Every startup dreams to achieve the coveted billion-dollar valuation for itself. It’s quite difficult to enter the club but over the past few years, a number of Indian startups have been successful in doing so. These include Freshwork and Druva. The latest Indian software startup to accomplish this milestone is a firm known as Postman.
A quick overview
Headed by CEO and co-founder Abhinav Asthana alongside co-founders Ankit Sobti and Abhijit Kane, Postman that started its journey in Bengaluru, has not only become India’s latest to join the unicorn club but has also done so in just six years, which is the fastest for any firm in the country.
Postman now operates from its headquarters in San Francisco, California, and its valuation is set at $2 billion. Apart from this brilliant achievement, many people are unaware of what exactly the software company has set out to do. Read this to have all your questions about the company answered
What exactly is Postman’s purpose?
Founded in 2014, Postman’s main purpose is to help coders test run their application programme interface (APIs) and subsequently modify them without having to create separate code for testing them. It provides an intuitive user interface that helps coders by providing them with an environment where they can do everything from designing and debugging their APIs to monitoring and publishing them.
What is API and why is it so important?
As we mentioned, increasingly, software is being developed to facilitate interaction with other softwares. APIs help these softwares communicate. For instance, when you use e-commerce services, first, you’ll go through different products and buy one. You’ll be redirected to a paying portal. Once that is done, you’ll track the order on the platform. These three distinct activities may seem like they are a part of the same software, but they are actually multiple softwares interacting with the help of API.
Postman’s work with APIs is revolutionary
As we head deeper into the cloud-computing age, the significance of API increases at a rapid pace. Interaction between different apps and softwares has become essential.
Postman helps in simplifying the entire process for a coder by providing them with a platform that provides them with tools to complete the whole process at a single place. It helps in building powerful APIs that can communicate with other apps even if they have been coded in varying languages.
How did Postman reach the $2 billion valuation point?
Just after Postman’s inception in 2014, Nexus Venture Partners, a US-based firm, saw the value in it and became its first investor. Next, it managed to raise $50 million in the Series B in 2019 and has managed to raise $150 million in series C.
The $2 billion valuation was thought to have been a bit steep to many, but for the founders, the figure was based on the importance of powerful APIs in a post-coronavirus world and the investors seemed to have agreed with them.
In startup valuations, investors often price in the future value of a product. Postman’s valuation also needs to be seen in the context of a post-coronavirus world, where there is a big shift to all things digital.
