Chakkarapani: Enterprise Buyers Evaluate Startup Team Rapport Beyond Product Viability
Karthik Chakkarapani · 3 Steps on How Large Companies Decide to Buy From a Startup or Not | CIO Karthik Chakkarapani · Nov 28, 2025 · at 14:50
Karthik Chakkarapani, CIO of Zuora, explains why enterprise IT teams evaluate team dynamics differently when buying from young startups compared to established vendors.
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“Because if it is an established company, we don't have much of a say, we just test the value on the, of the product. But if it is a startup, this is almost like I treat them, I want to treat them as an extension of my team, like a thought partner. How do you get in that comfort, right? So that is what we all look for in especially like zero to three years kind of startup companies.”
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