Translating the craft of delicious biryani into great business

Inside Freshworks’ bustling kitchen in Chennai, a diminutive man oversees the bubbling vats where onions, spices, fresh meat, and rice await their transformation into his legendary biryani.

It’s March 13, 2019—a Wednesday, celebrated as Biryani Feast Day—and the man is no other than Chef Rahmathullah, whose culinary expertise is so popular in Tamil Muslim households that securing his biryani for a grand wedding feast is the first order of business after a marriage alliance is made.

“The mark of a good biryani is when you can smell its fragrance on the hand long after you’ve eaten,” Rahmathullah says proudly. This hallmark is craftsmanship—an art that leaves you marveling at meticulous work crafted with pride and passion.

Craftsmanship is a cornerstone of CHAT, the Freshworks culture code. For Girish Mathrubootham (affectionately known as “G”), “making biryani” means refining your craft and pursuing perfection in every aspect of creation so you can take pride in putting your name on it. 

G believes in recognizing employees for their talents because their diverse strengths help cook up the “biryani” of business value. Just as your favorite biryani lacks flavor without the right mix of ingredients, an obsession with metrics can strip craftsmanship of its joy.

Speaking at the 2023 SaaStr conference in San Mateo, California, in September, G explained the philosophy: “To discover the ‘biryani’ that fuels business growth, empower people to excel in their roles. Your people should be celebrated for making biryani, not just hitting numbers," he says, adding that every employee "adds a unique flavor to the company's success, creating the ultimate 'biryani' for the business."

The building blocks of flavor (and culture)

In 2010, Freshworks (formerly Freshdesk) started its journey with a small team. As the organization expanded, G was convinced that food would be the secret sauce in creating a happy work environment that nourished craftsmanship. That's how the mouth-watering tradition of Wednesday biryani was born.

Senior manager of talent acquisition Vignesh Vijaykumar, known as “Body,” explains: "Whether it's the simple pleasures like tea and coffee or the grand biryani day, food makes people happy to come to work."

So every Wednesday, happiness unfurls with the tantalizing aroma of biryani, uniting teams across various departments, from leadership and engineering to IT, sales, and marketing, and the skilled chefs who experiment with different biryani styles—Ambur, Dindigul, Malabar, Vaniyambadi, Chennai, Hyderabadi, and more.

“Culture thrives on passion, be it crafting products or perfecting biryani,” says Vijayaraghavan Parthasarathy, Freshworks' senior director of workplace management and a biryani enthusiast. “Biryani, for us, isn't just a dish; it's the lifeblood of our work culture, a litmus test of employee happiness.”

Each employee adds a unique flavor to the company's success, creating the ultimate 'biryani' for the business.

Girish "G" Mathrubootham

Founder and Executive Chairman, Freshworks

G underscores the profound connection between happy employees and satisfied customers, inspired by the success story of the Dindigul Thalappakatti biryani shop. Once a modest eatery in a remote Indian town, its exceptional biryani drew patrons from near and far, now boasting 101 outlets worldwide. While business metrics are important, the heart of the enterprise remains the biryani. 

The core lesson is balance: Just as at a biryani shop, if chefs become too focused on meeting targets, biryani's quality suffers.

To maintain this balance, G added, "Middle managers should break down metrics into activities aligned with goals." In 2017, G introduced a game-changing idea to tackle unnecessary meetings, revolutionizing work at Freshworks. He proposed dedicated "making biryani" time slots on calendars, providing employees uninterrupted focus for tasks and creative problem-solving.

Jeykar Watson, vice president of engineering at Freshworks, sums it up: "Quality is my way of life, and food is my passion. Working at Freshworks taught me how happiness can drive quality.”

Biryani Wednesday at Freshworks thus holds a sweet spot beyond its culinary delight. It embodies the joy employees bring to their work, their camaraderie in meetings, and their emotional connection with their craft.

Simran Achpal contributed reporting.

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