My guest in this episode of MVP – The Master’s Voice Podcast series Master’s Voice Podcast, which is based on conversations with MVPs (Most Valued Players / Professionals) across important sectors of the Industry – features Beerud Sheth - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the phenomenal unicorn GupShup. (And remember, Beerud is the man who also created and launched Elance, which today, is the remarkable billion-dollar Upwork.)
The brand philosophy of GupShup stems from Beerud’s vision of ‘A future where it's as easy for a customer to chat with a business as it is with a friend’, and that philosophy and DNA has well and truly unlocked the power of conversational messaging – to the remarkable extent that today, GupShup powers around 80 of the top 100 unicorns of India through it crucial and empowering services.
Brands like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Infosys, Truecaller, Flipkart, Ola, Zomato and HDFC bank are using Gupshup’s messaging services to engage with their customers.
I learn that the primary ingredients in GupShup’s magic potion are ‘personalization, at scale, offered in a human way’. With personalization enabling businesses to develop and nurture one-on-one relationships with their customers; scale providing businesses the ability to create and manage dynamic connections with their customers, employees and partners at scale, and the human way personifying businesses by humanizing the product, technology and interactions with their stakeholders.
Gupshup became Indian 6th unicorn raising $100 Mn from Tiger Global, valued at $1.4Bn.
It has entered the food and beverage sector with the launch of Restaurant Solution that has digitized hundreds of restaurant outlets online across India and the UAE.
GupShup launched its Messenger API for Instagram to help businesses engage. It has also rolled out conversational OOH ads across Mumbai, plus a WhatsApp-based commerce solution.
It recently acquited New Jersey-based Dotgo to strengthen the platform and enter new markets, and also acquired cloud telephony platform Knowlarity to strengthens conversational engagement portfolio.
Beerud speaks of the launch and growth of GupShup, and offers interesting insights into the ‘SPACE’ acronym, with which he powers the work culture across the organization.
He also speaks of what’s changed after Gupshup became a unicorn, and where he sees AI/ML/NLP in general and Conversational AI in particular, headed over the next couple of years. And, of course, his larger Conversational AI vision.
So for all this and more, listen to brilliant, innovative creator of enterprises of lasting value, Beerud Sheth, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
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