Should we sell to Indian SMBs, Indian enterprises, or skip India and go straight at US buyers?
The short answer
Pick on payback and on where your product is genuinely better, not on prestige. Indian SMB gives volume, fast feedback and brutal price sensitivity, so it only works with a low-touch motion and INR pricing through local rails. Indian enterprise pays real money and buys on relationship and reference, with long cycles and heavy customisation asks. US-first gives you higher price points but you are selling into a market where you have no network, so budget for a long ramp and for someone who can sell in that timezone. The myth worth killing is that Indian customers do not pay for software, they pay when the value is obvious and the price is set in their currency.
Go deeper, your way
5 hand-picked resources, 5 India-specific, 5 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
🎧 Podcast
✓ Link checkedIndiaFreeIntermediate
Why we picked it
Makhija runs a listed Indian SaaS company handling a quarter of India's e-commerce volume and takes apart the myth that Indian customers will not pay for software. The most useful hour anyone deciding between India and the US as a first market can spend.
Why we picked it
Exotel sells across India, South East Asia and the Middle East, so Bhatia can compare emerging markets rather than treating the US as the only destination. Useful when you are choosing which market to expand into and how to staff it.
Why we picked it
Concrete on the mechanics nobody outside India writes about: INR pricing, UPI AutoPay recurring success rates versus international cards, GST, and typical India plan pricing relative to the US sticker. Read it before you decide Indian buyers will not pay.
Why we picked it
Splits the ecosystem into India-first companies serving the domestic market and global-first companies exporting, which is exactly the choice this question is about. Gives you market sizes to argue with rather than opinions.
Why we picked it
Zenoti and MindTickle founders on validating at home before expanding, and on finding a handful of customers willing to build with you rather than chasing volume. A direct answer to whether to prove it in India first.
