Why Kerala Needed a SaaS Community And Why We’re Starting Now

I’ve spent nearly two decades in SaaS—most of it in Pune and Chennai. But I’m a Keralite by heart.

For the longest time, Kerala was just “vacation land” for me — a place I visited once a year, saw family, breathed some fresh air, and left again too soon. I always felt like I never got enough of it.

That changed when I moved to Cochin to join Shihab, Founder and CEO of SurveySparrow, in building SurveySparrow. It was a rare opportunity to build a startup from scratch, and I imagined it would be the best of both worlds: meaningful work and a life rooted in Kerala.

But once I got here, reality hit.

Kerala has great infrastructure: metros and water metros, clean roads, affordable, world-class healthcare, IT parks like Infopark and Technopark, startup policies, and supportive government schemes. It has all the ingredients for something big.

But when it came to SaaS? It felt… disconnected.

Not because people weren’t building. They were. Not because talent was missing. In fact, some of the best.

But because we were all working in silos.

There was no shared platform. No knowledge exchange. No community. Not like what I’d experienced in Pune, Chennai, or Bangalore — where you’d bump into fellow founders at a meetup or learn a GTM trick over a chai break.

In Kerala, that kind of ecosystem was missing.

Worse, many Keralites I knew in SaaS outside the state weren’t planning to return. Even though Kerala has metro lines, clean air, scenic backwaters, better healthcare, and arguably one of the best qualities of life in India — their reason was simple:

“There’s no SaaS ecosystem here.”

That line stuck with me.

It wasn’t an excuse. It was an insight.

So, I put out a simple post on LinkedIn. No big plan. No calendar of events. Just a simple post.

And to my surprise, the response was instant. And overwhelming.

Within two weeks, around ~100 SaaS professionals joined — founders, product folks, marketers, engineers, and GTM leaders from Kochi, Trivandrum, Calicut, and even Malayalis living outside the state who just wanted to stay connected to what’s brewing here.

That’s how SaaS Spice was born.

Why SaaS Spice Exists

We’re not trying to copy Bengaluru or Chennai.
We’re building something rooted in Kerala’s strength — quiet execution, deep intellect, and resilience.

SaaS Spice is for anyone building or working in SaaS from Kerala:
Founders, developers, designers,marketers, salespeople, CX folks, product managers — anyone building ambitious things from this beautiful state.

We believe:

• You shouldn’t have to leave Kerala to build a global SaaS company
• You shouldn’t feel alone in your startup journey
• Knowledge compounds when it's shared
• Community is the real infrastructure

What We’re Doing

We’re starting with small but focused steps:

📖 Blog & Stories – Founder journeys, startup spotlights, and playbooks
🔍 Kerala SaaS Directory – A growing list of homegrown SaaS companies
💼 Job Board – Connecting talent to SaaS opportunities across the state
📅 Meetups & Events – Where people connect, share, and build together

You can explore all of this at → www.saasspice.com

A Reminder of Home

When I first returned to Kerala, this was a video I had made to attract talent, but it has always struck a chord.

It reminds us why we long for home — the smell of puttu and kadala curry in the morning, the rhythm of monsoon rains, the laughter of cousins, the aroma of fish fry from a roadside stall, the muddy football matches, and the quiet moments that cities rarely allow.
You no longer need to choose between a meaningful career and the comforts of home.

Now, you can have both. And with SaaS Spice, Let's make it happen.

What We Want to Build

We want SaaS Spice to be:

✅ A space where first-time founders can get unstuck
✅ A network where talent can discover roles without leaving the state
✅ A community where lessons are shared, not hoarded
✅ A bridge between seasoned pros and fresh grads
✅ A homegrown platform that shows the world — Kerala can build globally loved SaaS products

What’s Next?

We're starting with:

• In-person meetups
• Community stories
• Curated SaaS directories
• Volunteer-led initiatives

SaaS Spice isn’t a company. It’s a shared movement.

If you’ve ever felt like Kerala is full of potential, but lacks a real community — this is your chance to help shape it.

We’re not building a brand.  We’re building bridges.

Come join us.

Join the Kerala SaaS community Now.
🔗 Follow us → Linkedin | Instragram | Youtube