Responsive
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cloud software, Proposal management software |
| Founded | February 2015 |
| Founder | Ganesh Shankar, AJ Sunder, Sankar Lagudu |
| Headquarters | Beaverton , United States |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Ganesh Shankar (CEO), AJ Sunder (CIO), Sankar Lagudu (COO), Jeff Santelices (CRO), Michael Londgren (CMO) |
| Products | RFP and proposal management software platform |
Number of employees | 500 (2024) |
| Website | responsive |
Responsive is a privately owned cloud software company focused on automating and optimizing responses to request for proposal (RFP) workflows. Based in Beaverton, Oregon, with an additional location in Coimbatore, India, the business was established in 2015 by Ganesh Shankar (CEO), AJ Sunder (CIO), and Sankar Lagudu (COO). Responsive has quickly grown its clientele to exceed 150,000 users globally, tripling its user count in 2019 and sustaining expansion throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Its platform has facilitated over $20 billion in RFP responses, catering to diverse sectors with its RFP and proposal management software solutions. As of 2024, the company employs around 500 individuals, including senior leaders such as Jeff Santelices (CRO) and Michael Londgren (CMO).
History
Responsive was launched in February 2015 by Ganesh Shankar, AJ Sunder, and Sankar Lagudu with the aim of simplifying RFP procedures for medium to large enterprises. The founders designed a cloud-based proposal management platform to automate RFP tasks and improve collaboration across teams.
The organization experienced swift growth, reaching a team of 50 employees across Oregon and India by the end of 2018. On October 2, 2018, Responsive earned its inaugural patent for technology that converts and displays proposal documents in an accessible format.
In February 2019, Express Scripts integrated Responsive’s platform as part of a significant business overhaul. By the conclusion of 2019, the company had achieved over 250% growth and expanded its workforce to more than 125 employees.
In January 2020, Responsive enhanced its executive team by appointing new vice presidents overseeing global marketing and customer success, along with a regional VP for sales enablement. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, platform usage surged by 150% by mid-2020.
By April 2021, Microsoft reported savings of $2.4 million through Responsive’s AI-driven response management software, with nearly 7,000 users accessing upwards of 36,000 pre-built RFx replies—resulting in approximately 12,000 hours saved.
Responsive expanded further by acquiring Kansas-based competitor RFP360 in August 2021, increasing its staff count to 300. In July 2023, the company rebranded from RFPIO to Responsive to emphasize its leadership role in strategic response management.
Financing
The company’s initial funding round took place in 2016 with investments from Portland’s Elevate Capital and angel network TiE Oregon. Later that year in October, Responsive won $100,000 at the Bend Venture Conference Growth Stage competition. Additionally, Stephen Marsh—founder of Smarsh and an early client—invested $500,000 through his firm Archivist Capital.
In July 2018, Responsive secured $25 million from private equity firm K1 Investment Management to fuel expansion efforts and provide an early exit for initial investors such as Elevate Capital, which realized substantial returns.
Services
Responsive delivers cloud-based software that merges artificial intelligence with project management and collaborative features to enhance RFP response efficiency. The platform integrates seamlessly with leading sales management tools and enables creation of tailored, proactive sales documents equipped with built-in e-signature capabilities. Its clientele spans numerous industries and includes organizations like ADP, Adobe, Britannica Digital Learning, Broadcom, DTI Global, Express Scripts, Google Cloud, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Salesforce, Smarsh, and Zoom.
Awards and recognition
In 2020, Responsive was positioned 14th among the leading 100 software solutions out of more than 57,000 firms on G2 Crowd. The organization secured a Silver Stevie Award for its Customer Service Department of the Year, was recognized by The Tech Tribune as one of Oregon’s top 10 technology startups, and achieved 7th place among Portland’s fastest expanding companies according to Growjo. Additionally, it received the Best Project Management Cloud Service accolade in the 2019-20 Cloud Awards. CEO Ganesh Shankar was honored with the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 Pacific Northwest Award and ranked fifth on Comparably’s list of top CEOs promoting diversity. Responsive was also featured in Comparably’s Top 50 rankings for Best Companies for Work-Life Balance, Happiest Employees, and Best Perks & Benefits.
In August 2022, Shipra Kamra, a leader in HR, appeared on the cover of the Portland Business Journal and was named among Women's We Admire Top 50 Women Leaders of Oregon.