Journey · 15 years
IIT Delhi → design studio → product leadership → building again. The timeline below is the arc; the craft page is why the builder today is different from a typical dev who learned design later.
The arc
Ten years of product design and 0→1 work with founders — user interviews, psychology, shaping products with developers. AI-assisted coding closed the last mile. Read the full craft story →
Timeline
2011
Engineering foundation — problem-solving and systems thinking before product and design had names in my career.
2017 – 2020
UI/UX studio in Gurgaon. Brand, product design, and early-stage storytelling for founders who needed clarity before scale.
Early collaborations on the portfolio ventures page — naming, identity, and product foundations before their funding rounds.
2020 – 2022
AI conversational commerce — product management at scale, in a team building what customers actually touch.
2022 – 2023
Stepped in as interim CEO — revenue scaled significantly during a high-pressure growth phase. Operator mode, not advisor mode.
2023 – now
Venture thinking, creative direction, and AI-native building — under Ankit Zen and Different Than Default. Shipping products like WorkForce, exploring Awakey Labs, writing in public.
What's live and what's in review lives on the main portfolio — honestly, not all at once.
The timeline above is curated for this site. LinkedIn has the fuller picture — roles, dates, skills, and recommendations (mostly from the design era). Curated voices and the design→builder story live on the craft page.
linkedin.com/in/ankitcz →Want a portfolio like this? I'm giving away 5 free — email me and I'll follow up with next steps.