Zoho Stays Private Or ‘Won't Be Able To Work From Village’: CEO Vembu

The billionaire CEO of Indian software MNC Zoho Corporation, Sridhar Vembu, shared with his followers on X that he wants to continue running Zoho as a private company.

He said running a public company is tougher than a private one.

"It is like being on the treadmill all the time," he wrote in a post on X.

At first, his reasons are personal more than collective. However, he clarifies how private status benefits everyone associated with the organisation. 

"Personally, as a public company CEO, I won't be able to live in a remote village and work on my own deep tech projects along with the school, the farm and rural works - the pressure to manage the stock price would be brutal, and then I would have to transmit that pressure to everyone else in the company…That relentless pressure leads to employee burnout and attrition", Vembu added.

He also shared how private status helps companies to focus on the research part.

"As a private company, we invest in long-term R&D and infrastructure without worrying about how quarterly numbers would look. "We remain private because I want to work with our people long-term on critical projects": he shared.

The post went viral with 5,600+ likes and 178 comments.

Many resonated with his thoughts, while some said it's better to go public.

One user wrote: "How will then the appetite for growth be served? Both the employees and that of management?"

Vembu replied, "We are growing and promoting people as we grow without pushing people so hard they burn out. We can afford that balanced attitude as a private company. Much harder as a public company."

Another user wrote: "The reasons to go public are more about raising funds, creating value for your employees and to use stock as a currency to acquire. The downside is constant price feedback, but even Amazon,  a very forward thinker, saw stock prices plummet 90% once. Markets eventually reward long term thinking, but you should also ignore short term prices."

Zoho FY23 Revenue

Best known for its Zoho Office Suite, the Indian MNC sells computer software and IT business tools. According to RoC filings by the company, Zoho's revenue stood at Rs 8,703 crore. 

In addition, Zoho reported that its enterprise IT management division, Manage Engine, generated revenue of Rs 4,327.8 crore for FY23. This business unit experienced a revenue growth of 37% over FY22.