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Setbacks are not roadblocks to success, they are necessary stops on the path to success. This saying holds true for T.S. Srinivasan, Founder and CEO of CoralTree. While the world knows CoralTree as a leading provider of collaboration solutions with a diverse suite of products, the company started from much simpler beginnings.

CoralTree was founded in August 2009 to help accountants interact with QuickBooks more efficiently with a SaaS application called "Business Connect". Though the product was packed with features, it did not fit well within existing business workflows and was not accepted by the market. Undaunted, Srinivasan forged ahead. “This was a great learning experience for us. We had the opportunity to work with accounting firms to better understand their challenges,” says Srinivasan.

Breakthrough Success of Qbox

After a flash of inspiration, Srinivasan pivoted the company to a novel product called Qbox, a platform for accountants to collaboratively edit QuickBooks company files and share attachments in real-time. Qbox is extremely easy to use and can be onboarded without a steep learning curve. “Qbox adapted to the workflows of SMBs instead of working against them. The product made accounting a lot easier for our customers. This was a great success for us,” Srinivasan mentions.

The small business market has historically been neglected by innovative software companies. Much of Silicon Valley's creative energy has focused on the consumer and enterprise markets, leaving small and medium businesses underserved. These businesses are forced to choose between investing heavily in enterprise solutions that require perennial upkeep, or misfitting consumer technologies into their workflows.

Neither option is ideal for desired business outcomes.

CoralTree aims to confound these standards by adopting cutting-edge technologies like AI into simple, affordable products that help businesses of any size. "We are here to help support all business owners realize their dreams," says Srinivasan. "Great software should be affordable and easy to use by customers with any level of expertise. Our approach is to keep surprising our users again and again with delightful product and service experiences."

Since gaining a strong foothold with its flagship Qbox product, CoralTree has launched several new products, holding true to its DNA of solving complex problems with easy-to-use and affordable solutions. The latest on the roadmap is a product called "CoraCloud" that is built specifically for accounting firms. It opens the door for finance professionals to securely collaborate with their clients while their sensitive data is protected by bank-level security. They are able to execute electronic signatures and keep all their documents organized without the need for any third-party solution. The immediate feedback has been that CoraCloud will realize significant new efficiencies for tax preparation. It will especially help accountants who have had to previously rely on fragmented, disorganized solutions.

CoralTree has also launched ScanBox for bookkeepers, a product that leverages enterprise-grade OCR technology to import receipts and reconcile data into QuickBooks. Another product called LegalBox is a secure cloud collaboration platform for law firms and real estate professionals. Users benefit from being able to securely share documents containing sensitive data, execute electronic signatures, and notarization - all in one product.

Rounding out the product suite, CADbox is quickly becoming a favorite for builders that have faced challenges with working collaboratively on construction projects. The platform gives them a portal where remote engineers and onsite contractors are able to markup blueprints on their iPads while out in the field, paving the way for a clean and trackable collaborative environment.

Innovation is a top priority at CoralTree. It's why we get up in the morning," says Keshav Srinivasan, CTO and Head of Engineering. "Whether we are refining our server architecture to be more efficient or exploring cutting-edge technologies to help our customers with new products, we are always pushing against limits.

We have a very passionate engineering team that thrives on constant improvement."

And what drives the team to excel? "Very simple: Culture," Keshav continues. "We have a strong sense of collaboration and teamwork at our company. We think of our customers as partners and our teammates as friends." The positive vibe at the company's offices has undoubtedly been important on its path to success.

Looking to the Future

CoralTree prides itself on working with advocacy groups and industry veterans to truly understand the needs of its customers and also educate the market about its products. “We have never made significant investments into traditional advertising," says Jimmy Sinha, VP of Growth. "The majority of our growth has come by way of referrals, and this has only been possible because of the genuine support of customers and partners. They continue to support us because they see meaningful value in our products.” Jimmy states. "We have a deep bench in our user community when it comes to industry expertise and identifying new opportunities, and this will continue to be the bedrock of our future success."

"Our marketing efforts focus on outreach and two-way discussions, rather than bombarding users' inboxes with repeat messages," explains Alison Garcia, Head of Marketing. The company's collaborative approach extends through sales, marketing, and support. "We are never satisfied until our customers' problems are solved and they are happy," emphasizes Eddie Tran, Head of Support.

CoralTree plans to launch new products in 2021 and beyond, all built on its foundation of winning technologies. “Our goal is to continue building collaboration products with a high priority on novel features and usability. We are not here to just sell software. We are here to truly understand the needs of business owners and improve their lives. This is what gives us an edge in the market,” Srinivasan concludes.