Working With Fortune 500 Companies

When I started Xena, I never imagined I’d get the chance to work with large companies like Nestlé, Samsung, P&G, and others. But as fate would have it, as Xena grew over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with these giants.

One of my initial hesitations when I started Xena was that we were just a startup—small team, cool product, and offering real value that companies needed. But I couldn't help wondering: why would a large company take the perceived risk of working with a startup, despite our amazing technology and ability to solve their problems?

One of the first big breaks we got was through a connection with the head of innovation at one of the largest CPG firms in the world. This person gave us a chance to showcase Xena’s value to their team members across the globe.

That opportunity opened the door for Xena to start working with Fortune 500 companies, which was an incredible feeling. And along the way, I learned some valuable lessons.

In enterprise sales, a lot of time is spent on building relationships—and I love that part. It's what I do with every customer we have. Beyond adding value, I strongly believe that business, much like personal life, is built on personal connections and understanding, grounded in empathy.

At the end of the day, when working with customers, big or small, you’re there to make their lives easier and to add value to what they do. And that empathy is what I strive to build.

Of course, working with large companies comes with more processes, like procurement and onboarding, which can be lengthy and time-consuming. But we were lucky to have a champion who helped us navigate these processes.

There’s a saying, "No one gets fired for hiring IBM or McKinsey," which speaks to the risk aversion in large companies. Employees in these organizations don’t want to jeopardize their jobs by supporting new, untested innovations, especially from startups. But I’ve been fortunate, and credit goes to my incredible team and the technology we’ve developed, which has delivered tremendous value.

I love enterprise sales because, once you build that relationship, it adds credibility. Having these big logos on our website is a massive morale boost for both me and the team. It also helps with fundraising, which is a nice bonus.

But what makes me happiest is that Xena works with companies of all sizes—small, mid-sized, and enterprise-grade—and they keep choosing us again and again because of the value we provide.

Enterprise sales require nuance, experience, and a significant focus on relationship building. The skill sets needed are different from those required to acquire smaller customers, where decisions are made faster and implementation is quicker.

With large companies, the process is slower—you spend more time onboarding, responding to RFPs, closing deals, signing NDAs, and so on. But despite these challenges, I feel incredibly fortunate to be in a position where Xena is working with such large organizations.

I believe all startups and founders should spend time building infrastructure that appeals to large companies. They should also start building relationships with decision-makers at these organizations early on.

There are great people everywhere—kind, empathetic, and forward-thinking people in large organizations who are willing to support you because of your hard work, merit, and the value you bring to the table. I’ve been lucky to have experienced this firsthand.

Akhil is the founder & CEO of Xena Intelligence.