In the bustling city of Hyderabad, where innovation thrives amidst the rich tapestry of tradition, two minds converged to shape the trajectory of modern sales outreach. Meet Prateek Bhatt and Akhilesh Betanamudi, the visionary co-founders of SmartReach.io.
Their journey, rooted in the corridors of IIT Kharagpur, embarked upon a path of resilience, ingenuity, and unwavering commitment.
Prateek and Akhilesh became close friends while studying at IIT Kharagpur, where they collaborated on myriad projects and business plan competitions.
Despite diverging career paths — Akhilesh delving into engineering at Samsung Electronics and Prateek venturing into entrepreneurship with ventures like Aadhaarup and Userjoy — their shared ambition never waned.
In 2016, they came back together with a shared dream to take advantage of the growing B2B market. Initially conceived as a software agency, their journey unfolded with an intimate understanding of the challenges plaguing sales development — especially the difficult task of reaching out to potential customers who haven’t shown interest yet.
This firsthand experience showed them a common problem that both businesses and sales teams often deal with.
Their pivotal moment arrived in 2017, marked by a strategic pivot towards crafting a solution to address these pervasive challenges and that’s when they started SmartReach.
SmartReach.io emerged as a beacon of innovation, dedicated to changing the way we do sales engagement through automation and optimization.
However, the path to success was fraught with obstacles. It took over two years of relentless dedication to achieve product-market fit — a milestone attained just when the COVID-19 pandemic was causing a lot of uncertainty in the global markets. The ensuing months were fraught with apprehension, yet amidst the turmoil, a silver lining emerged.
Success Story of SmartReach.io
The seismic shift towards remote work catalyzed a surge in demand for automation tools, propelling SmartReach.io to the forefront of helping businesses speed up their sales processes.
The subsequent years bore witness to exponential growth, with quarterly increments soaring at an impressive rate of 35%.
By 2023, SmartReach.io had notched a significant milestone, surpassing the USD 1 Mn ARR mark — a testament to their indomitable spirit and unwavering resolve. Remarkably, this achievement was realized without external funding, symbolic of their steadfast commitment to organic growth.
At its helm stood a formidable team, spearheaded by industry experts such as Neil Dsouza from FreshDesk and Lancelot Dsouza from Times of India, whose expertise lent credence to SmartReach’s ambitious endeavours. A small team of 5 way back in 2020 is now over 25 members strong.
Today, SmartReach stands as a stalwart ally to SMBs and enterprises across the globe, catering to a diverse array of industries, including health-tech, fintech, and SaaS providers. Its clientele spans continents, from the United States to India, united by a common goal—to drive predictable and measurable growth.
Central to SmartReach’s ethos is a suite of innovative solutions designed to streamline B2B interactions, from email outreach to LinkedIn engagement. Their flagship product, bolstered by auxiliary offerings like ProspectDaddy, WarmupHero, and a comprehensive sales CRM, epitomizes efficiency and efficacy.
These auxiliary offerings are slowly gaining traction and have the potential to generate an alternate revenue stream for SmartReach.
As SmartReach.io keeps exploring new paths, its story shows how determination and new ideas can change things for the better. By giving B2B sales teams the tools they need to succeed in a changing world, SmartReach.io shows the spirit of entrepreneurship and progress.
