Ranjith Kumaran
Founder and (former) CEO, Hightail and PunchTab
Ranjith is a founder and CEO who has started two venture-backed SaaS companies focused on building great product experiences with long-lasting appeal.
He co-founded Hightail (formerly known as YouSendIt), a simple way to send large files for enterprises and prosumers. The service grew into a service used by over 45 million people and 150,000 companies worldwide. In 2014 Ranjith rejoined the company as CEO to launch Hightail Spaces, a collaboration suite for marketers and creative professionals. Hightail was acquired by OpenText in 2018 and forms the core of the company’s SaaS file-sharing and collaboration offerings.
Ranjith also founded and was CEO of PunchTab, an omni-channel consumer engagement platform for retailers and CPG brands. PunchTab powered online and in-store loyalty programs and engagement campaigns for brands including Nestle, Panera Bread, and The Yankee Candle Company. PunchTab was acquired by Walmart Labs in 2015.
Ranjith holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from McGill University. He is also a frequent adviser and board member of other scrappy Silicon Valley-based technology companies going after exciting markets.
Content & Articles by Ranjith Kumaran
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) for Early Stage Companies
In our latest session from the Mucker Growth Series featuring Ethan Smith from Graphite, we explored AEO, a significant new approach for optimizing visibility in AI-driven search, particularly relevant as...
Startup Guide to AI Visibility: Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends
Introduction Today, users aren’t just searching on Google. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI systems for advice. AI visibility is the new frontier of brand awareness....
Practical Uses of AI & Automation for Startup Operations
In a recent Mucker Growth Series session, we invited Rock Vitale, Founder & CEO of Easie, to share how he’s helped early-stage teams move from manual, fragmented workflows to streamlined,...
2025 New York Tech Week Recap Of Mucker Sessions
Last week during New York Tech Week 2025, we joined more than 1,000 events hosted by founders, investors, and VCs. This post is a full Mucker recap of the three...
How to Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Tools with Alex Velinov
Delivering high-quality customer support can be one of the most resource-draining parts of a startup. The good news: we’re at a turning point where founders can use AI tools to...
Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers
Going from zero customers to 100 in just four months sounds impossible—unless you’re a founder willing to roll up your sleeves and hustle relentlessly. I’m Gaurav Bhattacharya, co-founder of Jeeva.ai,...