Rattle: Shaking Up Enterprise Software with Messaging Apps

In the world of start-up funding, it’s not always the size of the investment that turns heads; it’s the calibre of the investors. This was the case with Rattle, a modern business operations automation and orchestration platform, which recently secured $2.8 million (approximately Rs 20 crore) in seed funding. What caught everyone’s attention was the impressive list of venture capitalists (VCs) and angel investors queuing up to support this burgeoning start-up, whose innovative approach involves making messaging apps the interface for enterprise software.

Investors, ranging from Lightspeed and Sequoia India to prominent figures like Amy Chang (EVP at Cisco and Disney board member), Ellen Levy (an early investor in Outreach), Jake Seid (an early investor in Brex and Carta), and the founders of Chargebee (a SaaS unicorn), joined the bandwagon to back Rattle.

Founded in 2020 by Sahil Aggarwal, Apoorva Verma, and Milan Pal Singh, Rattle was born out of the frustrating experiences of its co-founders. While working at various companies and, in Aggarwal’s case, as a serial founder (he co-founded Leadworx), they interacted with multiple enterprise software solutions such as Salesforce for CRM, SAP for ERP, Workday for HRIS, and Jira for issue tracking. One common theme emerged from their experiences: the user interfaces felt stuck in the 90s, overly complex for simple tasks, and often frustratingly slow.

The contrast with consumer applications like Instagram, Uber/Lyft, and Spotify, which offered delightful user experiences, was stark. This glaring discrepancy ignited a desire to solve this dichotomy. Aggarwal and his co-founders envisioned merging enterprise software with the collaboration apps that people love, thus giving birth to Rattle. The platform’s mission is to build real-time, collaborative connectivity that bridges the gap between enterprise software and messaging apps. Rattle aims to revolutionize business operations by providing a seamless and user-friendly interface for enterprise software through messaging apps. Its early success can be attributed to its ability to attract some of the fastest-growing tech startups in the US, including Starburst, Imply, Terminus, and Olive, as early customers.

Hemant Mohapatra, a partner at Lightspeed, explains what sets Rattle apart. In today’s business landscape, operations are dominated by processes, spanning sales, marketing, HR, IT, and more. As digitization and remote work continue to shape business operations, the need for efficient processes is ever more critical. Rattle’s focus on enhancing the human experience within these processes has garnered exceptional customer satisfaction. The company’s remarkable customer love is rarely seen so early in a startup’s journey.

While Rattle’s journey has been promising, it is still in its early days. The startup is pioneering a new category, and its main challenge is educating businesses on how messaging apps can serve as the interface for enterprise software. This concept may not be intuitive until they experience Rattle’s innovative approach firsthand. The company has found traction in the competitive US market but recognizes that the Indian market, while still nascent, holds potential. Sahil Aggarwal hopes to rattle the home market in India in the years to come, expanding the reach and impact of Rattle’s innovative solution.

Rattle’s success story exemplifies how addressing the usability and user experience of enterprise software can attract significant attention from investors and early customers. As businesses increasingly embrace digital transformation and remote work, the need for intuitive and efficient tools like Rattle becomes paramount. With visionary leadership and a focus on bridging the gap between enterprise systems and collaboration tools, Rattle is well-positioned to disrupt the enterprise software landscape and enhance business operations for companies worldwide.