Currently shipping:AI systems
Ecommerce to sales, Sales to category. Category to Product & Marketing. 8+ years of shipping 0→1 systems that move the P&L needle to green.
Things I've built
I started learning AI and tech back in June '25, alongside my last job. I was back to beginner mode — and it felt exciting. I quit in December '25 and started building with AI and tech full-time.
Building, breaking, learning, unlearning. Navigating the chaos with spec-driven methodology.
YuaLabs — AI-Augmented Operation Workflow
Built an AI-augmented operation workflow that cut lead-gen and outreach turnaround by 80% per role and saved the firm ~₹60K/month in human-capital cost. Two systems, one pipeline: a lead-gen engine that turns Sales Navigator searches into ranked, enriched candidate sheets in under 3 minutes, and a recency-targeted outreach engine that finds recruiters who posted SDR roles in the past 24 hours and queues personalised InMail. AI handles 60-70% of the workflow; humans stay in the loop for judgment.
8+ years of figuring things out, solving interesting problems, and navigating chaos — the kind of adaptability today's economy and tech space demands.
PhysicsWallah — ₹30 Cr ARR portfolio + NPS 23 → 67
Built a ₹30 Cr ARR portfolio from zero. 96-member team. 90K+ paid users across 7 online categories and 3 offline centers. Turned 5 of 7 categories profitable. 150% EBITDA lift. NPS from 23 to 67.
Unacademy — Govt Exams scale (₹1.2 Cr → ₹20 Cr ARR)
Scaled Govt Exams portfolio 17x. 1.5M+ learners, 65K+ paid. Led 5 direct reports, 70 creators, 15 partners. Launched the first offline center in Pune. Took cash flow from -33% to 42%.
Bestofsuperheroes.com — E-commerce from zero
Bootstrapped an e-commerce venture with 3 friends out of college. Two years of hands-on 0→1 execution across product, marketing, ops. My first operator role — before I knew it was a career.
The journey
From bootstrapping e-commerce out of college to running a ₹30 Cr business ops portfolio at PhysicsWallah. Same operator. Different arenas.
Era 1 — Finding the ground
2016–2019Bestofsuperheroes.com
Co-founder · 2016–2017 · Gorakhpur
Bootstrapped an e-commerce venture with 3 friends out of college. Learned the unit economics of running a business before I learned anything else.
Silicon Media Technologies
Sales Lead, US market · 2018–2019 · Bangalore
Owned a $16Mn ARR portfolio across 32+ magazines. Launched 3 new tech editions (Drone, Agri, AI) that added $3Mn ARR. Doubled cold email conversion through journey redesign.
Era 2 — Becoming an operator
2019–2023Unacademy
Category Manager · 2019–2023 · Bangalore · $3.5B valuation
The chapter that made me. Scaled Govt. Exams portfolio from ₹1.2 Cr to ₹20 Cr ARR. 1.5M+ learners, 65K+ paid. Led 5 direct reports, 70 creators, 15 partners. Launched the first offline center in Pune. Took cash flow from -33% to 42%.
Era 3 — Running the portfolio
2023–2024PhysicsWallah
DGM, Business Operations · 2023–2024 · Noida · $3.7B valuation
Built a ₹30 Cr ARR portfolio from zero. 96-member team. 90K+ paid users across 7 online categories and 3 offline centers. Turned 5 of 7 categories profitable. 150% EBITDA lift. NPS from 23 to 67.
Era 4 — Independent, AI-native
2025–PresentIndependent
Consultant / Agency / Builder · 2025–Present · Noida
Left PhysicsWallah to go independent. Shipping AI systems solo and with small teams. MarketMinute.ai, Mojo (7-agent production system), 20+ Make.com and n8n automations. Same operator. New tools.
How I think
Four principles I've carried across every chapter. The environments changed. These didn't.
First principles, always.
Solutions live upstream of symptoms. When I break a problem down to its first principles, I'm confident I'll find my way to the answer — regardless of the industry, the team, or the tooling.
Data is everything.
If you can track it, you can build it.
Every system worth building is readable before it's buildable. I spend disproportionate time on the inputs: what signals exist, what's missing, what's worth ignoring.
Ship, then refine.
Speed beats perfection most of the time — and the two aren't actually opposed. Iterate fast, fail fast, learn fast, build fast, repeat.
Obsess over the user.
The fastest way to fail is to stop listening. User signal is the highest-value data on any dashboard. Know who your users are. Hear what they say. The P&L takes care of itself.
Underneath all four: unlearn, learn, adapt. My beliefs are working hypotheses. When new information shows up, I update them.
Skills
Operator foundation, builder layer.
The old toolkit didn't go away. It got new tools on top.
Operator foundation
Built across 8+ years in EdTech, Media, E-commerce, Consulting
Business & Leadership
Growth & Execution
Data & Tools
Builder layer
Added in the last 10 months. Shipping with them daily.
AI & Models
Development & Infrastructure
Automation & Data
Awards & recognition
Eight awards across three companies and seven years.Different employers. Different roles. Same operator.
Business Growth Leader
2025
PhysicsWallah
Growth Champion
2024
PhysicsWallah
Game Changer
2022
Unacademy
Game Changer
2022
Unacademy
Innovation & Leadership
2021
Unacademy
A+ Performer
2021
Unacademy
Sales Excellence
2018
Silicon Media
Sales Excellence
2018
Silicon Media
Writing
Thinking in public — on operating systems, AI builds, and the intersection.
What people say
What colleagues, leaders, and collaborators said — across different chapters.
“
I've worked with Manish for over 3 years across multiple 0→1 and scale-stage projects, and his relentless drive for execution and impact truly stands out. He takes full ownership, digs deep into user needs and competition, and builds with empathy — especially visible in how he led the growth of one of Unacademy's largest regional categories, taking it to #1 in both revenue and user base. Manish brings a rare blend of commercial sharpness and operational discipline, backed by structure, rigour, and high standards.
Punith Reddy
Head of New Initiatives, CRED
“
I've worked with Manish across multiple projects, and he consistently brings sharp execution, adaptability, and strong ownership to the table. He was instrumental in building our State PSC category from the ground up — combining deep sales and marketing acumen with sustainable business thinking. He's a reliable operator, a strong team player, and someone I'd gladly work with again.
Akshay Palande
Associate Director, Unacademy
“
Manish brought an amazing energy with him every day to work. His positivity, enthusiasm, and eagerness to keep learning made him a great individual performer. He also passed those traits on to his associates, which is what made him a strong leader.
Rohan Mukherjee
Building Aspora, Ex-Unacademy
“
It's been fantastic working with Manish, who is an exceptional team player, super organised, and highly skilled at problem solving. He has been instrumental in growing categories from scratch and consistently showed strong leadership. I'm sure he's going to make a mark in his professional career.
Jenish Kamdar
AD, Blinkit, Ex-Unacademy | IIM B
If you think I can help — let's talk.
Based in Noida. Work with teams globally.