Mani VembuCEO

It made us very happy. Zoho Writer was one of the first online word processors we built. After 20 years, getting recognized in India feels really proud. Competing with big giants is never easy, so this moment means a lot to us.

It’s not bittersweet. We knew from the beginning that building such tools would take time. Competing globally is a long journey of 20 or 30 years. We were ready for that from day one.

We build products in India but have local teams and partners in every market. This gives us the advantage of local understanding while keeping our costs efficient. It also protects us from global changes like visa issues.

We want to focus on building talent and investing in R&D. We enjoy the process of building and experimenting. Being private means we don’t have the pressure of quarterly growth or financial engineering. That freedom keeps our innovation alive.

We see AI as an enabler. With AI, everyone can become a creator, not just a consumer. It will speed up technology adoption and open new opportunities for problem solving everywhere.

We focus on solving business problems, not consumer problems. Our AI models like Zia and ZLM are designed for business data. That focus helps us manage cost and deliver real value without massive investment.

We never punish mistakes. We only ask if the effort was honest. If yes, failure is fine. That mindset encourages experimentation and helps people take risks without fear.

We believe you can’t judge talent in a one hour interview. That’s why we built Zoho Schools. We take students after high school, train them, and help them find their strengths. One of our first students now heads our Saudi Arabia operations.

About 15%. And now we’re setting up Zoho Schools in rural areas to find and nurture local talent. But we grow slowly, focusing on quality over quantity.

We see R&D and rural development as the same thing. Building talent locally helps both. Every hub and spoke we open brings opportunities to new towns. Our founder himself works from a rural hub in Tenkasi to show it’s possible.

His long term thinking. He always looks 10 years ahead. And his belief in giving people autonomy creates ownership and innovation. That freedom built Zoho’s culture.

Yes, I prefer to stay private. One Vembu on social media is enough. I like to focus on the work. Staying private gives me and the company some insulation from distractions.

Because in the long run, UX becomes the real differentiator. Once products get similar in features, what matters is how easy and fast users can learn and use them. That’s why we invest heavily in simplifying design.

We’re embedding AI into our platforms and focusing on verticals like BFSI and manufacturing. Every market has its strengths, so we adapt. The goal is to make app creation faster and more democratized.

Revenue is a by product. The main metric for us is monthly active users, how many people are truly using our products. If usage grows, revenue follows naturally.

AI won’t replace people but will make them more productive. We’ll keep growing our customer facing teams because clients still need guidance, support, and trust. AI will just help us do that better.

Think long term, enjoy the process, and don’t fear mistakes. Focus on creating talent, not chasing it. Build patiently, learn continuously, and measure success by the value you add, not by how fast you grow.