Biography of Abhinav Asthana: Founder & CEO of Postman and TeliportMe-Entrepreneur
Biography of Abhinav Asthana:
From an early age, Abhinav Asthana was fascinated by
computers. His father, a civil engineer, had caught the tech bug and brought
computers into their home. This environment naturally sparked Asthana's
curiosity. However, his father's enthusiasm for technology came with a
caveat—Asthana was encouraged to use the computer for something more productive
than gaming, which had initially captivated his young mind. Following his
father's advice, Asthana delved into programming, starting with languages like
C, C++, and Visual Basic. His journey into coding had just begun.
A Passion for Computers Sparked Early
Abhinav's journey with computers began at a young age,
inspired by his father, a civil engineer living in Basti, near Gorakhpur, Uttar
Pradesh. His father, captivated by the potential of computers, purchased one
and taught himself programming on a mainframe. Little did he know, this
fascination would soon catch his son's interest too. When the family moved to
Lakhimpur Kheri, Abhinav, then in Classes 6 and 7, started learning BASIC
programming, followed by Visual Basic. The arrival of the internet opened a
whole new world of knowledge for him, fueling his passion further. By the time
he was in Class 8, he had taught himself HTML, CSS, Flash, and PHP, and was
capable of building entire web applications.
Early Ventures in Web Development
In his early teens, Abhinav found like-minded friends who
shared his interest in building things. At just 13, he and this group began
designing websites and taking on web application projects. Remarkably, the
group was spread across different countries, with two members in Lakhimpur, and
one each in the UK, US, and New Zealand. They even made some money from these
ventures, and Abhinav received an $80 check while still in Class 9. His love
for programming grew deeper with each project he completed, finding immense
satisfaction in creating something entirely on his own. He recalls feeling that
computer programming was the best thing in the world, as it allowed him to
build anything he could imagine without needing anyone’s approval.
A Pause for Studies and Continuous Learning
Despite his deep engagement with programming, Abhinav had to
pause his activities to focus on his Class 10 Board exams. However, this break
was only temporary, as he resumed programming in Class 11. Throughout this
period, he never stopped learning, immersing himself in books about the history
of computers, and the stories of tech legends like Steve Wozniak and Bill
Gates. In Class 12, he cleared the BITS Admission Test (BITSAT) on his first
attempt, but chose to take a year off to prepare further, as was common
practice then. During this time, his family moved to Lucknow, and Abhinav put
all his projects on hold.
Entrance into BITS Pilani
After clearing the BITS Admission Test (BITSAT) in his first
attempt, Abhinav decided to take a year off to prepare further, as was the norm
at the time. During this year, his family moved to Lucknow, and he paused his
projects to focus on his studies. Just before starting at BITS Pilani's Goa
campus, Abhinav discovered BITSZone, a forum run by students at the campus who
shared his interest in programming and building projects. This forum became his
gateway to a community of enthusiastic peers who were just as passionate about
technology as he was.
Early Success: Building BITS360
Asthana's passion for programming quickly grew, and by the
time he was in college, he had already developed a significant project. He
created BITS360, a virtual tour technology that utilized 360-degree panoramas.
Remarkably, this was five months before the launch of Google StreetView. This
early achievement demonstrated Asthana's ability to innovate and problem-solve,
skills that would become the foundation of his future endeavors. His success
with BITS360 also opened doors for him, leading to an internship at Yahoo in
Bangalore in July 2009.
Biography of Abhinav Asthana: Founder & CEO of Postman & TeliportMe-Entrepreneur/Success story of Abhinav Asthana/Startup/Investor/Life story Abhinav
Challenges at Yahoo: The Struggle with APIs
During his internship at Yahoo, Asthana worked on developing
software that interacted with application programming interfaces (APIs). This
experience, however, was far from smooth. Together with Ankit Sobti, who would
later become Postman's co-founder and CTO, Asthana faced a recurring issue—the
software they developed often broke during production. This led to endless
cycles of writing code, shipping it, and then spending countless nights
debugging. The problem was further exacerbated by the lack of tools to
proactively identify and fix these issues. This frustrating experience left a lasting
impression on Asthana.
The Birth of Postman: Addressing the API Testing Gap
After completing his internship and college, Asthana
ventured into entrepreneurship by founding TeliportMe, a company that built a
mobile app based on his earlier virtual tour technology. Despite this new
venture, the problem of managing APIs persisted, especially as he led a team of
engineers. He struggled to find tools that could help him test and manage APIs
efficiently. When no suitable solution emerged in the market, Asthana decided
to create his own. This decision marked the beginning of Postman, a platform
designed to simplify and standardize API testing.
A Leap of Faith: Going All-In with Postman
In 2013, Asthana took a significant risk by leaving
TeliportMe to focus almost entirely on Postman. With little savings, he
balanced consulting work to pay his bills while developing Postman. His hard
work paid off when he released the first version of Postman as a Chrome Web
Store extension. The response was overwhelming, with the tool quickly amassing
half a million users. Recognizing the potential, Asthana brought on his former
colleagues, Ankit Sobti and Abhijit Kane, to formally launch Postman as a
company in 2014. The trio's collaborative efforts quickly garnered attention
from investors.
