What does it take to build a company from the ground up and lead it to success for 16 years? For Vineet Jain, CEO and founder of Egnyte, the answer is a relentless focus on product excellence and customer satisfaction. In a recent episode of Sales Talk for CEOs, Vineet shared how these principles helped him grow Egnyte into a leading cloud-based content collaboration and governance platform, serving over 23,000 customers.
Chapters
01:11 – What Ignite Does – Vineet explains that Ignite provides a cloud-based content collaboration and security platform, targeting mid-market companies.
02:33 – Solving Mid-Market Challenges – Discussion on how Ignite offers a turnkey solution for content management and security, addressing the unique needs of mid-market companies.
04:53 – The Genesis of Ignite – Vineet shares the origins of Ignite, including the transition from their previous company and the early development of the product.
06:57 – The Early Days of Cloud Computing – Insight into how Ignite started as an “on-demand file server” and evolved as the concept of cloud computing emerged.
07:37 – Product-Centric Culture – Vineet discusses Ignite’s strong focus on building a robust product before going to market, a practice rooted in their engineering background.
08:52 – Early Customer Acquisition – The strategy behind Ignite’s initial customer acquisition, relying heavily on search engine marketing and the importance of product-market fit.
11:20 – Identifying Target Industries – How Ignite organically identified its primary industries—AEC, financial services, life sciences, and media—and adapted the product to serve them better.
14:05 – Scaling Sales with Inside Sales – The decision to build an inside sales team early on, focusing on mid-market clients to optimize sales efficiency.
15:19 – Inside Sales Strategy – A closer look at how Ignite’s inside sales team is structured, including geographic territories and industry-specific reps.
17:40 – Combining Direct and Channel Sales – Vineet explains the importance of blending direct and channel sales to drive growth, with a significant investment in channel partnerships.
20:43 – The Role of Channel Partners – The shift in channel partner dynamics, particularly from a perpetual license model to a subscription-based model.
22:53 – Vineet’s Role in Sales as CEO – As CEO, Vineet focuses on relationship management and strategic involvement in key customer interactions, particularly with larger accounts.
About Guest
Vineet Jain is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder of Egnyte, a leading cloud-based collaboration and governance platform. An entrepreneur at heart, prior to Egnyte, Vineet founded Valdero, a supply chain solution provider that received funding from leading investors like KPCB, MDV, etc. Under Vineet’s leadership, Egnyte has grown exponentially, serving more than 22,000 customers globally and having 1,000+ employees worldwide.
Vineet started his career at Boots Plc in the United Kingdom and has also worked in various senior-level positions at Bechtel Corporation and KPMG in Silicon Valley. He holds a bachelor’s of science in engineering from Delhi College of Engineering and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from Santa Clara University.
Twitter: @CloudNotEnough
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vineetkjain/
Email: vjain@egnyte.com