How I work
- Problem first. Most bad products are good answers to the wrong question.
- Fix the system. If the same mistake happens twice, it is the design, not the people. Blame is cheaper. It is also useless.
- Flip the plan. Before I trust a plan, I turn its load-bearing assumption upside down and see what breaks. Cheaper on paper than in production.
- Data over story. When the numbers and the narrative disagree, the narrative gets rewritten. Politely.
- Adoption is the product. If it needs user discipline to work, it is already broken.
- Finish it. A finished small thing beats an outlined big one. Done includes the tests and the docs. Boring to run is the goal.
- Lock, then build. Decide in order, one phase at a time. Rework is the most expensive feature nobody asked for.
Where I help
I advise a few companies at a time, directly. These are the problems I find hardest to leave alone.
Product teams and hiring
Team design, operating rhythm, and hiring the CPO, CTO or head of engineering you will still be glad of in year three.AI in product and CX
Where AI earns its keep, and where it is a demo with a budget.Growth and analytics
Marketing diagnostics, funnels, and a data stack whose numbers agree with each other.Commerce architecture
Omnichannel, quote-to-cash, and platform choices that survive the next reorg.
Write to me. One paragraph on the problem is enough.
Work
Twenty-odd years across e-commerce, marketplaces, gaming and education. Three tours at Pepperfry, which says something about Pepperfry, or about me.
Infinite Locus
Chief Product Officer
Product and solutions for a bespoke technology consultancy.
Pepperfry
Chief Product Officer
Product and technology to business goals, plus brand, assisted buying and customer support.
NE Digital
Vice President of Product Development
Seconded to NTUC First Campus. Product, design, engineering, QA and customer success, building tools for the organisation, parents and partners.
PropertyGuru Group
Principal Product Manager
Consumer engagement and retention across four markets, and the core data pipeline that turned raw data into answers for consumers, partners and advertisers.
Pepperfry
Head of Product Management, then Head of Product and Engineering
The product roadmap, and from 2017 its delivery as well.
One97 Communications
Senior Product Manager
Mobile internet products for telecom operators around the world.
Pepperfry
Head of Product Management
Built the product roadmap in the early years.
Alibaba.com
Senior Product Manager
India go-to-market strategy, and e-commerce expertise for initiatives across the organisation.
Zapak Digital Entertainment
Category and Product Manager, E-commerce
India's largest gaming portal at the time. An MMO entry into India, international domains, and the e-commerce store.
Level Up Games India
Associate Manager, Product Operations
Go-to-market for an early pioneer of gaming in India. Where it started.
The long version lives on LinkedIn.
Off the clock
- Physically lazy, as advertised. The mind does the walking.
- I read poetry and philosophy. The good ones take a minute to read and a decade to finish.
- I write a little, mostly to find out what I think.
- English, Hindi and Punjabi. Silence translates best.
- The cat runs the place. I am staff with a laptop.
- The meteors on this page can be caught. Most people never try.
The cairn
Walkers stack stones on a trail to say someone passed this way. Add yours. Each stone also puts a star in this sky, which is more than most guestbooks offer. A note is optional, and I read each one before it goes up.
Under the stars
Write to me
No email address on this page. Scrapers read too. This form reaches me directly, and so does LinkedIn.