Growth Collective

Growth Collective is your catalyst for leadership excellence specializing in high-impact immersive learning experiences — from dynamic workshops to tailored executive coaching journeys. We enable organizations, teams, and individuals to unlock their full potential and drive meaningful growth.

Our human-centred approach, paired with a focus on measurable outcomes, ensures that every engagement delivers real, tangible results. With a diverse network of expert coaches, learning architects, and industry specialists, we bring real-world insights and proven strategies that drive sustainable growth.

As we continue to provide exceptional services, we're also evolving—developing innovative solutions like our leadership assessment and gamified development platform to accelerate growth.

At Growth Collective, we don’t just shape leaders—we build ecosystems of growth, performance and long-term success.

Founder & Principal

StealthMode

Learning fuels the journey to our best selves!

Currently crafting the future of leadership through AI-driven gamification experiences blending innovation and engagement to fuel effective learning journeys.

Founder 

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Strategic Advisor

Mad Street Den

---  	Owned the product roadmap and work closely with the executive team to create strategy, vision and delivery model. Maintain, monitor and publish progress to leadership on product goals for maintenance (SLA) and milestones (KPI). 
---  	Lead a team of product/program managers with close collaboration with engineering and AI teams by streamlining agile based development practices. Enforced best engineering practices, competitive analysis, and product usage analytics to enable improved metrics.  
---  	Optimized search results and increased product discoverability on customer websites by consistently increasing accuracy (90% +) of AI based product data predictions. Also, reduced time to market employing data segmentation and automation.
---  	Scouted and managed vendor relationships to fuel product implementation processes.

Head of Product

Odessa

--- Spearheaded an agile transformation for a product team of 150+ and successfully setup & led the Devops practice for CICD enablement & implementation of core engineering practices for the product team.
---  Skillfully increased the utilization of the team from 17% to 80% in 4 months to establish a profitable P&L practice. 
---  	Took the product through a full upgrade to adhere to the latest regulatory Financial Accounting Standards as established by the US government and ensured compliance for all customers.
---  	Enabled an enterprise wise test automation program, to maintain a regression suite  to reduce turnaround time, improve quality & enhance code coverage.

AVP - Strategic Product Management/Engineering

OneShield

Senior Product Manager (Core Platform)

Implementation Manager

Technical Team Lead

Senior Java J2EE Developer 

Wells Fargo Bank

Lead Design Analyst

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC)

Senior Java/J2EE Developer

Harbinger Pvt. Ltd

Java/J2EE Developer

Zensar Technologies

Java/ VB Developer

As larger than life it may seem, I’m often torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. 

Enabling people, products & processes on their growth journey, through my work at Growth Collective, has helped me achieve the strife, to make the world a better place, while enjoying the process of doing it. 

-- I bring an overall industry experience of 24 years, focused on product, technology, coaching & entrepreneurship. Across domains of insurance, BFSI & ecommerce. 

-- My experience & passion lies in working with individuals, academia  & organizations, enabling career growth, process transformations & product innovations to maximize potential.

-- I'm a Harvard Business School, PLD graduate & an Erickson & Gallup coach.

-- I'm passionate about Leadership Development & performance coaching. I use a strengths focused approach to convert ideas into actions. 

-- I have skillfully built cross-functional teams across geographies & coached leaders with a focus on progress & productivity leading to profitability.

-- My extensive global experience enables me to understand various cultural nuances enabling organizational transformations & strategically developing partnerships & business relations. 

-- I leverage my technology & product experience, to enable teams to develop best engineering practices, agile methodologies & human centered design thinking for innovative product building.  

-- My startup experience enables me to bring order to chaos & enable leaders to navigate cross-functional teams through ever changing landscapes

-- I have spearheaded agile transformations for organizations, enhancing predictability, productivity, quality of products/services & agile mindsets with teams. 

-- I am an enthusiastic contributor to various industry and academia events for design thinking, career counselling, women in technology, diversity championing, leadership development etc.

Reach out to me for  - 
1-1 or team coaching for
      -- Leadership Development 
      -- Performance Coaching
      -- Personal Branding
Enabling teams for 
       -- Design Thinking
       -- Agile & other team enablement
       -- Growth mindset, socio-emotional skills
       -- Product management
Business Coaching
        -- Enabling Entrepreneurs & their teams make traction on their product journey.

Some of my clients- Microsoft, Cisco, Zetwerk, Target, OneSheild, Odessa, Grundfos, IIM, Indian Oil, Meredith & others.

When not working I can be found exploring -  places, books, cafes, people, technologies & many other interesting things the world offers.

She was made a teenage bride at 14. At 28, she became the role model of every teenage girl by becoming an IPS officer.

Where N Ambika was from, a girl’s only life plan was to get married as soon as she hit adulthood.

But she wasn’t even a proper adult when she was married off. 

However, she never complained of that. 

She was respected. Her husband was a constable. 
She gave birth to two beautiful kids by the time she was 18.

This seemed like an almost ideal situation.

Almost. 

Something was still missing from her life. 

But then something happened. 

At a Republic Day parade, she saw her husband salute to IPS officers.
That was the moment she realised what she wanted to become.

So she started from zero.
Completed her 10th. Then her 12th. Then her graduation.
All while managing a family.

But to prepare for UPSC, she had to move to Chennai leaving her husband and children behind.

This was a big decision.
But her husband didn’t even hesitate for a second. 

He took care of the kids, managed the home, and became her backbone through it all.

Attempt 1: She failed.
Attempt 2: She failed again.
Attempt 3: Failed again.

Her husband requested her. 
“Please come home now”. 

It was not a warning. He just didn’t want her to face back-to-back failures.

She didn’t want to give up. After all, she didn’t want to disappoint after putting so much at stake for the last 3 years.

In 2008, on her fourth attempt, she cleared UPSC.

Today, she serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Mumbai, Maharashtra cadre.

Ambika’s story is proof that dreams don’t belong to the privileged, the lucky, or the perfectly prepared.

They belong to the ones who show up, again and again, even when life keeps telling them they shouldn’t.

Because sometimes, the only thing standing between who you are and who you want to become is the courage to try one more time.

Kudos to Ambika for sharing with the world what’s possible!

#ips #motivation #womenempowerment

Janet Rajan

A few weeks ago, Shafali Verma was just a name on the bench. 
Yesterday, she became the reason we won the WC against South Africa.

Shafali Verma was benched the entire WC because she was out of form.

And yesterday’s finals were a crucial one. 

Neither India nor South Africa has ever reached the Women’s World Cup finals before this. And having this match on home ground added even more to that pressure. 

When Pratika had to go back due to her leg injury in India vs Bangladesh, a hope that yes, this time, we are going to make it to the finals, died a little. 

But then came Shafali.
The same player who hadn’t played a single match in the entire tournament.

What happened after that was something you cannot accurately explain through words. 

Shafali came in at the last moment, and not only did she save the day, but she also became the reason for the happiness and pride of millions of Indians! 

She scored a whopping 87 runs, took 2 wickets out in yesterday's match, and proved what she was made of. 

Everyone who watched that match knew how she brought us back from that huge loss after Deepti’s wicket. 

Shafali is the reason I believe that when it’s your time, it’s your time.

You can’t rush it, and you can’t stop it.

The world may doubt your timing, but your timing never doubts you.

That’s what self-growth really is, trusting the pace of your journey.

You might not be in the spotlight today, but that doesn’t mean you’re forgotten.

The opportunity you’re meant for will find its way to you, just like how this one chance found Shafali.

The Indian Women’s team are rockstars, and I am proud of them!

#womenscricket #indvssa #india #growth

In 2015, I didn’t know I would be an entrepreneur.
In 2025, I’m working on my next idea - one that brings together everything I’ve lived and loved: 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁, 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵.

When I returned from the U.S. to support my family, I decided to stop playing it safe and build something that mattered.

That’s how Growth Collective came into being.

As a product person who coaches leaders, I wanted to enable people on their growth paths - in how they lead, build, think, and show up.

Since then, we've enabled 3000+ leaders across organisations, communities, academia and individuals through coaching, workshops, and experiences.

Last year, I discovered a problem that resonated deeply with both my heart and my experience as a product builder, and I decided to take the leap again.

But last year, one question kept coming back to me:
What if the kind of transformation we create in a room through tools, experiences, fun learning and reflection … could scale beyond the room?

What if we didn’t just build better products or better people but a product that builds better people?

That’s what we’ve been quietly working on. 

To enable more people, in more moments, in more meaningful ways.
Not just through service but through product.
Not just tech but transformation.

It’s early. But it’s real.
And we’d love for two more people to help us shape it from the inside.

𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸-𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 (𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲)
𝗨𝗜/𝗨𝗫 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 (𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲)

If you're excited by human-centred design, early-stage building, and turning growth into something scalable and powerful, I’d love to hear from you.

You can find out more about the role and apply through these forms: 

UI/UX: https://shorturl.at/zCPA1

Backend: https://shorturl.at/mCZMZ

Let’s build something that helps people lead, grow, and become - at scale.

#hiring #productleadership #coaching #startups #techroles #founderjourney #growthmindset

𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲: 
I’ve always admired founders who are shameless.

There is a certain type of founder who can walk into a room and ask for what they need with zero second-guessing.

They’re not aggressive. They’re not loud. They’re just unapologetic.

I’ve spent a large part of my life around entrepreneurs, and having built products myself, the one truth that has become clearer with time:

➝ A founder’s real job is to 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.
➝ To 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀 that aren’t obviously open.
➝ To gather the 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺.

It’s less about having answers and more about having the courage to go looking for them.

So if you’re starting out, or have started your entrepreneurship journey, you know what your biggest superpower is going to be?

To be 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀. 

And I don’t mean shameless in the loud, performative way.

