Community & Ecosystem

iSPIRT Fellow

For over a decade alongside my corporate roles, I helped build India's software product ecosystem as a volunteer and eventually a part-time Fellow at iSPIRT.

What is iSPIRT?

iSPIRT (Indian Software Product Industry RoundTable) is India's leading software product think tank. Not a trade association but a volunteer-driven movement that shaped the thinking and policy behind India's Digital Public Infrastructure, including Aadhaar, UPI, and the India Stack. It has had a disproportionate influence on the Indian startup ecosystem relative to its size.

My role

Part-time Fellow · May 2006 – June 2017

I started as a volunteer and grew into a part-time Fellow, one of a small group of practitioners who designed and ran programs for India's product entrepreneurs.

Key programs I designed and ran:

  • PlayBook RoundTables: peer-learning circles for early-stage product entrepreneurs. I designed the format and facilitated sessions, helping founders work through real product and go-to-market challenges with structured playbooks and expert practitioners.
  • Product Showcase for the IT Minister: curated a high-profile event where India's top software product startups presented directly to the Indian Minister for IT. I served as Program Manager, handling curation, logistics, and narrative.
  • NASSCOM Product Conclave: volunteered as Program Manager in 2011 and 2012, one of India's most significant product startup events.

Impact

The programs I built and ran supported thousands of software product entrepreneurs across India. At a time when product thinking was still nascent in the Indian startup ecosystem, iSPIRT's playbooks and roundtables gave founders a framework for building better products and businesses.

This work is part of why I care deeply about ecosystem building, having seen first-hand what happens when you create the right conditions for people to learn from each other and grow.