In this episode, I am in conversation with Rajesh Sharma, co-founder and chief product officer of ProHance. Rajesh covers a lot of ground starting from his move from Public Sector to SaaS Founder.

Rajesh describes his path from a modest middle-class upbringing in Shimla and a mechanical engineering degree to a stable career at HPCL, then a major career reset into software after quitting his public-sector job to take an IBM course and restarting as a trainee. He later co-founded JaMocha Tech (now ProHance) in 2009 with co-founder Kiran, backed early by angel investor Sudhir Sharma, aiming to build a world-class software product from India. After experimenting with multiple products and learning that market feedback matters more than expert opinions, they focused on ProHance, a horizontal work visibility and effectiveness platform, now with 250+ customers in 23 countries, ~200+ employees, and a private equity majority investor. He emphasizes the importance of complementary co-founders, supportive family, direct founder-customer feedback loops, profitability and frugality, outcome ownership, and adopting AI internally and in-product.

00:00 Welcome and Setup

01:00 Origin Story and Courage

02:10 From Shimla to Bangalore

04:22 Quitting HPCL for IT

07:06 Starting the Company

11:06 Why Team Matters

14:02 Family Support System

16:56 Finding Product Market Fit

18:45 Choosing the Winning Product

23:18 Selling a Horizontal SaaS

24:31 Business Meets Tech

25:48 Customer Value Mindset

27:36 Product Decisions and Risk

30:36 Start Small MVP

33:01 Founder Led Feedback Loop

35:28 Scaling Global Teams

36:05 Leaders From Customers

39:16 AI Adoption and Roadmap

46:03 Staying Grounded Values

50:21 Parting Advice Start Now

Rajesh Sharma is a first-generation entrepreneur and the co-founder of ProHance, a highly successful, self-funded, profitable SaaS startup built from the ground up in Bangalore, India.

Born and raised in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, Rajesh earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering from MNIT, Jaipur. He began his professional journey with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), one of India’s leading public sector oil and gas companies.

After over 12 years at HPCL, Rajesh identified the rising potential of the IT sector and made a strategic career transition in 2000, moving from a stable corporate role to the technology industry as a software engineer. He gained practical experience in software product development with companies including Network Solutions, International Decision Systems, and JSoft.

In 2009, Rajesh co-founded JaMocha Tech with Kishore Reddy (later renamed ProHance) where he leveraged his techno-functional expertise to build a profitable, debt-free SaaS enterprise. Today, ProHance stands as a global platform with over 200 enterprise customers and an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of around $18 million. In December 2023, ChrysCapital acquired a 75% stake in ProHance, fuelling its next phase of global expansion across regions such as the Philippines, Australia, and South America.

Throughout his career, he has consistently embraced roles beyond his core expertise, applying a hands-on, practical approach that combines on-the-job learning with sound judgment. This rare combination has shaped him into a leader with deep insight into both the business and technical aspects of running any enterprise.

Rajesh continues to be deeply involved with ProHance, now serving as its Chief Product Officer (CPO) after transitioning from his earlier role as COO. In this capacity, he continues to drive ProHance’s product vision, innovation, and technology roadmap—while mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs and builders navigating their own zero-to-one journeys.

Contact info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajesh-sharma-12298447

Host: Chitra Gurjar

• 4 decades and counting, always energized to do something, work is my DNA
• From post and telegraph to giving tuitions to creating her own agency to study
• An advocate for herself, nurturing her desire to serve
• Turning away “assured” job offers to join Defence Labs as a Scientist at CABS
• Moved onto a “lesser assurance” to join HP
• People and culture at the heart of her 3+decade stay at HP
• Challenging status quo, try and fail, Innovation has to be a part of one’s daily life
• Stay focused on problems that you are solving and layer tools and technology to solve your problem
• Focus on incremental delivery of value
• Holding a people vision through the course of her work
• Strong belief that “AI will improve the quality of jobs”
• Learning is a constant - continue to build
• Apply training and learning programs intentionally
• Working on a market analysis - next gen quoter
• Strong belief on impact of AI on Healthcare and Education
• Believing that coaching is something everyone should learn, enable people as answers lie within each one
• Working with a non-profit Daksham skills and Dreams Designs



Arundathi has been working in technology and leadership related roles for the last 40+ years. She

started her career as a Scientist at Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, India.

While at DRDO, she was involved in development of Radar transmitter and controller systems.

Arundathi joined Hewlett Packard in 1996 and during her 27+ year career in HP and HPE, she has

worked in multiple roles across various business units. Under her leadership, HP rolled out multiple

market leading internet services related products on HPUX. She was on one of the key leader

responsible for setting up Global IT teams offshore centre in India in 2004. She has managed a team

of 3000+ technologists delivering for IT, across multiple technologies and multiple business areas

enabling HP(E)’s business. She has successfully lead and delivered multiple IT transformation

projects. She has also lead the people transformation to move towards digital technologies in

alignment with the market trends and business needs. She has had a short stint of 2 years at EY as

the Engineering leader for India, in Client Technology, building on Product engineering and delivery

capability. In the recent past she was the Global Program Manager for HPE’s industry leading Next

Generation IT transformation program. She leads the Global Delivery Services organisation, which is

the internal the delivery engine for GIT. She is also the India leader for HPE’s Global IT.

Arundathi has led several initiatives in people transformation towards digital transformation,

customer centricity and employee engagement. She is passionate about building teams and leaders

who are future proof and future safe. She has a strong passion towards building women leaders in

technology and mentored and coached many women through focussed initiatives. She has also had

a stint as the chairperson at HP for Prevention of Sexual Harassment at workplace.

Arundathi has as Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics from Government

College of Technology, Coimbatore and Master of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology,

Madras (IITM). She is a certified coach.

During her free time, Arundathi loves to teach, coach, travel and read.

In this episode of Software People Stories, Gayatri speaks with Muthusamy Vetrivel, Manager – Business Analytics at Saudi National Bank (formerly Saudi French Bank), about a career that spans over four decades of technological disruption.

Vetrivel’s journey is anything but conventional.

He began in the granite export business — negotiating documents and standing nervously at bank counters. That experience sparked curiosity: “What happens behind the counter?” That curiosity led him into banking.

In the mid-1980s, when computers first entered Indian banks, he was among a select group trained in programming through Aptech — at a time when unions resisted “computers” and they were rebranded as Advanced Ledger Posting Machines (ALPM).

From:

• Assembly language and MS-DOS
• 20 MB storage limits
• 286 machines and floppy disks
• Writing modules for savings and current accounts

To:

• Oracle databases
• LAN networks
• Core banking migrations
• And today — analyzing 5 million customer records in seconds

Vetrivel has lived through every wave of banking transformation.

Now in Riyadh, he leads Business Analytics — studying customer behavior, spending patterns, and helping the bank design better financial products while staying compliant with regulations governed by the Saudi Central Bank.

Beyond banking, he serves as a community leader with the Riyadh Tamil Sangam — supporting migrant workers, coordinating repatriation flights during COVID, promoting Tamil literacy, and building recognized Tamil-speaking Toastmasters clubs globally.

His philosophy is simple:

Be sincere.

Be honest.

Contribute a little more than expected.

A rare combination of technical depth, regulatory understanding, business acumen, and grassroots community service — this episode is a masterclass in longevity, relevance, and purpose.

Muthusamy Vetrivel is a seasoned Banking and Data Analytics Specialist with over three decades of combined experience in both information technology and banking operations. He currently serves as Manager – Business Analytics at Saudi National Bank (formerly Banque Saudi Fransi), where he leads analytics initiatives that harness customer insights, large-scale data, and business intelligence to drive product design, customer understanding, and strategic decision-making.

Vetrivel’s career uniquely spans core banking systems, software project management, and data analysis, rooted in deep experience with legacy banking platforms and modern analytics environments. Over the years, he has witnessed firsthand the evolution of banking technology — from early MIS and core banking implementations to advanced analytics workflows processing millions of records.

Beyond his professional domain, Muthusamy is also known for community leadership, particularly through his involvement with expatriate cultural and support initiatives, mentoring, and building networks that bridge technical expertise with service and social impact.

Vetrivel can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mvetrivel/

In this special Women’s Day episode of Software People Stories, Gayatri sits down with Manisha Deshpande, VP, Digital Platform Engineering at Neurealm, for a deeply reflective conversation on career evolution, motherhood, leadership, and thriving in the AI era.

Manisha’s journey begins in the early 2000s — renting desktops with friends, coding in C++, and working at startups before “startups” were cool. A pivotal on-site experience early in her career changed how she viewed engineering — from writing code to understanding customer impact.

Across 25 years in technology — from digital asset management to identity & access management, from services to product engineering, from engineering leadership to heading UX Centers of Excellence — Manisha shares the inflection points that shaped her:

• Choosing to intentionally slow down during certain seasons of life
• Moving from domain specialist to product mindset thinker
• Bridging design and engineering
• Leading horizontally across business units
• Preparing teams for AI not just technically — but mentally

She speaks candidly about:

• Why “letting go” without regret is powerful
• The importance of showing up every day
• Building a support system beyond work
• The shift from executor to thinker in the AI age
• Why curiosity is the only non-negotiable skill

From rental 386 desktops to AI agents and workflow automation — this episode is about evolution, resilience, and staying human in a rapidly changing industry.

If you’re a software professional navigating change, motherhood, leadership, or the AI disruption — this conversation is both grounding and energizing.

Here are powerful pull-quotes you can use for LinkedIn, audiograms, or graphics:

1. “Technology is shrinking in shelf life — but curiosity never expires.”
2. “You cannot have it all at the same time. But you can choose your season — without regret.”
3. “If you remain an executor, you will be automated. If you become a thinker, you will thrive.”
4. “Letting go is not failure. It is prioritization.”
5. “Show up every day. Even when you’re slowing down, you’re still moving forward.”
6. “AI can accelerate execution — but intent and context still belong to humans.”
7. “Full stack today is not just technical depth — it is empathy, collaboration, and business awareness.”
8. “Build foundations — health, support systems, hobbies. They are your resilience engine.”
9. “Learning is not optional anymore. But evolution is a choice.”
10. “Be curious, not fearful.”

With over 25 years of experience in the IT industry, Manisha Deshpande is a highly skilled and visionary leader in digital platform engineering. She is deeply committed to design-led, human-centric product development, ensuring that engineering teams align with cutting-edge design principles to deliver impactful, scalable products.

Manisha’s expertise spans the entire product engineering lifecycle, from UX design to cloud infrastructure. She combines a product mindset with AI-powered development to accelerate delivery and drive smarter engineering decisions, creating innovative solutions that address both current and future challenges.

An advocate for diversity and inclusion, she mentors college-bound female students, providing valuable guidance to help them succeed in their careers.

Earlier in her career, Manisha held leadership roles at Persistent Systems, where she led teams in identity and access management, API management, business process management, and security solutions. She is known for her ability to build high-performing teams, collaborate for growth, and drive product excellence.

Outside of work, Manisha’s passions for painting, traveling, and hiking fuel her creativity and provide inspiration for her leadership approach.

Manisha can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-deshpande-0881b36/

In this deeply personal and inspiring episode of Software People Stories, Gayatri speaks with Dr. Vaijayanthi Srinivasaraghavan (Viji) — a seasoned technology leader, Senior Director at UPS, and a resilient voice for women navigating complex careers and life transitions.

From learning C++ through shared manuals in the early 90s to leading global logistics technology at massive scale, Viji shares a journey shaped by grit, reinvention, and purpose. The conversation explores her early career struggles, health challenges, and defining leadership moments — including navigating motherhood, rebuilding her career, and evolving across roles at IBM before helping build UPS’s Global Capability Center in Chennai.

Viji reflects on how technology, AI, and analytics are transforming supply chain ecosystems while emphasizing that leadership today requires curiosity, empathy, and continuous learning. More than a career story, this episode becomes a powerful reflection on resilience — rewriting oneself after setbacks, embracing change without guilt, and building ecosystems that help women thrive.

Recorded as part of the Women’s Day special series, this conversation blends technology, humanity, and lived experience — reminding listeners that growth is rarely linear, but always meaningful.

• Early career beginnings as an electrical engineer learning software development in the 90s.
• Overcoming autoimmune health challenges and redefining career paths.
• Transformational leadership lessons from early mentors and global work experiences.
• Career evolution through startups, IBM’s long tenure, and transition to UPS.
• Building and scaling a Global Capability Center with a startup mindset.
• The role of AI, analytics, and logistics technology in moving millions of packages daily.
• Continuous learning culture — embracing AI as a hands-on skill across generations.
• Personal reflections on resilience, single motherhood, cancer survival, and reinvention.
• Women’s Day message centered on self-worth, removing guilt, and prioritizing wellbeing.

• “Belong — don’t blur. You are here because you deserve to be here.”
• “AI is here to stay. Don’t stand on the fence — start embracing it.”
• “Do not feel guilty for choosing yourself. Put the oxygen mask on first.”
• “Rewrite yourself. Life will throw curveballs — and that’s okay.”
• “Leadership is not just about technology; it’s about listening and empathy.”
• “Only if you are okay, the people around you will be okay.”

Dr. Vaijayanthi Srinivasaraghavan (Viji) is a seasoned technology leader and Senior Director at UPS India Technology Centre, bringing over three decades of experience across software engineering, supply chain technology, analytics, and global delivery leadership. Her career spans early R&D engineering roles, semiconductor innovation, a long tenure at IBM, and now building next-generation logistics technology at UPS.

An alumna of the University of Madras and a strong advocate of continuous learning, Dr. Viji is also a published author. She co-authored the book Shape It: A Perfect Gift for Budding Engineers to Become Industry Ready, a self-development guide that shares real student stories and practical skills to help young engineers navigate evolving workplaces. ()

Known for her philosophy of “belong, don’t blur,” she blends deep technical expertise with empathetic leadership — mentoring the next generation of technologists while championing resilience, lifelong learning, and inclusive growth in the technology ecosystem.

