Headline

Deep Tech Operator & Capital Catalyst | GTM · Fundraising · Brand Building · Ops | CEO’s Office @ QNu Labs | ISB MBA | ex-Cisco | ex-Founder

About

I work at the intersection where deep tech meets capital. I've spent the last two years making that intersection executable. At QNu Labs (India's leading quantum cybersecurity company, backed by NQM and HDFC), I operate out of the CEO's Office as AVP – Strategy & Ops. In that role, I've been part of closing a ₹60 Cr Series A at a ₹1,150 Cr pre-money valuation, building a $5M revenue engine from scratch, and designing the GTM, partnership, and operational infrastructure that a deep tech startup needs to scale beyond proof-of-concept. What I've learned doing this: → Deep tech GTM is fundamentally different from SaaS GTM. The sales cycle is 12–24 months. The buyer is a ministry, a defence command, or a CISO with a 47-step procurement process. You don't close this with a demo. You close it with relationships, patience, and frameworks that make complex decisions feel safe. → Fundraising from institutional investors (NQM, HDFC, Tenacity) isn't just about the deck. It's about data room readiness, investor psychology, managing parallel conversations, and knowing which objection signals a soft no vs. a genuine concern. → The CEO's Office is where you learn to run a company without the title. Influence without authority. Speed without chaos. Clarity without certainty. Before QNu, I spent 6+ years at Cisco consulting CXOs across Europe and the Middle East on digital transformation, ran my own bootstrapped startup to ₹30L revenue and 25% EBITDA while employed full-time, and completed an MBA at ISB focused on strategy and entrepreneurship. My background: Engineer (VIT) → Enterprise Consultant (Cisco, EMEA) → Founder → MBA (ISB) → Deep Tech Operator (QNu Labs) I'm now looking to bring this combination of operational depth, capital fluency, and deep tech domain knowledge into a CXO/VP role at a deep tech startup, or as an operator-investor at a deep tech focused fund. If you're building in quantum, cybersecurity, defense tech, or adjacent spaces or investing in those areas, I would like to connect.

Location

Greater Bengaluru Area

AI stack

claude

openai

Work experience

AVP - Strategy & Ops at QNu Labs, Oct 2025 - Present · 10 mos, Driving fundraising, GTM, brand, and cross-functional execution at scale from the CEO's Office at India's leading quantum cybersecurity company, backed by NQM, Speciale Invest, HDFC, Tenacity Ventures, etc. 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥: • Driving the Series A1 bridge round (₹150-180 Cr) — managing investor pipeline, data room and stakeholder communications • Pitching to top-tier VC funds across India, leading structured conversations and navigating multi-stakeholder investment processes • Crafted term sheet and defined investment structure for QNu's entry into quantum sensing via GDQ Labs • Led Big4 due diligence processes across legal, financial, technical and regulatory workstreams 𝐆𝐓𝐌 & 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝: • Drove product marketing and positioning for QNu's full portfolio, translating complex quantum technology into commercial narratives for enterprise, defence and government buyers • Built and managed strategic partner ecosystem with SIs and channel partners to accelerate deal velocity • Managed high-stakes presentations and communications for senior government and defence officials including ministry-level engagements • Designed and executed brand strategy across investor communications and high-visibility industry events including IMC and ESTIC 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 & 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬: • Owned annual financial planning and budget tracking across functions to support leadership decisions and investor reporting • Streamlined inventory management through tooling, improving hardware tracking and reducing production bottlenecks • Designed enterprise-wide operating playbook, standardising workflows across 5+ functions

