Headline

Product Manager building for the AI era | Short term Rentals 0→1 + Ad revenue at scale | IIM Calcutta | Learning in public: agents, evals, LLM products

About

I didn't start in product. IIST gave me a B.Tech, a government scholarship, and a thesis segmenting brain tumors in 3D CT scans with deep learning — back in 2019, when "AI" still mostly meant Keras tutorials. I thought I'd build science. Instead, I went home to run my family's steel-scrubber factory in Umred for a year - eight people, ₹2M of machines, 150 kg/day of output that I had to push to 400 kg. That year taught me more about product than any framework ever has: users don't read spec sheets, suppliers don't care about your roadmap, and the only thing that matters is whether the line ran today. IIM Calcutta was the reset. Rank 52 of 450+, A-band grades across Finance and Marketing, and a student exchange to Solvay Brussels. I went in as an engineer-operator and came out wanting to build consumer products. Times Internet (2022–2024) — my first real PM job. Started on the revenue side, owning ad infrastructure across CWG 2022, Budget 2023, and State Elections: ~₹7 Cr of direct-sold inventory, ~₹25 Cr+ of campaigns monitored, and experiments that pushed eCPM +30% and doubled viewability on underperforming slots. Then moved to the Cricket vertical — revamped the section, ran competitor/user research, and piloted generative AI for auto-generated match updates before "GenAI content" was a product category everyone had. First Livingspaces (2024–Current) — the 0→1 one. I joined an early-stage coliving startup when the roadmap was basically a whiteboard and a prayer. Fourteen months, a squad of fifteen across Engineering, Design, and APMs, and full ownership of the resident journey from first Google search to final checkout. I built the core inventory and booking engine from scratch — room-category pricing, concurrent bookings, blocking and release, cancellations, refunds — then layered on discovery and merchandising I designed a conversational chatbot that reduced sales effort, then built an agentic voice-calling system. That was the moment I realized the next generation of consumer products won't just use AI as a feature — they'll be AI-native from day one. Where I'm pointing next. I've spent the last 18 months deep in applied AI — agent frameworks, LLM evals, Model Context Protocol, voice AI, AI-first PM patterns. Building side projects (TadkaSync, Confident Communicator) to stay hands-on. I'm looking for Senior PM / AI PM roles where the product actually ships to users, not slide decks. Open to conversations in Mumbai, Bangalore, or remote. Best reached here or at pratik2022@email.iimcal.ac.in

Location

India

AI stack

aistudio

antigravity

claude

codex

opencode

ChatGPT

Work experience

Technical Product Manager at First Livingspaces Pvt Ltd, Mar 2024 - Present · 2 y 5 mo, Remote, I focused on enhancing sales efficiency and agent performance through AI-driven solutions. • Implemented an AI voice agent that achieved a 95% reduction in first response time, leading to improved lead conversions. • Developed a lead scoring system that increased agent productivity by around 60%, ensuring better prioritization of leads. • Created a coaching intelligence framework that resulted in a 40% faster ramp-up for new agents, enhancing overall team effectiveness.

Product Manager at Times Internet, Mar 2023 - Mar 2024 · 1 yr 1 mo, Hybrid, • Revamped the Cricket section for Times Internet by conducting competitor analysis and user surveys to enhance user experience. • Piloted the integration of Generative AI to create engaging automated cricket updates, significantly boosting user engagement. • Implemented strategic content and monetization features, resulting in improved traffic and user retention during major tournaments.

Revenue Product Manager at Times Internet, May 2022 - Feb 2023 · 10 mos, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, - Drafted PRDs for improving Ad performance by analysing page loading parameters, ad data ingestion and user behaviour to improve revenue from ads -Managed program execution for 3 high-traffic events such as CWG 2022, Budget 2023 & State Elections 2022, overseeing the technical aspects of direct-sold advertising deals worth over 7 Cr. - I've handled inquiries from sales and marketing teams, coordinating with ad operations to ensure seamless implementation of ad slots according to expectations. -Improved ad metrics, such as viewability, CTR, and eCPM, through the execution of multiple experiments. Achieved a 100% improvement in certain BTF ad slots and increased eCPM by 30%. -Led end-to-end development of seven new ad formats, aligning them with client needs and market demands. -Monitored the delivery and performance of over 75 direct sold campaigns worth INR 25 Cr+, ensuring successful & satisfactory outcomes. -Owned the browser-based platform for all ad-related improvements and changes, driving enhancements to optimize user experience and revenue generation.

Product Management Intern at Optum, May 2021 - Jun 2021 · 2 mos, Summer internship during IIM Calcutta MBA. Prioritized internal product features via expert interviews across 4 global teams; built a competitor positioning map across 4 customer cohorts; analyzed 33 clients and 10 vendors to surface vendor-model improvements.

Chief of Operations at Polaris Manufacturers Private Limited, Jun 2019 - May 2020 · 1 yr, Umred, - Led a high-performing team of 8 members in the successful procurement and efficient operation of steel scrubber machines valued at $2 million. - Implemented strategic adjustments to four production parameters over a span of four months, effectively salvaging 600 kg of steel scrubbers and preventing potential losses. - Achieved a remarkable 1.66-fold increase in daily production, elevating output from 150 kg to 400 kg, within a one-year timeframe by implementing streamlined production processes. - Orchestrated seamless collaboration with more than 5 suppliers, resulting in a significant 73% reduction in idle time and stoppages. Successfully resolved a critical input line fault to improve overall operational efficiency. - Implemented optimization strategies targeting five production parameters, resulting in a remarkable 12-fold decrease in fault rates over one year (reducing from 6 faults per hour to 0.5 faults per hour). - Ensured stringent product quality standards by implementing error reduction measures and leveraging valuable customer feedback to enhance packaging efficiency.

Head - Creatives at Conscientia (Tech fest), Aug 2018 - Nov 2018 · 4 mos, On-site, -Spearheaded a 3-tier team of 15+ members in charge of designing t-shirts, posters & the website -Garnered 11-year peak footfall of 1000+ by increasing promotions via multichannel advertsement -Designed merch, generated revenue of ₹3.22 lac (20% YOY growth) from sale to 600+ participants

Education

Master of Business Administration - MBA, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

B.Tech, Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

Public links

github: https://github.com/pw0300