3x Founder/CEO. B2B SaaS. Edtech. Solar.
- Founder/CEO - MIT Horizon. B2B SaaS. Emerging tech education. Part of MIT Open Learning. - Co-Founder/CEO - Jhana. B2B SaaS. Training for new managers. - Co-Founder/CEO - Duron. Solar home systems for rural India. - McKinsey - Caltech, MIT
Built 3 teams of 20 - 80 people each. Can advise on hiring, coaching, compensating, managing ,leading, firing, upgrading, meeting cadences, goal setting.
Particularly for B2B SaaS. Can advise on finding the right starting persona, growing over time (crossing the chasm), reaching the right people, moving deals forward, and navigating an enterprise to find budget and champions.
Can help with idea generation, shortlisting and validating. Have tried both starting wide and narrowing over time, as well as starting with one idea and pivoting sequentially until finding something that works. I typically suggest a customer driven interview & co-development approach.
I use LinkedIn extensively to find candidates for recruiting and to learn about prospects and their organizations. I am not sure I bring any special tricks to the table - just a lot of searching and hard work.
Two of my startups were B2B SaaS, both selling into the Learning & Development function as well as some sales to Innovation groups and direct to business units. One startup was a consumer electronics solar product for rural Indian homes and shops.
Conceptualized, launched and led a new MIT initiative to help organizations learn about emerging technologies through an expert, impartial, up-to-date content library. Built team of 20 and supported many F50 companies and US government departments. B2B SaaS. Part of MIT Open Learning.
Jhana was a B2B SaaS company that developed original content and services to help new managers learn the skills they need to be successful. We were privileged to support HR leaders at many leading tech companies (AOL, Uber, Groupon, VMware, Informatica) as well as non-profits (One Acre Fund, Kiva, Acumen, MacArthur Foundation). Jhana was acquired in 2017 by Franklin Covey (NYSE: FC)
Duron designed, manufactured and sold innovative solar home systems to rural families and shops with limited or no electricity in India. I led the company through our first 10k product sales and to 80 employees. Duron was acquired in 2014 by RAL Consumer Products Ltd. who continues to sell Duron's products under their Mitva brand.
International work in Taiwan and Kuwait.