Podcast

7 Myths About Selling B2B SaaS In India (ft. Unicommerce founder Kapil Makhija)

Siddhartha Ahluwalia (host), Kapil Makhija (guest) · The Neon Show Free Intermediate India

An Indian founder who actually built and scaled a SaaS business at home talks bluntly about pricing, instead of a generic global playbook. Kapil Makhija pushes back on the myth that Indian customers will not pay for software, explaining how Unicommerce charges a premium locally by selling value rather than the lowest price. It is a useful reality check before you assume your India numbers have to look thin next to your dollar revenue.

  • The claim that Indian customers do not pay for SaaS is treated as a myth, with a founder who prices above competitors in India to prove it
  • Winning on lowest price is framed as unsustainable, so the argument is to price on value even in the home market
  • Grounded in one founder's lived experience selling B2B SaaS to Indian buyers, so it complements the numbers-first articles
Open on neon.fund ↗

It answers 5 questions

  1. What's the difference between a customer saying they'll pay and actually pulling out a card, and how do I test the real one early?
  2. I'm a solo technical founder and hate selling. How do I get my first customers without becoming a salesperson?
  3. How do I size a market I want to sell to businesses outside the big Indian startup hubs?
  4. I'm building for Indian SMBs who use WhatsApp for everything. How do I get my first 10 without a fancy sales process?
  5. How do unit economics differ when I'm building for Indian customers versus selling in dollars to global users?

Read with it

  1. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  2. The permission slip to recruit users by hand, do things manually, and deliver 'insanely great' experiences to your first few... paulgraham.com Essay · ~15 min read Do Things That Don't Scale Paul Graham
  3. Video · ~25 min How to Talk to Users Eric Migicovsky
  4. A tactical follow-on covering the channels and motions top B2B startups scale after the first ten. Grounds distribution... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~15 min read How to win your first 10 B2B customers Lenny Rachitsky
  5. The authoritative handbook on founder-led sales, written for technical/first-time sellers building B2B SaaS. Readable free... foundingsales.com Book · book (~400 pages) Founding Sales: The Early Stage Go-to-Market Handbook Peter Kazanjy
  6. A step-by-step, modern YC walkthrough of identifying buyers, starting conversations, and converting them into your first... YC Startup Library Video · ~20 min How to Get Your First 10 Customers Max Kolysh (Y Combinator)
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →