What I worked on.

Shakambari Group

2026–present

Cost-sheet automation, service-desk delivery and AI-use guidance

Head – Digital Strategy · Kolkata · April 2026–present

The work

Understand where manual work and underused software create friction, then define and deliver changes people can use.

Cost-sheet workflow: my contribution

The manual process reconciled order, invoice and hedging workbooks before producing a new cost sheet. I built an automated workflow with ChatGPT assistance, connecting Excel data, Python processing and a Next.js/Tailwind interface.

The first version was too complicated. When a colleague struggled to download the generated Excel file, I explained the step and redesigned the flow: a completion tick at each stage, the next stage opening only after the previous one passed, guided prompts and highlighted incomplete fields. The colleague was then able to complete the process independently.

Reported result and validation

My estimate was roughly three to four hours per sheet before automation and around 30 minutes afterwards. The first three automated sheets were manually checked against the invoices and all three passed; the comparison also exposed errors in the manual sheets. That is a small validation sample, not an accuracy guarantee.

By 15 October 2026, the workflow had produced 55 sheets in September and 22 in October, with four people involved in preparation, use or review. This gave management clearer profit-and-loss information.

Figures reported by Varun as of 15 October 2026; not independently audited or measured in a timed study.

AI governance: my contribution

A director asked me to develop the company's AI-use policy. I wrote the guidance, obtained executive-director approval, configured tools and trained colleagues. The guidance addressed which tools and information could be used, and the need to check AI outputs.

Other delivery and ongoing scope

• Delivered a SharePoint service desk using Power Automate; it has been live since September 2026, with daily operations owned by the IT lead
• Ran 10+ stakeholder sessions on software adoption and manual data-entry needs
• Define Shakambari OS requirements with an external delivery partner, including system access and acceptance criteria; the wider rollout is ongoing
• Benchmarked vendor rates, effort and payment terms to inform negotiations and delivery controls
• Deployed two corporate websites with the team, including shakambari.in, and initiated a device-management rollout

Case note

The cost-sheet tool is internal. Workflow and governance details are based on my account; supporting operating records and the final policy have not been independently reviewed for this portfolio.

I-PAC

2025–2026

Reporting that helped the team follow up on agreed work

Senior Associate · Kolkata · December 2025–January 2026 · Short-term

The work

Checking contributor profiles and posting activity, then following up on agreed delivery.

My contribution

• Built profile-checking automation and expanded the reporting into charts and daily-updating dashboards
• Compared automated output with teammates' existing manual checks; the checked results matched in my recollection
• Managed contributor follow-up calls and gave practical guidance on the expected work

Reported scale and use

I recall processing around 2,100 profiles in one day from a wider source pool of about 50,000. That was a subset, not the whole pool.

The team used the reporting daily to see where agreed posts or delivery were missing and follow up.

Figures and team use are based on my recollection of this short-term role; the comparison sample size was not recorded. They do not establish current use or accuracy across all profiles.

Thomas International

2024

Market mapping and outreach testing

Summer Intern · Mumbai · April–June 2024

The work

Identifying prospects in Lower Parel and testing communication for talent-assessment outreach.

My contribution

• Mapped 70+ companies, including 24 finance and nine consulting firms
• Compared two outreach messages and used the pilot evidence to inform recommendations
• Recommended CRM and outreach automation
• Delivered two podcast videos for HR-focused digital outreach

Pilot evidence

Two pilot messages recorded response rates of 13.95% and 2%. Sample sizes and assignment methods are unconfirmed, so this comparison does not establish an improvement caused by the message.

InCred Finance

2021–2023

SME acquisition through to client delivery

Executive – SME Digital Acquisition · Mumbai · October 2021–March 2023

The work

Acquiring SME customers and coordinating the lending journey across teams.

My contribution

• Closed 750+ B2B deals, with disbursements exceeding ₹25 crore
• Coordinated SME client delivery across sales, credit and collections, including post-sales and overdue-account issues

A process idea I contributed

I noticed that different borrower or company names could share an address, which might indicate connected exposure. In a team feedback meeting, I recommended address deduplication as an additional check. My managers and the technical team handled the implementation.

Recorded result

Received Great Job recognition in September 2022. One sourcing-to-disbursement case was completed in four hours; this was a best case, not a typical turnaround.

Solborne

2026–present

Researching customer needs and defining pilot tests

Research & pilot design

My contribution

Screened five customer niches against seven criteria, then defined four customer profiles and pilot scopes.

Stage

Research and pilot design. Customer adoption and commercial outcomes remain to be validated.

Kritaro

2025–present

Designing an employer-led work-sample pilot

Research & pilot design

My contribution

Researched competitors and customer pain points, then designed an employer-led pilot using role-specific work samples and candidate consent.

Coach K

Coach K is part of Kritaro.

Stage

Pilot design; no completed hiring cycle reported.

KVY

2026–present

Coordinating personal work needs clear scope, traceability and approval controls.

Personal AI assistant • Ongoing workflow development

My contribution

Use KVY as my personal AI assistant for ongoing work. Develop workflows for clear task boundaries, traceable records, recovery and approvals. Custom coordination and integrations remain proposed.

Evidence & stage

In personal use, with workflows in ongoing development. The September 2026 CV describes a proposed coordination framework.

Personal-assistant use is distinct from proposed custom integrations; no deployed standalone architecture, API or product is claimed.

What I learned

Refine the personal workflow and validate the proposed custom coordination and integration controls.

Kothari Financial Services

2023–present

Lending enquiry and intake workflows

External advisory · Family-owned SME lending advisory · June 2025–April 2026 Call and workflow analysis · July–August 2026

The work

Turning call and chat analysis into loan-intake requirements, document lists and escalation guidance.

My contribution

• Analysed 527 call records with AI assistance; 460 were labelled KFS
• Mapped borrower, staff, partner and lender journeys into requirements and an automation map
• Turned enquiry analysis into reusable document lists and escalation playbooks
• Designed loan-intake and CRM workflows and developed an AI inbound-call and query-qualification proof of concept
• Developed segmentation, targeting and positioning from competitor research and customer pain points

Stage

Research, workflow design and proof of concept. Customer adoption and commercial outcomes have not been established. The later analysis dates are shown separately from the advisory engagement.

Fudgle

2018–2021

An early food brand needed a way to present its baked goods and reach customers in Kolkata.

Archived · Early food venture · 2018–2021

My contribution

Worked on the Fudgle brand, festival-stall applications and in-person stall operations, and tested order channels for baked goods.

Evidence & stage

Varun-authored stall applications dated December 2018 and December 2019, original brand artwork and a business card document the early venture.

This is a past venture. It ran from 2018 to 2021. Independently checked commercial outcomes are not established; no revenue, order or cost figures are claimed.

What I learned

An early lesson in putting a product and brand in front of real customers.