SaaS startup Toplyne shuts down, returns capital to investors

Toplyne, a SaaS startup focused on sales automation, has announced that it will cease operations after nearly 3.5 years in business.

In a LinkedIn post, cofounder and CEO Rishen Kapoor revealed the company's decision to wind down and return capital to its investors.

Kapoor said that despite significant efforts, Toplyne was unable to achieve the scale and product-market fit it had initially aimed for. The exact amount of capital being returned was not disclosed.

Challenges in achieving product-market fit

Founded in 2021 by Rishen Kapoor, Ruchin Kulkarni, and Rohit Khanna, Toplyne was created to help product-led growth (PLG) businesses convert free users into paying customers. The startup's AI-powered platform integrated with tools like Salesforce and Hubspot to improve user conversion through personalized outreach, including ads, in-app nudges, and emails.

However, despite its technology and client base, which included notable names like Canva, Grafana, and BrowserStack, the startup struggled to find the desired product-market fit.

In his statement, Kapoor explained, "After 3.5 years of building Toplyne, we’ve made the tough decision to wind down operations and return capital to our investors. Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t reach the scale or product-market fit we aimed for."

Focus on supporting employees and customers

Kapoor also emphasized the startup's commitment to supporting its team of 30 employees during this transition.

"The team of 30 talented people gave their all across sales, customer success, machine learning, product, design, HR, and engineering," he said. 

"Our focus now is on helping our team find their next roles (if anyone is hiring, please reach out) and supporting our customers to ensure a smooth transition," Kapoor added.

Toplyne's funding and backers

Toplyne had gained significant traction in its early years, raising $15 million in a Series A funding round in 2022. The round was led by marquee investors such as Tiger Global and Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital India), with participation from Together Fund, Sequoia India's Surge accelerator, and various angel investors from companies like Canva and Zoominfo.

The funding came after an initial seed round of $2.5 million, which had laid the foundation for the startup's growth. 

Kapoor thanked the company’s investors, employees, and customers for their support throughout the journey. He mentioned that the founders learned valuable lessons during the process and hoped to share their takeaways in the future.

"Ruchin and I are deeply grateful to our team, customers, and investors for trusting us and giving us the chance to build Toplyne. We’ve learned a lot—mistakes included—and will hopefully share those takeaways soon," Kapoor added.