Project Superstar: US tech CEO’s USD 100 million IPO salute to Thalaivar

The co-founder and CEO of Freshworks, a software startup, is an admirer of the actor. Girish Mathrubootham’s firm has filed for a $100 million IPO, code-named after the actor. 

Mathrubootham, who hails from Tiruchy, has been a die-hard fan for a long time and has a blog to his name detailing his meeting with the actor in 2017. 

“The code name for our IPO was Project SuperStar, named after the most successful movie star from Tamil Nadu, Rajinikanth. I want to express my love and gratitude to him for being my maanaseega guru. There is no comparable English word to express what this means. It is a mentor; a role model that lives in your mind, from whom you learn a lot by watching from afar. SuperStar is a man who is loved and worshipped by millions of fans globally. He is immensely successful yet humble and down to earth. Thank you, Thalaivaa,” he wrote in the document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The business and customer engagement software company reported a nearly 53 per cent revenue surge with more customers. It had earned $168.9 million in revenue for six months till June 30 in 2021 in a regulatory filing and up to $110.5 million in the same time the previous year. The company started out at a 700-ft warehouse in Chennai 12 years ago and it was then called Freshdesk. 

The Freshworks IPO is being led by Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. The company intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.