5 days ago
Sridhar Vembu says lasting startup success takes longer than expected
Sridhar Vembu says building a successful company can take many years.
He gave vTitan Medical Instruments as an example.
The company worked for 15 years before reaching ₹1 crore in monthly revenue.
It hopes to earn ₹10 crore during this year.
The company is also developing 10 new products and software for medical technology.
Vembu says fast success stories are unusual, not normal.
He believes founders need time to gain skills and turn those skills into a business.
He also says technical experts should talk with customers and learn how selling works.
Sridhar Vembu said vTitan Medical Instruments took 15 years to reach a major revenue milestone.
The medical technology company recently crossed ₹1 crore in monthly revenue for the first time.
vTitan aims to reach ₹10 crore in annual revenue this year and has 10 products in development.
Vembu said founders should not assume they will achieve the rare rapid success sought by venture capitalists.
He also advised engineers, scientists, and doctors to attend sales meetings and learn directly from customers.
- Who
- Sridhar Vembu and vTitan Medical Instruments are central to the discussion.
- What
- Vembu shared lessons about the long timeline for building a company and advised technical founders to learn sales.
- Where
- The advice was shared in posts on X.
- When
- Vembu shared the revenue update on August 28, 2026; vTitan's 15-year development period preceded the milestone.
- Why
- Vembu wanted to give young founders a more realistic view of building businesses in complex sectors.
Long-Term Company Building
Rapid Venture-Capital Growth
Expected timeline
Long-Term Company Building
Vembu argues that gaining expertise and turning it into a sustainable business can take many years, especially in complex sectors.
Rapid Venture-Capital Growth
Vembu says venture capitalists generally seek companies capable of becoming exceptional, rapidly successful businesses.
What founders should assume
Long-Term Company Building
Founders should treat quick success as the exception and prepare for a longer development process.
Rapid Venture-Capital Growth
The venture-capital model focuses on identifying the relatively rare startups with potential for unusually fast growth.
Founder capabilities
Long-Term Company Building
Technical founders should spend time in sales meetings to understand customers, communication, and rejection.
Rapid Venture-Capital Growth
The article does not present a separate venture-capital view on sales training, but emphasizes that rapid-growth expectations may prioritize exceptional outcomes.
Key facts
- Company
- vTitan Medical Instruments
- Time to milestone
- 15 years
- Monthly revenue milestone
- ₹1 crore, reached for the first time
- Annual revenue goal
- ₹10 crore this year
- Products in development
- 10
- Vembu's founder advice
- Attend sales meetings, face rejection if necessary, and persist
Quotes
Sridhar Vembu
Founder of Zoho and commentator on entrepreneurship
“There are times when success comes quickly. But that is the exception, not the rule. Venture capitalists tend to look for those exceptions. You can't assume you'll be the exception when you're starting out”
thehansindia.com
“It takes many years to acquire the capability and many more to turn that capability into a business”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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