I mean in a gentle, hopeful way, the kind that lets you say:

“Hey, I could use your help.” 
“Can we talk?” 
“Would you take a chance on this?”

Because if you never ask, you’ll never find out the kind of opportunities you might get!

#founder #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurs

If you’re someone who builds products and has got a free weekend coming up, trade doomscrolling for a dose of brain fuel.

These 6 books will not only elevate your craft but also sharpen your perspective on how you build, decide, and communicate:

1️⃣ The Lean Product Playbook (Dan Olsen): Step-by-step frameworks to build what customers really want.

2️⃣ Essentialism (Greg McKeown): A masterclass in saying no. Do less but do it better.

3️⃣ Radical Candor (Kim Scott): Care personally. Challenge directly. A mindset that reshaped how I coach my team.

4️⃣ Storyworthy (Matthew Dicks): Turns everyday moments into unforgettable stories. The storytelling book every product builder needs.

5️⃣ Let My People Go Surfing (Yvon Chouinard): A founder’s guide to building products with soul not just scale.

6️⃣ Think Faster, Talk Smarter (Matt Abrahams): Real tools for real-time speaking next time you’re put on the spot in a meeting, thank this book.

If you could add one must-read for product builders what would it be?

I usually don’t indulge in “internet outrage.”
But this one stayed with me longer than I expected.
 
A friend sent me this post yesterday, and I remember thinking:
“Okay, this is extreme. Sad, but rare.”
 
Then I scrolled down to the comments.
Person after person.
The SAME experience.
 
At organizations that proudly call themselves “people-first.”
 
Here’s the truth:

If a leader cannot show empathy during a moment of grief, they’re not a leader.
They’re just a title.
 
And they have no business expecting commitment, loyalty, or “alignment to vision.”
 
Because meetings can be moved.
Targets can be pushed.
Projects can wait.
 
But trust?
Once broken, doesn’t come back easily.
 
We keep calling empathy a “soft skill.”
Honestly - It’s the hardest skill to fake,
And the strongest one to build teams around.
 
It’s not the fluff.
It is a performance multiplier.

It is the difference between:
A team that does the bare minimum…
and a team that goes the extra mile because they feel seen.
 
High-performing teams are not created by KPIs.
They’re created by leaders who show up when it matters the most.
 
Leadership is not tested in your all-hands meetings.
It’s tested in these tiny, human moments that don’t make the dashboards.
 
If you lead people, remember this:
Your behaviour in someone’s worst moment will become your legacy.
 
No metric will ever matter more than that.

#empathy #leadership #toxicworkculture

Zomato just dropped a truth most product teams hate admitting:
The metric you’re proud of might not be the metric your users need.

And that’s the question 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗰 𝟭𝟯, but let me explain.
 
Zomato changed how an entire country eats. It became one of those rare products that you don’t realise you’ve depended on until you try going without it.

But as Deepinder said himself:
“We made eating out and ordering in easier than ever, but we never really helped people truly eat better.”
 
Healthy options existed. Discoverability didn’t.
 
And that’s where most product teams slip:
We measure 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹.
 
Zomato’s new Healthy Mode fixes this by reframing the metric itself.
 
Instead of calories → It measures what users really care about:
Protein. Fibre. Complex carbs. Micronutrients.
 
This isn’t just a feature.
It’s a 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻, the kind that shifts from 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 → 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁.
 
That's real product strategy:
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 → 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 → 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲.
 
And this is exactly what we’re unpacking on 𝗗𝗲𝗰 𝟭𝟯 𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗘: 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

→ Decode what makes a metric meaningful
→ Spot metrics that silently sabotage your product decisions
→ Identify the 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗲-𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 for your team
→ Build your own 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝘃𝗮𝘀
→ Integrate 𝗔𝗜-𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 methods to design sharper metrics
→ Learn (and apply) how world-class teams pick the right metrics
 
If you’re a PM, designer, tech leader or anyone building product, remember:
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱.
 
Save your seat.

𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡: 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜

Date: December 13, 2025 

Time: 10 AM – 1 PM IST 

Where: Online (Zoom link will be shared post-registration) 

Entry: ₹799 for early sign-ups | ₹999 after Nov 30

Registration link: https://lnkd.in/g6i_28dE

#productmanagement #productdevelopment #zomato

The future of product work isn’t about who ships fastest, but who still takes the time to build features that solve actual user problems.

Thanks to AI, every PM today can ship faster and iterate quicker.

But thanks to it, we’re also skipping the hard parts.

This isn’t an AI problem.
It’s a product thinking problem.

The best PMs I know are actually doing something opposite. 

They’re not using AI to build more, but to actually free up their critical thinking time, and not replace it.

They’re reintroducing forgotten rituals: teardown sessions, design reviews, and user story mapping.

That’s the irony of modern product work.
AI doesn’t have to make craftsmanship obsolete. It can actually make it more visible. 

Only if you know how to allocate resources at hand justly. 

What are your thoughts as a PM on this situation?

#productmanagement #productbuilding #productdevelopment

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