From Zendesk to OnPageOne Digital Agency, founders who never said never – your startup fix for the week

The stories of these intrepid startup founders resonate what William Edward Hickson famously said, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

Monday February 10, 2020 , 3 min Read

Renowned cartoonist Joseph Barbera (of Tom and Jerry fame) once said, "Keep pitching. Most of the pitches run wild. A few are caught."

Closer home in the startup world too, founders face innumerous obstacles before they "make it."

Case in point: Mikkel Svane and Morten Primdahl, co-founders of Zendesk, who were once selling old school helpdesk ticketing software. Soon, the duo realised theirs was a poor software, which was not to the customer's liking. Undeterred, they went back to the drawing back and the result was Zendesk – today a global leader in customer service, with annual revenue of $758 million.

In the Indian startup space, Neetu Kurian, Founder of Kochi-based OnPageOne Digital Agency, set out to solve branding for businesses. But, in a market like Kerala, owing to low adoption of digital as a marketing avenue, Neetu faced several roadblocks – lack of awareness on how digital distribution worked, how the platform could fetch results, the return on investment, and others.

And yet, she never gave in, going on to overcome these challenges and help over 50 businesses kickstart their digital journey "on page one". Read her inspiring story here.