Viji can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaijayanthisr/

In this episode of Software People Stories, Gayatri sits down with Hiran , Co-founder of Ashwatta Sustainability Ventures (domain Ashwatta.earth) , to explore how climate innovation is evolving beyond buzzwords into real systems change. From her beginnings in chemical engineering to building a venture studio focused on translating breakthrough science into scalable climate companies, Hiran shares a grounded perspective on what it truly takes to build a sustainable future.

• Hiran shares her journey from chemical engineering to climate tech commercialization.
• Ashwatha Earth focuses on building climate companies by translating science into scalable ventures.
• Conversation framed around women leaders in climate and deep tech.

• Shift from clean tech to climate tech, but the mission remains sustainability.
• Circularity and responsible material use are central themes.
• Need to rethink systems that nature cannot naturally recycle.
• Climate innovation goes beyond solar and wind.
• Key areas: thermal storage, alternative fuels, advanced materials, and fusion.
• Industrial heat and heavy transport remain major decarbonization challenges.

• Ashwatha Earth building PVC upcycling solutions.
• Emerging climate startups in emissions tracking, digital twins, hydrogen storage, carbon capture, and biochar.
• Strong in deployment, financial models, and application-layer innovation.
• Gaps in deep-tech ownership, patents, and long-term risk capital.
• Opportunity to move from adoption to innovation leadership.

• AI accelerates optimization, modeling, and material discovery.
• Data availability is still a major limitation.
• AI complements science rather than replacing it.
• Institutional co-founder approach to take tech from lab to market for making Venture Studio Model
• Higher success probability compared to traditional VC power-law models.
• Focus on zero-to-one building and de-risking innovation.
• Local solutions can scale globally when economics and distribution are solved.

• “It doesn’t matter whether we call it clean tech or climate tech — the goal is a sustainable future for all.”
• “Electrons alone won’t solve the energy problem. Heat, materials, and chemistry matter just as much.”
• “Circularity isn’t a trend — it’s learning to live within the limits of the planet.”
• “The Global South is great at deploying solutions, but deep-tech ownership is where we need to grow.”
• “AI can optimize what exists — but the fundamental breakthrough still has to come from science.”

Hiranmayee Vedam is a climate tech entrepreneur, chemical engineer, and Co-founder of Ashwatta Sustainability Ventures(domain Ashwatta.earth), a venture studio focused on translating breakthrough science into scalable sustainability ventures. An alumna of IIT Madras, she brings over 17 years of experience spanning process engineering, advanced materials, and climate technology commercialization. Over the years, she has contributed to research-led innovation and knowledge sharing across materials, energy systems, and sustainability, with work that bridges academic insight and industrial application. Known for her systems-thinking approach to circularity, deep-tech entrepreneurship, and production-scale climate solutions, Hiran is actively shaping pathways for Global South innovations to move from research pilots to real-world impact.

Hiran can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiranvedam/

Sujatha Ramani brings together corporate precision and grassroots purpose. With leadership experience at global companies like HP and Wipro, and two entrepreneurial ventures of her own, she made a deliberate shift into the social sector to build opportunity where it matters most.

Since 2019, as CEO of Pollinate Group, she has led with clarity and conviction advancing women’s entrepreneurship, sustainability, and ethical growth across underserved communities in India and Nepal. She balances sharp execution with long-term vision, always anchored in dignity and agency.

An MBA and computer science graduate, Sujatha also finds joy in soulful singing, nurturing her garden, and passionately following Cricket, Tennis, and Football.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sujatha-ramani-226a665?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

This is part of the specials we have every year focusing on women in IT.

In this conversation, Srini Sundararajan shares his experiences and perspectives on empowering women in the workplace, particularly in IT. Srini's key messages include:

- His upbringing which emphasized the importance of education and non-discrimination between genders.

- His early professional experiences, including managing and interacting with women colleagues for the first time.

- The importance of treating women as equals in the workforce and his approach to avoiding gender discrimination.

- His story of hiring and supporting a woman who was returning to the workforce after a seven-year break.

- Insights into managing women in his team and the different challenges they face, such as work-life balance and societal expectations.

- Instances from his career that highlight the importance of recognizing and addressing unique challenges faced by women, such as menstrual cycles and maternity breaks.

- Advice on inclusive policies like paternity leave to support working families.

- Emphasizing the role men can play in ensuring a comfortable and empowering work environment for women.

Through real-life stories and learned lessons, Srini Sundararajan illustrates the importance of empathy, fairness, and structural support in empowering women in the IT industry.