In this episode, I am in conversation with Rajesh Sharma, co-founder and chief product officer of ProHance. Rajesh covers a lot of ground starting from his move from Public Sector to SaaS Founder.
Rajesh describes his path from a modest middle-class upbringing in Shimla and a mechanical engineering degree to a stable career at HPCL, then a major career reset into software after quitting his public-sector job to take an IBM course and restarting as a trainee. He later co-founded JaMocha Tech (now ProHance) in 2009 with co-founder Kishore Reddy, backed early by angel investor Sudhir Sharma, aiming to build a world-class software product from India. After experimenting with multiple products and learning that market feedback matters more than expert opinions, they focused on ProHance, a horizontal work visibility and effectiveness platform, now with 250+ customers in 23 countries, ~200+ employees, and a private equity majority investor. He emphasizes the importance of complementary co-founders, supportive family, direct founder-customer feedback loops, profitability and frugality, outcome ownership, and adopting AI internally and in-product.
00:00 Welcome and Setup
01:00 Origin Story and Courage
02:10 From Shimla to Bangalore
04:22 Quitting HPCL for IT
07:06 Starting the Company
11:06 Why Team Matters
14:02 Family Support System
16:56 Finding Product Market Fit
18:45 Choosing the Winning Product
23:18 Selling a Horizontal SaaS
24:31 Business Meets Tech
25:48 Customer Value Mindset
27:36 Product Decisions and Risk
30:36 Start Small MVP
33:01 Founder Led Feedback Loop
35:28 Scaling Global Teams
36:05 Leaders From Customers
39:16 AI Adoption and Roadmap
46:03 Staying Grounded Values
50:21 Parting Advice Start Now
Rajesh Sharma is a first-generation entrepreneur and the co-founder of ProHance, a highly successful, self-funded, profitable SaaS startup built from the ground up in Bangalore, India.
Born and raised in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, Rajesh earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering from MNIT, Jaipur. He began his professional journey with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), one of India’s leading public sector oil and gas companies.
After over 12 years at HPCL, Rajesh identified the rising potential of the IT sector and made a strategic career transition in 2000, moving from a stable corporate role to the technology industry as a software engineer. He gained practical experience in software product development with companies including Network Solutions, International Decision Systems, and JSoft.
In 2009, Rajesh co-founded JaMocha Tech with Kishore Reddy (later renamed ProHance) where he leveraged his techno-functional expertise to build a profitable, debt-free SaaS enterprise. Today, ProHance stands as a global platform with over 200 enterprise customers and an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of around $18 million. In December 2023, ChrysCapital acquired a 75% stake in ProHance, fuelling its next phase of global expansion across regions such as the Philippines, Australia, and South America.
Throughout his career, he has consistently embraced roles beyond his core expertise, applying a hands-on, practical approach that combines on-the-job learning with sound judgment. This rare combination has shaped him into a leader with deep insight into both the business and technical aspects of running any enterprise.
Rajesh continues to be deeply involved with ProHance, now serving as its Chief Product Officer (CPO) after transitioning from his earlier role as COO. In this capacity, he continues to drive ProHance’s product vision, innovation, and technology roadmap—while mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs and builders navigating their own zero-to-one journeys.
Contact info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajesh-sharma-12298447
