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Why India Hasn’t Built Its GPT Moment (Yet)

India has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, a thriving developer base, and a mobile-first population larger than the US and Europe combined. Yet, no GPT-4. No DeepMind. No Amazon-style platform. Why? Innovation Isn’t Accidental—It’s Engineered The Zerodha Daily Brief recently asked why India hasn’t built a global product company like Apple. The key argument: India isn’t building for the world. It’s solving for local constraints, scale, and affordability—but global scale requires deep IP, design, and tech differentiation. It’s not just about software, it’s about systems thinking. More importantly, it answers the question: Why do countries innovate? The answer isn’t just genius or ambition—it’s incentives and ecosystems. The U.S. Defense Department, for example, accounted for nearly 70% of federal R&D funding during the Cold War. China has pumped billions into semiconductors and AI with long-term national alignment. These aren’t short-term bets—they are strategic, delibe...
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From Stubborn to Smart: How I Learned to Use AI as a PM

Listen to the article in podcast format on PM-AI Diaries channel on Spotify! Ever since I published "The Death of the Stubborn PM" back in February, my inbox has been buzzing with one big question: “Okay, I get that AI is the future for product managers—but how do I actually use it?” It’s a fair ask. In that piece, I argued that PMs who resist AI are doomed to fade away, like dinosaurs refusing to evolve. As I wrote, “The stubborn PM who clings to old ways will die out, replaced by those who harness AI’s power while leaning into what makes us human.” Now, people want the playbook. So, let’s walk through it with a story—my own journey of figuring this out, backed by some sharp insights from MIT Sloan’s "When Humans and AI Work Best Together—and When Each Is Better Alone" . The Wake-Up Call Picture me a few months back: a PM buried in work, juggling a dozen tasks, and feeling like there weren’t enough hours in the day. Writing user stories, sketching ideas, track...

The Death of the Stubborn PM

Product Management is undergoing a seismic shift, much like programming did when compilers replaced assembly language or when Agile dismantled waterfall dogma. Stubborn PMs who cling to outdated rituals—like treating PRDs as sacred texts—will fade into irrelevance. The future belongs to those who embrace AI as a collaborator, not a threat.   AI Will Disrupt the Tactics, Not the Thinking   Historically, tools abstracted manual work: compilers automated code translation, A/B testing replaced gut-driven debates. Similarly, AI will automate tactical PM tasks—data aggregation, routine prioritization, even drafting specs. But this is liberating, not limiting.   The stubborn PM obsesses over *how* to write a PRD; the adaptive PM focuses on *why* a product should exist. AI can’t replicate judgment calls that demand intuition: interpreting unmet customer needs, balancing ethics with growth, or navigating ambiguity when data is sparse. As AI handles execution, the PM...

Building Successful Products in the Maze of a Large Organization

  *Image is generated using AI Large organizations offer a treasure trove of resources and stability for product development. However, navigating their intricate landscapes can be a daunting task for product managers with innovative ideas. This guide empowers you, the young product champion, to navigate these complexities and build successful products within a large organization. 1. Charting Your Course: Building a Deep Understanding Imagine a product launch party – everyone's excited, but celebrating different things. Stakeholders in a large organization often have diverse priorities and goals, which can lead to misalignment and missed opportunities. To ensure your product resonates with everyone, gain a deep understanding of their needs and objectives. For example, the marketing team might prioritize features that drive brand awareness, while the sales team focuses on functionalities that close deals. Align your product vision with these internal needs to ensure everyone celebrat...

8 Product Management lessons from the movie 'Gold'

The movie 'Gold' starring Akshay Kumar, is an inspirational story of how passion, determination and persistence can help one achieve the Impossible. The character of Tapan Das, who was the Team Manager of Indian Hockey Team, is a fine example of an ideal Product Manager . Listing few of the core responsibilities/skillset of an ideal PM with examples from the movie (Spoiler Alert! ): Vision: The foremost responsibility of a PM is to set the vision for the team. During 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Tapan clearly set the vision for Gold medal as free India as a Goal and Vision. Hustle: As a PM, you need to hustle to get things done. Tapan, hustled to meet Mr Wadia to get things done over and over again through out the movie. Stakeholder Management: Aligning different stakeholders to your vision and progress is critical. Tapan did a brilliant job of doing that with Mr Wadia, Imtiaz, Samrat and other members of the team. Be it a royal blood like Raj Pratap Singh or a ...

Did Snapchat CEO's comment on India being a poor country?

I would like to get the facts straight over here before we get more offended reading the headlines of all the major Indian bulletins. Lets breakdown this incident: This is an allegation. There are no evidence yet to prove this yet. The allegation is made by an employee of Snapchat, Anthony Pompliano, who is currently engaged in lawsuit against Snapchat, accusing the company of misleading the investors by providing inflated statistics about user data. Snapchat unredacted lawsuit by gmaddaus on Scribd According to the allegation, the statement was told in answer to a private company meeting, discussing the further expansion plan. India was ranked 126th in the world richest country. Total countries are 189. The ranking was created by adjusting GDP per capita to relative purchasing power.  Snapchat is a business. It earns money from advertising. The digital advertisement market of India is close to   Rs 7000 crore  . Which roughly comes to $ 1 billion whi...

How different is Lalu Prasad Yadav and Donald Trump?

After my post on  How similar is Lalu Prasad Yadav and Donal Trump?  , I have been getting request to write a post on their difference. So lets see how different they are: Money Donald Trump has 300 times more money to screw up with as compared to Lalu Prasad Yadav. The GDP of US is approximately 300 times of Bihar. Power Trump have control over nuclear weapons and can destroy the world while Lalu only had some rogues and destroyed just a state. People Trump have 3 times more lives at stake as compared to Lalu. Population of USA is approximately 3 times that of Bihar. Comic Lalu succeeded in making Bihar butt of all Jokes. Trump still has a great and enthralling task ahead of him. Lets all pray that he fails. Ancestry Lalu was born to a poor peasant family in Bihar. And his rise to power is a "rags to riches" story. While Donald Trump was born to a rich emigrant family in USA. Never the less his rise to power is more of ...