What if one of the world’s most respected tech companies, selling in over 180 countries, with 25 offices across the globe, wasn’t built in Silicon Valley or Bangalore, but from a small village in Tamil Nadu called Tenkasi? In this episode of Raw Talks with VK, we sit down with Mr. Raju Vegesna, the Chief Evangelist at Zoho Corporation, for a deeply honest, philosophical, and powerful conversation in Telugu. This is not just a startup success story; it’s a blueprint for building with integrity, vision, and an unshakable connection to roots. Raju takes us through his personal journey and his connection with CBN (Chandrababu Naidu), including the viral tweet after Chandra Babu Naidu’s arrest. He shares how he first met Sridhar Vembu, Zoho’s founder, and how that meeting shaped a decades-long partnership based on values, simplicity, and service to the country. He talks about how Zoho made the bold decision to stay bootstrapped, carry zero debt, and invest in long-term thinking instead of chasing short-term valuations. We discuss how Zoho, unlike many other companies, built its offices in rural areas like Renigunta, with the belief that villages don’t need to be emptied to build cities, and that innovation doesn’t have a pin code. From losing 400 clients to rejecting an acquisition offer from Salesforce, Raju walks us through the philosophy that helped Zoho survive and thrive. He breaks down the purpose behind Zoho Schools, where dropouts and underprivileged youth like, security guard Abdul Alif, are trained to become full-fledged software engineers. He explains why they don’t provide degrees, only skills, and why many graduates today ask if they too can join this alternative education model. We dive into how culture acts like the "character of a company," why they avoid traditional corporate structure, and how they’ve managed to operate without ever doing layoffs. Raju opens up about how design, interior choices, and even sofa arrangements affect team dynamics and why they design everything in-house to nurture culture. He also touches on Zoho’s product journey from launching Zoho Writer before Google Docs, to making Zoho Mail one of the top 3 email platforms globally, to building a CRM that now sees large-scale migrations from other platforms. This conversation also takes a wider lens on India’s startup ecosystem. Raju shares his views on entrepreneurship and patriotism, India’s engineering graduate crisis, and the philosophical mindset shift we need to stop waiting for Western validation. We discuss how AI and robotics are not just tech trends but tools for digital and national sovereignty, and how real disruption is only beginning. He compares the state of Tier 1 Indian cities with Tier 3 cities in the U.S., and asks the question: can we build from here and still lead the world? With memorable stories like the early Ameerpet startup days, co-founder disagreements, and incidents where clients once rejected them harshly, this episode offers a full-spectrum view of the mindset and mission behind one of India’s most inspiring companies. For aspiring entrepreneurs, tech dreamers, and anyone who believes in building with purpose, this episode isn’t just a conversation, it’s a call to action. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to build a global company out of a village, this might be for you. Whether you’re dreaming of staying bootstrapped, creating real impact, or building from Bharat, this story is proof that it can be done.
