From Freshworks to Epic Slope: Why Indian Founders Struggle With Brand Marketing | Vibin Babuurajan

🎯 In this episode: Vibin, co-founder of Epic Slope Partners and ex-Freshworks growth leader, shares the controversial truth about marketing metrics, why Indian B2B founders approach brand differently than US founders, why he turns down paying clients, and is focused on GEO.

Key Insights:

Why "measuring everything in marketing" is the biggest myth
The cultural difference: Indian vs US founders' approach to brand building
How Freshworks scaled from no content team to IPO
What separates good SEOs from great SEOs (hint: it's sales skills)
The 80/20 rule: How to allocate your marketing budget between performance and brand
Why turning down clients builds long-term reputation
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): The future of search is here
How AI is changing B2B marketing fundamentally

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:47 - Building SEO at Freshworks: The messy reality
04:47 - "Great SEOs are also very good at sales"
06:21 - Biggest lesson from Freshworks: Ownership culture
07:44 - What actually drives B2B SaaS growth
09:14 - Why Indian founders fail at brand marketing (vs US founders)
10:40 - The cultural reason behind India's performance-first mindset
12:17 - How to make the mindset shift: 80/20 marketing budget rule
14:05 - Starting Epic Slope: Three ex-Freshworks leaders join forces
17:02 - Link Insight: AI-powered interlinking tool
18:44 - Why we turn down paying clients: Integrity over revenue
20:12 - AI-powered agency: What it actually means
22:13 - Marketing AI products vs traditional B2B SaaS
23:00 - The tennis racket analogy: Are we in a transition phase?
25:17 - GEO explained: The future of search
26:40 - Rapid Fire Round
32:00 - Final advice for founders starting in 2026

About Vibin:
Co-founder of Epic Slope Partners, a growth marketing agency specializing in B2B SaaS. Previously led SEO strategy at Freshworks (now public company), helping scale their flagship product. Also worked with Turing, and is an investor in Gumroad. Has helped multiple B2B companies navigate the complexity of SEO, paid media, and demand generation.

About Epic Slope Partners:
AI-powered growth marketing agency helping B2B SaaS companies scale using SEO, paid media, and smart demand generation. They turn down clients whose unit economics don't work - because reputation matters more than short-term revenue.

Connect with Komal:

LinkedIn:   / komal-rangoonwala  
Website: https://www.startuped.ai
X/Twitter: https://x.com/BuildWithKomal

Connect with Vibin:

LinkedIn:   / vibin-baburajan  
Website: https://epicslope.partners
X/Twitter: https://x.com/vibinbaburajan

Books Mentioned:

"Good to Great" by Jim Collins (business)
"Junior" (copywriting/advertising - highly recommended by Vibin)

Key Concepts Explained:

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): Optimizing content for AI search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity, not just Google
Unit Economics: Understanding if a client's business model actually supports profitable customer acquisition
80/20 Rule: Spend 80% on performance marketing, 20% on brand-building activities
Content Velocity: The speed at which you produce and publish content
Link Velocity: The rate of building internal links and backlinks

Why This Episode Matters:
If you're a B2B founder struggling to decide between performance marketing and brand building, burning cash on marketing without understanding unit economics, or wondering why your SEO isn't working - this conversation will challenge everything you think you know about growth marketing.

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💬 Comment below: Do you agree that not everything in marketing should be measured? What's your take?
👍 Like if this challenged your thinking about B2B marketing.
📧 For collaborations: Reach out to me at [email protected]

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