Founder Fulfills Three-Year-Old Promise
A Coimbatore-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup, Kovai.co, has distributed a staggering ₹14 crore as a bonus to 140 employees. The company’s founder, Saravanakumar, emphasized that this move was aimed at delivering tangible financial rewards to employees rather than just stock options that often remain on paper. According to him, many professionals join startups with aspirations of financial success, and this initiative was his way of acknowledging their dedication.
In an interview, the 48-year-old entrepreneur explained that he had committed to his employees three years ago, promising them a bonus equivalent to six months’ salary if they remained with the company until January 2025. With this distribution, he has now fulfilled that commitment, reinforcing Kovai.co’s culture of rewarding loyalty and hard work.
The Rise of Kovai.co
Established in 2011, Kovai.co specializes in B2B SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions and has grown significantly over the years. Named after Saravanakumar’s hometown of Coimbatore, the company has built a strong clientele, serving global corporations such as BBC, Boeing, and Shell.
Kovai.co’s suite of services includes Document360, a tool for creating and managing organizational help pages, BizTalk360, a platform integrating backend applications like Salesforce and SAP, and Turbo360, a cost-cutting solution that helps companies optimize cloud expenses by up to 30%. The company’s innovative offerings have positioned it as a key player in the SaaS industry.
From IT Employee to Multi-millionaire entrepreneur
Before launching his own company, Saravanakumar spent a decade as an IT professional and moved to London 25 years ago. Identifying an untapped market opportunity, he decided to bootstrap his venture, which has since evolved into a highly successful enterprise.
Today, Kovai.co generates an annual revenue of $15 million and has an estimated valuation of $100 million. While the recent bonus payout reflects the founder’s commitment to employee welfare, his next ambitious goal is to scale the company further, aiming for $100 million in annual revenue and achieving unicorn status.
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