Headline

VC fellow | Ex-McKinsey | Cornell M. Eng.

About

I like sitting at the intersection of people and technology, understanding why some ideas become formidable businesses and others don't. Investments, venture, capital markets, and the builders reshaping industries excite me most, and I’m drawn to data-backed answers over consensus takes. I've advised large public and private sector organizations on tech, M&A, and business strategy. I've also built technically complex AI solutions and established public-sector partnerships from scratch. I try to show up for people the way others have shown up for me. DMs are always open if you want to talk venture, tech, non-profits, or grab coffee in Bangalore. Email me at as3285@cornell.edu

Location

Bengaluru

AI stack

claude

cursor

openai

claudecode

ChatGPT

Wispr Flow

Work experience

Venture Capital at The VC Fellowship, Aug 2026 - Present · 2 mos, Bengaluru, Selected for a cohort-based fellowship covering topics on thesis development, sourcing, deal structuring, financial diligence, and investment decision-making through VC mentors from top firms and live IC presentations

Strategy at McKinsey & Company, Mar 2025 - Aug 2026 · 1 yr 6 mos, Washington, DC, My focus at McKinsey spanned three broad areas: tech strategy, M&A, and the US public sector. On the ground with clients from Day 1 problem solving with McK and client leadership, building analyses from large and messy datasets, synthesizing insights into CXO level decks, presenting to the C-suite, and navigating complex stakeholder environments at some of the largest organizations in the world. Proudest achievements: Authored 3 practice guides now used firm-wide globally, including a tech vendor license management framework, software contract negotiation playbook, and a gold-standard cybersecurity contract negotiation framework; Regional (US) winner of the "Way-We-Work AI award" in recognition of building high-impact AI workflows for clients Core skills: M&A strategy, market analysis, due diligence, thesis development, financial modeling, AI deployment, and contract negotiations.

Digital Transformation at Ignyte Group, Jul 2023 - Jan 2025 · 1 yr 7 mos, Washington, DC, As an early hire of the ServiceNow vertical, I wore multiple hats: pre-sales, building business and technical cases, system architecture, solution design and implementation, maintenance, and post-deployment support. Worked hands-on with several US federal and state agencies, piloting AI and low-code solutions at agencies including the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and FEMA, across domains spanning federal tax, healthcare, transportation, and emergency management. Proudest achievements: Won ServiceNow's GenAI Customer Value Partner of the Year (Americas) 2025, honoring excellence in driving innovation via generative AI, data integration, and AI agents on the Now Platform, for leading an AI application end-to-end, from competitive bid to implementation, that solved critical Healthcare Facility Inspection workflows and sped up resolution of California taxpayer queries; engineered Ignyte's first API-based integration between ServiceNow - AWS, ServiceNow - OpenAI, and ServiceNow - ArcGIS. Core skills: Tech pre-sales and RFP strategy, solution architecture, AI solution development, low-code platforms (ServiceNow, AWS), workflow automation, 0->1 product development

Market Diligence at Volvo Group, Jan 2023 - May 2023 · 5 mos, United States, As part of my M.Eng. capstone, I supported a 6-person team building an investment thesis: where should a global truck manufacturer place its bets on autonomy, electrification, and servitization through 2040? Built the core of the thesis: a base/bull/bear case for how Volvo's business needed to shift depending on how fast regulation, technology, and customer demand evolved. I also led the risk analysis, sizing the labor displacement risk from autonomous trucking as a headwind to weigh against the upside case. As a team, we grounded the thesis in 14 expert interviews across autonomous trucking, fleet operations, and OEM technology, then ranked nine potential business lines / industry advancements by adoption speed and relative advantage to sequence where Volvo should invest first. Core skills: Market sizing, technology diffusion frameworks, competitive landscaping, and thesis-development

Account Management at InMobi, Jan 2021 - May 2022 · 1 y 4 mo, Bangalore, Supported a multi-million dollar quarterly portfolio across CPG, FMCG, financial services, and media & entertainment clients in Singapore and the Philippines, sitting on the buy-side of advertising: taking budgets directly from advertisers and agencies, setting rates, and running their campaigns to hit performance and ROI targets. Built data-driven strategies using demographic and geographic audience insights, and implemented pixel-based A/B testing to optimize ad delivery and grow account size through cross-selling. I partnered with sales, strategy, and tech teams to grow media-based revenue for our APAC clients. Proudest achievements: Revamped the SEA team's legacy revenue tracking system using Advanced Excel and Power BI, significantly improving margin tracking efficiency; won InMobi's SpotR award in Q3 2021 for owning one of the company's largest financial services clients in the SEA region. Core skills: Media account management, buy-side media strategy, A/B testing, revenue operations, cross-functional partnership, and financial modeling (Excel, Power BI)

Co-Founder at The Common Folk, Dec 2019 - Jul 2022 · 2 yrs 8 mos, Bengaluru, The Common Folk was one of the largest all-youth-run nonprofits, with ~150+ volunteers across Bangalore and Chennai. We conducted health awareness and nutrition procurement campaigns through social media and live distributions across the cities. We reached 10,000+ underprivileged beneficiaries through 30 crowdfunded campaigns. Leading Partnerships, I built the external relationships that let us operate at scale during COVID: partnering with TeamLease, Awign, BetterPlace, and the Nava-Bengaluru Foundation to re-employ workers displaced by the pandemic, enabling 1,000+ job placements.

Education

Master of Engineering - MEng, Engineering/Industrial Management, Cornell University

Master of Engineering - MEng, Management Consulting, Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management