[Tech30] Stackby enables businesses to simplify their workflow and increases collaboration among teams

COVID-19 has forced many of us to work remotely, with office teams juggling enormous data from multiple apps. Smaller companies too have to work with many collaboration and CRM tools.

Instead of being tied down these apps, Surat-based SaaS company Stackby allows teams to customise their workflow by accessing everything in one single spreadsheet.

Founded by Rachit Khator in April 2018, Surat-based Stackby aims to bring structure and visibility to workflows, enabling easy collaboration among employees, and customisation specific to the company’s needs.

"The idea was conceived in 2017 while I was dealing with multiple spreadsheets that became cumbersome to manage, and I saw the need for software tools that empower end-users to build their own applications versus moulding them in vertical applications," says Rachit.

The founder’s journey

Rachit, who hails from Surat, holds dual Master’s degrees in Applied Physics from NIT Surat, India and Entrepreneurship from the University of Michigan.

Before Stackby, he spent four years working in venture capital and product management for a large Fortune 500 company in Michigan, US, where he led investments and worked with over 15 technology startups. He also worked in Magna International.

In 2018, Rachit quit his corporate job and returned to India to build Stackby. He understood first-hand that organisations were struggling to deal with multiple spreadsheets and applications at work. He realised the need for a platform to simplify their complexity and he went about building the product in 2019.

How Stackby works

Stackby is a collaborative spreadsheet-database hybrid platform that enables people to create their own workflows and automate it via third party services.

The product simplifies spreadsheets, increases the functionality of databases and integrates them with business APIs like MailChimp, Clearbit, YouTube, Twilio, etc on a single cloud-based platform. Stackby gives the business flexibility to build their own work tools, without requiring coding or technical skills.

"We are unlike structured CRM tools, as the database canvas built out is determined by the end-user and can be used across various use-cases, CRM being one. We have the vision to consumerise enterprise software," he says.

According to Rachit, small businesses can collaborate with their teams in real-time from wherever they are to create checklists, setup reminders or even send notifications directly to their slack. The teams can ensure that they don’t miss out on the updates.

First clients and future plans

Stackby was soft-launched at the RISE Conference in Hong Kong in July 2019, post which it acquired the first 10 paying clients through word of mouth and referrals. The insights from the early customers helped Rachit and his team to shape the product.

The startup’s first client was a small textile business that wanted to manage its export order production and it helped an ad agency that was managing campaigns to get automated reports from YouTube.

“We are growing fast and we are helping highly efficient sales and marketing teams to be not worried about cluttered apps. We are an API-based tool which allows SMBs to customise and scale based on their requirements,” says Rachit.

Rachit adds that the COVID-19 pandemic presented new opportunities rather than becoming a challenge. The startup helped teams working from home to customise their workflows and remain connected at all times.

Since it launched the full version of the product in January 2018, the company has recorded over 3,500 customers. It plans to acquire 10,000 paying customers globally (its pricing is based on customisation) in the next 18 months and wants to expand its community from the current 1,200 to 20,000 users. The Annual Revenue Run rate is targeted to $1.5-2 million in the next 12-18 months.