Senior Manager - Strategic Initiatives at QNu Labs, May 2024 - Nov 2025 · 1 yr 7 mos, First strategic hire into the CEO's Office, responsible for building the operational, commercial and investor infrastructure from the ground up as QNu scaled to Series A. 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: • Played a pivotal role in closing ₹60 Cr Series A at ₹1,150 Cr pre-money valuation, led by NQM with participation from HDFC, Tenacity Ventures and Singularity AMC • Built and managed investor data rooms; designed and delivered quarterly QBR presentations and investor updates for institutional stakeholders • Drove grant proposals contributing to ₹8.25 Cr DoT grant for new product development 𝐆𝐓𝐌, 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 & 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬: • Led product marketing and commercial positioning for QNu's quantum portfolio, making deep tech accessible to enterprise, BFSI and government buyers • Led end-to-end planning and execution of major industry events including IMC, covering logistics, booth design, brand presence and high-profile stakeholder engagements • Generated 50+ qualified enterprise and government leads through strategic events and industry engagement 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 & 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: • Defined and implemented CRM-led sales process, improving pipeline visibility and reducing sales cycle by ~20% across enterprise and government engagements • Managed high-stakes communications with senior government and defence officials, preparing briefing documents, presentations and coordinating on-site ministry visits • Negotiated and executed 30+ legal agreements covering NDAs, licensing and vendor contracts • Introduced procurement and travel management tools, standardizing vendor engagement and reducing operational overhead

Founder at Mudly In Love, Jul 2021 - Apr 2023 · 1 yr 10 mos, Bootstrapped and profitably scaled India's first 100% sustainable home gardening and gifting startup 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥: • Grew to ₹25L lifetime revenue with 25% EBITDA, delivering 1500+ orders pan-India with zero external funding • Secured B2B contracts with Arista Networks, Dunzo, Zynga and Blackbuck for employee gifting programmes • Collaborated with leading FMCG startups including Open Secret, Sleepy Owl, Phool and Waffle Mill on co-branded gifting solutions • Managed end-to-end operations covering lead generation, vendor management, packaging design, logistics and last-mile delivery 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 & 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧: • Partnered with an NGO employing underprivileged artisans to manufacture handmade jute products, donating a portion of profits back to their welfare • Eliminated a tonne of single-use plastic from the supply chain by shipping entirely in sustainable green packaging

Lead Services Consultant at Cisco, Jun 2019 - Apr 2023 · 3 yrs 11 mos, Bengaluru, Led CX consulting engagements for EMEA-based BFSI and TMT enterprise clients, advising CXO teams on digital transformation strategy, IT infrastructure modernisation and operational performance improvement. 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: • Led a geographically dispersed team of 6 across the Middle East region. Won Best Account Team of Quarter in FY20 Q2 and FY22 Q3 • Achieved 100% client retention over 3 consecutive years • Presented quarterly business reviews to client CXO and leadership teams, translating operational KPIs into strategic recommendations • Increased client operational efficiency by 25% through structured KPI reviews and agile goal realignment 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 & 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: • Led a cross-functional team of 15 to automate a critical deliverable in Cisco's services portfolio • Conducted onsite training for cross-functional teams in Johannesburg on Cisco's new services portfolio • Trained lateral hires onsite at Cisco's Istanbul office, establishing a regional delivery team from scratch

CX Consultant at Cisco, Aug 2016 - Jul 2019 · 3 yrs, Bengaluru, India, Early-career consulting role advising major enterprise clients in the Middle East on Cisco infrastructure strategy. Youngest in the team to lead services delivery for marquee accounts in the region. 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 & 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: • Youngest team member to lead services delivery for major enterprise customers in the Middle East • Led a $400K digital transformation project, creating Low-Level Network Diagrams across 60 client environments • Collaborated with pre-sales teams to pitch services worth ~$500K to multiple enterprise customers across the region 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 & 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: • Travelled to Kuwait, Dubai and Abu Dhabi to demonstrate new Cisco tools and deliverables to client leadership teams • Built strong CXO-level relationships across Middle East enterprise accounts, laying the foundation for 100% client retention in subsequent years

Education

Master of Business Administration - MBA, Strategy, Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Indian School of Business

Bachelor of Technology - BTech, Information Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology