57: Off-Roading and Messy Hands

In this conversation between Sivaguru from PM Power Consulting & Sharad Sharma, co-founder of iSpirit Foundation, Sharad shares several off the beaten track perspectives on His multi-threaded career navigated via multiple s-curves How to create innovative software products, a dual immersion necessity If you read it in the news, dont follow it! Solving problems through different layers of work happening in different realms - the apple and android battery case. Understanding your personality archetype and going from good to great. Developing a contrarian mindset Sharad's has three decades of experience in the Internet, Enterprise Software, and Digital Infrastructure markets and is a prominent voice in India's technology ecosystem. Sharad is a passionate evangelist of the software product ecosystem in India. He co-founded iSPIRT Foundation, a non-profit technology think tank devoted to making India a product nation. Earlier, he Chaired NASSCOM Product Forum in its formative years and was a member of the NASSCOM Executive Council from 2009-13. Sharad co-founded Teltier Technologies Inc., and is an active technology angel investor with over two dozen investments. He was also instrumental in the success of India's first IP focussed fund, India Innovation Fund. Sharad has held several senior R&D executive positions with leading technology companies, including Yahoo, VERITAS Software, Symantec, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T. Zinnov gave him the R&D Visionary Award in 2008 for his work on creating a strong MNC R&D footprint in India. Sharad is a member of SEBI's Financial and Regulatory Technology Committee. He has also served on RBI's UK Sinha MSME Committee and National Digital Payments Committee. Sharad got interested in kernel software development while doing his Electrical Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering. He started India's first Student Minicomputer Club in 1984 as served as the Chairperson of the IEEE Student Chapter.