Freshworks, Eka Software founders launch 'Together' to back early-stage enterprise software startups

Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham and Eka Software founder Manav Garg have launched Together, an $85 million venture capital fund that will back early-stage enterprise software startups.

The move brings together Mathrubootham- India's most successful software startup founder in recent times- and other industry bulwarks to back software startups at a time when the market is booming, valuations are soaring, and investors are seeing huge payoffs on something they weren't convinced about even 5-10 years ago.

Together's founders however insist that it is not just a regular venture fund backing software-as-a-service entrepreneurs and looking for financial returns.

"To me, Together is not just a fund, it is a way to pay it forward to the startup community that gave me so much. With Together, we are not just offering capital to founders, we are offering our time and counsel as well. We have brought together a large network of more than 150 founders and operators across India and Silicon Valley to provide contextual help and guidance," Freshworks CEO Mathrubootham said.

He added that his personal ambition for the fund is not about making it the most successful VC firm but to make it the most founder-friendly, a sentiment that his founding partner Manav Garg echoes.

"In today's world, capital is a commodity. We don't want to be an investor - we want to be like a co-founder. While we do want to deliver financial returns on our investments, that is secondary to our imperative to ensure that we do right by the founder at all times" Garg said.

He also said that both founders being active entrepreneurs themselves gives them perspective and an advantage that other software investors don't have.