 2010, and after several rounds of fundraising, is left with around 7% stake in the firm. At Freshwork’s share price of $47, his stake is worth nearly $800 million (Rs. 5600 crore). Girish Mathrubootham thus has a net worth of Rs. 5,600 crore from his Freshworks shares alone.
Freshworks Investors
- Accel: Accel had been one of the earliest backers of Freshworks, investing in the startup all the way back in 2011. At that point, Freshworks’ shares were worth $0.05 per share. Freshworks’ shares now trade at $47 per share, giving the firm a near 1000x return on its initial investment. Accel owns nearly 25% of Freshworks’ shares, which are worth nearly $3 billion (Rs. 21,000 crore).
- Tiger Global: Tiger Global had also been one of the earliest backers of Freshworks, investing in the company in 2012. At that point, Freshworks’ adjusted share price would’ve been $0.14, and the IPO has given Tiger a 335x return on its investment. Tiger Global’s near-26% holding in Freshworks is worth nearly $3 billion (Rs. 21,000 crore).
- CapitalG: Google’s investment arm CapitalG had invested in Freshworks in 2016 at a valuation of $1.01 per share. Its investment has grown nearly 47x since then, and its 8% holding in Freshworks is worth just over $1 billion (Rs. 7,000 crore).
- Sequoia Capital: Sequoia had invested in Freshworks in 2016 at a valuation of $3.16 a share. Freshworks’ current $47 share price means the VC firm has earned near 15x return on its investment. Sequoia’s 12% stake in Freshworks is now worth around $1.5 billion (Rs. 10,500 crore).
Freshworks employees
Nearly three-fourth of 4,300 Freshworks’ employees held shares in the company, and they’ve hit paydirt through the listing. Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham says that more than 500 of Freshworks India employees have turned crorepatis after the listing. More impressively, 69 of them are under the age of 30.