Launching GrayScale and New Ventures
In his second year, Abhinav, along with three friends,
decided to capitalize on their skills by founding a company called GrayScale,
which focused on building websites and applications. Their services were in
high demand, and Abhinav even started receiving individual project requests.
During this time, he met Vineet Devaiah, a student at Cornell University, and
together they worked on several innovative projects, including ExamCrunch, a
platform similar to Quora, designed to help students planning to pursue higher
education in the US.
A Growing Platform: Focus on Developer Experience
Postman’s initial success stemmed from its focus on
improving the developer experience. Asthana and his team prioritized creating a
tool that was easy to use and addressed the real challenges developers faced
with APIs. As the user base grew, Postman began monetizing its platform by
introducing a team collaboration product. This new feature allowed multiple
developers to work on the same project seamlessly. The company’s growth was organic,
driven by the quality of the product rather than an aggressive sales strategy.
Developers not only adopted Postman for their own use but also recommended it
to others, leading to widespread adoption.
Scaling for Enterprises: Tackling API Chaos
As Postman continued to evolve, Asthana identified a new
opportunity in the enterprise sector. By 2018, the company recognized that
large organizations were struggling with what Asthana termed "API
chaos." Different teams within the same organization were creating and
managing their own APIs, leading to inconsistencies and inefficiencies. Postman
positioned itself as the solution to this problem by offering a platform that
standardized API development and governance across an entire enterprise. This
pivot allowed Postman to expand its reach and solidify its place in the market
as a crucial tool for businesses.
Insight Partners: The Perfect Investor Match
Asthana’s vision for Postman soon caught the attention of
investors, including Praveen Akkiraju, managing director at Insight Partners.
With a background in engineering, Akkiraju was naturally drawn to Postman’s
potential. Introduced to Asthana in late 2019 through a mutual friend, Akkiraju
offered advice on scaling Postman. This mentorship blossomed into a deeper relationship,
particularly after Akkiraju joined Insight Partners in 2020. The connection
between Asthana and Insight Partners was solidified during the first wave of
the pandemic when they met in person for a walk around Palo Alto. This meeting
led to Insight's investment in Postman’s $150 million Series C round.
Building the Future: A Vision for Growth
With Insight Partners on board, Postman was poised for
further growth. The company’s mission expanded to becoming a central platform
for the software ecosystem, aiming to connect 100 million builders. Asthana’s
leadership and the support from Insight helped Postman develop a go-to-market
strategy that targeted enterprise customers. The company also scaled rapidly,
growing from a team of five to over 700 employees across more than 20
countries. Postman’s platform became indispensable for major companies like
PayPal, Salesforce, and Meta, and continued to attract half a million new users
every month.
Postman's Success: A Testament to Asthana's Vision
Asthana’s journey with Postman is a testament to his vision,
perseverance, and ability to solve complex problems. The platform’s success is
rooted in its simplicity and its focus on addressing real challenges faced by
developers. With Insight Partners’ continued support, including a $225 million
Series D round, Postman is well-positioned to continue its growth. The
company’s journey from a simple developer tool to a comprehensive platform has
been remarkable, and Asthana’s leadership has been key to navigating the
challenges along the way. As Postman scales, it remains true to its original
vision—making API development and collaboration easier for everyone.
Gaining Industry Experience
Abhinav’s extensive work on projects like BITS360,
ExamCrunch, and LetMeKnow.in highlighted the challenges of using existing tools
for API calls and data management. This realization coincided with an
internship opportunity at Yahoo!, where Abhinav worked on an ingestion system
designed to process and link data across Yahoo! properties. This experience at
Yahoo! further honed his skills and gave him valuable insights into the
complexities of large-scale data management, setting the stage for his future
innovations in the tech world.
Timeline for Abhinav Asthana's story
Early 2000s - Abhinav Asthana's fascination with computers
begins, influenced by his father's interest in technology.
Class 6-7 (2000-2002) - Learns BASIC and Visual Basic;
begins programming journey.
Class 8 (2003) - Teaches himself HTML, CSS, Flash, and PHP;
starts building web applications.
Class 9 (2004) - Earns $80 from web development projects; deepens
interest in programming.
Class 10 (2005) - Pauses programming to focus on Board
exams.
Class 11 (2006) - Resumes programming and continues
self-learning.
Class 12 (2007) - Passes BITSAT on the first attempt; takes
a gap year to prepare further.
2008 - Joins BITS Pilani Goa campus; discovers BITSZone
forum.
2008-2009 - Builds BITS360, a virtual tour technology
similar to Google StreetView.
July 2009 - Interns at Yahoo in Bangalore; faces challenges
with APIs.
2010 - Graduates from BITS Pilani; co-founds TeliportMe.
2013 - Leaves TeliportMe to focus on Postman; releases the
first version as a Chrome Web Store extension.
2014 - Postman is formally launched as a company with
co-founders Ankit Sobti and Abhijit Kane.
2018 - Postman identifies API chaos in enterprises; expands
focus to enterprise solutions.
2020 - Insight Partners invests in Postman's $150 million
Series C round.
2021 - Postman secures $225 million in Series D funding,
continuing its growth trajectory.
