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SHARDUL GUPTA / FOUNDER-SIDE COMMERCIAL OPERATOR

I turn unclear commercial problems into decisions teams can act on.

Across buyer research, positioning, outreach, and founder-side execution, I get close to the problem, build the useful first version, and stay until it works.

  • ₹6L+premium retail sales
  • 20+qualified meetings
  • 73buyer interviews
  • 5systems in use
Explore the evidence
An illustrated operating landscape moving from a street fruit cart through a sales floor, research field, design studio, and founder's office.

00 · profile

Close to the problem.
Built for what happens next.

I work where buyer behaviour, positioning, and execution meet.

That means tracing what customers say, locating the commercial constraint, and translating it into a message, recommendation, or operating system a team can use. The setting changes. The standard does not: make the next decision clearer.

Shardul presenting ideas with his team
Presenting ideas
Shardul and the team during on-ground event execution
On the ground
Shardul presenting research findings in a working session
Inside the research room
Shardul in a founder-led working session
Working it through

01 · work

Evidence across four commercial environments.

Direct selling, business development, outreach systems, and founder-side operations

01

On the sales floor, the product was rarely the real problem. I diagnosed hesitation around fit, price, proof, and choice, then guided the buyer toward a decision. 50+ premium deals closed, worth ₹6L+.

HIDE & SNEAKSALES FLOOR LOG
01Fitok
02Priceobjection
03Choiceok
PRACTICESeparated product interest from purchase readiness
50+ DEALS · ₹6L+₹48.4k
₹6L+sales
50+deals
₹48.4ktop sale
02

The studio had talent but no repeatable business-development function. I built its first working version across credentials, prospecting, outreach, and CRM. 200+ targeted reach-outs in nine weeks, with the CRM proposal adopted by the founder.

BD FUNCTION · WEEKS 1–9

Weeks 3–43 platforms evaluatedRequirements mapped
Week 5Proposal presentedTo studio lead
Week 5Proposal acceptedAdopted for the studio
Weeks 6–778 investor emailsSent in one day
ITERATION 01ITERATION 02ITERATION 03ITERATION 04ITERATION 05+
200+reach-outs
328hours logged
1CRM accepted
03

The studio needed a repeatable path from high-fit account to qualified conversation. I defined the ICP, built the prospect base, tested the message, managed replies, and documented the handover. 228 targeted touches produced 34+ replies and 20+ meetings.

outbound tracker
StageCountOf total
Touches sent228100%
Replies received34+15%
Meetings booked20+9%
228touches
34+replies
20+meetings
04

YelloSKYE needed one commercial operating layer across brand, delivery, growth, and hiring. I built the website, unified the message, automated delivery visibility, supported platform GTM, and ran hiring for three roles. One website launched, five systems in use, and three hires from 150+ candidates screened.

FOUNDER'S OFFICE · OPERATING WALL

DELIVERY MIS

PIPELINE · WIP · SLA

HIRING FUNNEL

150+ screened shortlisted 3 hired

SITE LAUNCH

SITEMAP → LIVE → SEO

BRAND MESSAGE

One message, every surface WEB · LINKEDIN · SALES
1website launched
5systems built
150+candidates screened
3final hires

Different roles.The same standard: make the next decision easier and put the answer to work.See the full progression →

02 · projects

Commercial problems taken from evidence to action.

Projects at Let’s Enterprise

01 Field research

KOEL Research

KOEL needed a grounded view of electric-pump adoption across Maharashtra. I led 73 interviews across five cities, transcribed the evidence, organised 1,000+ data points, and presented the commercial recommendation to the Managing Director.

73interviews
500+field hours
1,000+data points
Research team at an agricultural pump dealer in Maharashtra

01 Dealer floor

Five cities, one research trail 01 / 04
Read more

ResultConverted five-city fieldwork into a decision-ready recommendation for KOEL's Managing Director.

CONTEXT

KOEL needed to understand what shaped adoption, service trust, and purchase behaviour across Maharashtra.

OWNED
  • Led and transcribed 73 structured interviews.
  • Organised 1,000+ data points into commercial themes.
  • Built the final recommendation and presented it to leadership.
RESULT

Separated regional patterns from common buying barriers and gave leadership a recommendation they could act on.

02 Ground distribution

History Lit Fest

History Lit Fest needed city-wide distribution without paid media. I mapped Pune, pitched cafés and colleges directly, and rebuilt the route from live objections. The campaign secured 61 café partners and 9 of 11 colleges.

61cafés
9/11colleges
5,000+attendance
Meeting a local partner during the History Lit Fest distribution campaign

01 Partner outreach

Pune, one partner at a time 01 / 03
Read more

ResultSecured 61 café partners and 9 of 11 colleges, contributing to 5,000+ festival attendance.

CONTEXT

The festival needed credible local distribution across Pune without relying on paid media.

OWNED
  • Mapped neighbourhoods and prioritised high-fit venues.
  • Pitched café and college partners directly.
  • Tracked objections and changed routes and messaging in real time.
RESULT

Secured 61 café partners and 9 of 11 colleges, contributing to 5,000+ festival attendance.

03 Live conversion

Digital Marketing

Paid registrations had stalled at two and the media budget was exhausted. I rebuilt the lead pool, segmented calls by intent, changed the pitch, and structured the follow-up. Registrations moved from 2 to 15 on the final day.

2→15paid in one day
₹0media spend
100+direct touches
Whiteboard used to rebuild the event acquisition funnel

01 Funnel rebuilt

From stalled funnel to a live room 01 / 03
Read more

ResultIncreased paid registrations from 2 to 15 in one day with no media spend.

CONTEXT

Recover a stalled acquisition funnel with limited time and no remaining advertising budget.

OWNED
  • Built a usable lead pool from on-ground activity.
  • Segmented calls by intent and changed the pitch using live objections.
  • Automated follow-up and prioritised the highest-intent prospects.
RESULT

Moved paid registrations from 2 to 15 on the final day with no media spend.

03 · studio

Small tools for recurring operating problems.

Independent builds

01 Commercial desktop app

Signed macOS build

Manager

Planning was split across daily tasks, weekly reviews, and quarterly direction. Manager brings all three into one local operating workspace.

OPERATOR PLANNING SYSTEMDAY TO QUARTER
3planning horizons
17core tests passed
localMarkdown storage

02 Knowledge infrastructure

File-native graph

Second Brain

Projects, meetings, sources, and reflections were scattered across folders. This file-native graph connects them into one retrievable system. Much of this site was recovered from it.

KNOWLEDGE GRAPHWORK · LEARNING · SELF
Graph view of Shardul's interconnected second brain THIS SITE IS ONE OF ITS OUTPUTS
linkedknowledge graph
3operating domains
liveportfolio source

03 Work intelligence

React + Tauri

ProofLog

Completed work kept losing its context. ProofLog records what shipped, why it mattered, and where the evidence lives, then turns the record into a usable brief.

WORK TO PROOFCAPTURE TO REPORT
5report formats
proofattached to work
AIexecutive synthesis

04 Native capture utility

macOS menu bar

BrainDrop

Useful inputs were getting lost before they reached the vault. BrainDrop captures a file, link, or note from the menu bar and routes it into the Second Brain.

CAPTURE INLETANYTHING TO THE VAULT
3capture modes
⌘⇧global shortcut
localvault routing

04 · writing

Essays that test the ideas behind the work.

Published writing

01 · featured essay

Conflexions

Playing With Freedom

What remains when the script disappears and responsibility becomes unavoidable.

Read the full essay ↗
Identity / agency / responsibility01
Artwork from the essay Playing With Freedom
Freedom becomes real when there is no script left to blame.
IdentityAgencyResponsibility

02 · essay

Medium

Dis-traction

Why removing notifications does not solve the focus problem.

Read the full essay ↗
Attention / 02Signal under pressure
A hand reaching above a pile of computers, illustrating digital overload
AttentionChoiceExclusion

03 · essay

Medium

'Don't Give Up' Is Bad Advice

When persistence becomes an excuse not to decide.

Read the full essay ↗
Decision / 03Persistence needs a test
Two people in a paper boat debating whether to cut away an anchor
JudgmentEvidenceOpportunity cost
Explore more Medium profile

05 · contact

Bring me a commercial problem worth getting close to.