Aayush Puri: Navigating Global Markets with ANACITY

In an exclusive interview, Aayush Puri, founder of ANACITY, discusses his journey of scaling a real estate SaaS platform across India, the Middle East, and Europe. He emphasizes the importance of cultural adaptation, local trust, and the continuous pursuit of product-market fit. Puri shares insights on overcoming challenges in cross-border scaling, the significance of tailored strategies for different markets, and the lessons learned from his experiences. This interview provides valuable perspectives for entrepreneurs looking to expand their businesses internationally.

By Narendra Chaudhary Jun 20, 2025, 13:57 IST

Exploring Global Expansion Strategies

Aayush Puri, a Harvard alumnus and the founder of ANACITY—a SaaS platform tailored for real estate developers—has been successfully expanding his business across India, the Middle East, and Europe. In an exclusive interview, he shares insights on how to adapt to diverse markets while maintaining a coherent offering.

Q1: How do you ensure consistency in your offerings while adapting to different markets?

Aayush Puri: The key is to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. What succeeds in India may not resonate in Dubai, and vice versa. However, our core capability to digitize real estate operations remains constant. The variations lie in the user interface, compliance requirements, and integrations.

For instance, in India, customers expect less but are keen on WhatsApp features. In Dubai, the focus is on sleek, multilingual, and compliant solutions from the outset. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, data privacy and open APIs are essential.

We designed our platform to be modular, akin to a Lego set—while the fundamental components remain unchanged, the configurations adapt to each region.

Q2: What is a common challenge in cross-border scaling that founders often overlook?

Aayush Puri: Cultural latency is a significant factor. Many believe scaling is merely about sales channels or legalities, but it’s more about how quickly your team can grasp and adapt to local nuances without causing disruption. We underestimated this during our initial expansion.

In Europe, decision-making processes are slower, with a greater emphasis on data governance. Conversely, Dubai rewards speed, but customer loyalty can be fleeting. In India, there’s a unique blend of price sensitivity and high demand for features. If your team cannot interpret these signals and adjust your go-to-market strategy, you risk failure.

Q3: You mentioned that product-market fit is an ongoing journey. How do you innovate without disrupting your roadmap?

Aayush Puri: The secret lies in distinguishing between our platform's core and its delivery aspects. Our backend and data model remain stable, while we innovate in the presentation layer and support tools.

For example, in Dubai, we introduced bilingual dashboards to cater to the 85% of property managers who are not native English speakers. In India, we focused on WhatsApp bot integrations, resulting in a 60% increase in daily active users.

It’s crucial to maintain the foundation while modifying access points to stay relevant.

Q4: How do the economics of scaling differ across regions? Isn’t customer acquisition cost (CAC) significantly different?

Aayush Puri: Indeed, our CAC in Europe is four times that of India, but our average revenue per user (ARPU) is also 2.5 times higher. This necessitates a long-term strategy.

In India, we see rapid customer acquisition but slower monetization. In the GCC, while the client base is smaller, the transaction sizes are larger and renewals are more stable. In Europe, although adoption is gradual, once established, churn rates are minimal.

The focus should be on maintaining consistent lifetime value to customer acquisition cost ratios, aiming for a 3:1 ratio across all markets.

Q5: What has been your biggest mistake in this journey?

Aayush Puri: Assuming a single sales strategy would work universally. In India, we rely on channel partners, while in the GCC, relationships are key, and in Europe, growth is driven by product-led strategies.

Initially, we tried to enforce a uniform model, which proved ineffective. Now, we allow each market to dictate its sales approach, leading to more sustainable growth.

Q6: What is your most significant learning?

Aayush Puri: Establish local trust before seeking global traction. In Dubai, one client opened numerous doors for us. In India, it was about aggregating channels, and in Rotterdam, we initiated an ESG pilot with a housing cooperative.

Start with a single use case, perfect it, demonstrate its value, and let that drive your scaling efforts.

Q7: What advice would you give to other founders aiming for international expansion?

Aayush Puri: Focus on scaling conviction rather than geography. Clearly define the unique value you offer and what you are willing to adapt. Hire locally, embrace gradual growth, and allow the market to guide your expansion.