By: Daniel Wilson

“Today we believe that if we have 400 enterprise customers, there is a strong possibility we could have 4,000.” That is Sameer Narkar’s target. It is ambitious. It is specific. And it frames how Konnect Insights plans its next phase.

Sameer founded Konnect Insights and kept it bootstrapped. He focused on product, partners, and paying customers. He now plans to raise outside capital to scale. On Tech Startup Stories with host Natalie Binns, he put a figure on it: “We are raising around $10 million or so.” The goal is not a vanity round. He wants to minimize dilution and accelerate reach. His approach is direct. Win enterprise accounts. Expand country by country. Then compound the base.

One Platform for Every Customer Touch Point

Konnect Insights started in 2016 after service work funded early builds. The thesis was simple and bold. As Sameer put it, “We had this idea of making a product where it is an omni-channel solution for every customer touch point, and that was our vision.” Early traction came through agencies. That path unlocked enterprise validations in telecom and finance. From there, the platform grew into a unified CX hub. It ingests public and private data. It ties into CRMs and contact centers. It gives teams one place to listen, respond, and analyze.

That structure matters inside large companies. Marketing, support, and operations often use separate tools. Konnect Insights connects them. The result is faster care, better routing, and more consistent reporting.

Pandemic as a Catalyst for Growth

The pandemic created constraints. The company had to shift hardware, security, and ways of working. Yet the shift also opened doors. As Sameer said, “The pandemic helped us to get some international customers as well.” Buyers who once demanded on-prem servers or in-person meetings accepted online demos and cloud infra. Procurement timelines shortened. The team used the window to accelerate integrations.

He described a key decision in that period: “We took that initiative of building an open API app marketplace.” He added a technical marker of maturity: “Every action that we take on our platform has an API web hook to it.” That investment strengthened the platform’s role as a hub. It also made partner sales easier.

Regional Expansion Through Partners

Sameer was precise about international expansion. In India, agency relationships drive adoption. In the Middle East, contact center ecosystems matter more. In Southeast Asia, it is a mix of agencies and CRM partners. In Latin America, it splits between marketing agencies and contact centers. In the UK, contact center partners dominate. The lesson is practical. Match the channel to the local owner of customer care. Build trust with that owner. Then land and expand.

He summarized the repeatable playbook. Win four or five customers in a new region. Break even. Hire a country head to deepen partnerships. Then scale through that network.

Building Secure, In-House AI

The company’s technology stance is firm. Konnect Insights builds its AI in-house for control and compliance. Sameer stated it without spin: “We work on our homegrown AI. We don’t just use the APIs to make calls and build our platform.” He explained why enterprise buyers care: “When you reach out to the brands that we work with, they’ll obviously talk about security, and you just cannot make calls to open an API and get your stuff done.” That posture helps in regulated industries. It also reduces vendor risk for global accounts.

Hiring remains a challenge. Sameer was candid about the time it takes and the trade-offs while bootstrapped. Yet the culture is to keep learning. He highlighted engineers who joined as interns and now lead AI and big data. That continuity supports platform depth and pace.

Looking Ahead: Scaling with Purpose

Sameer Narkar’s story is about disciplined growth. Bootstrapped origins. Clear vision. Region-specific channels. Deep integrations. And a strong stance on security and AI. The funding plan is a means, not an end. The target is adoption at scale. His own words set the bar: “There is a strong likelihood we’ll have 4,000.” On this trajectory, the next zero looks less like hype and more like execution.