Career Canvas (#3)

Our conversation with Chinmay: Director Revenue Retention at Pocket FM, ex Product at UC and ex-Consultant at BCG. This one's a bit longer than usual, but trust us, it's worth every minute.

Hey there,

On our third conversation of Career Canvas series, meet Chinmay Sahoo. He is currently Director - Revenue Retention at PocketFM. With a career that spans roles at Urban Company, Cars24, BCG, and ITC, Chinmay’s journey is a testament to his penchant for solving complex problems, strategic vision and dedication to personal growth. He is an ISB and IIT Madras alumnus. He is an ardent reader and cricket fanatic, both of which you will find out in different references in our conversation.

Read Chinmay’s journey starting from an interest in supply chain, exploring consulting then honing different product roles to now owning P&L of In-app shows at PocketFM! This one's a bit longer than usual, but, it's worth every minute. Please read it till the end -

Can you tell me more about yourself:

As everyone around me says, it takes a village to shape one's growth. A lot of who I am today has been influenced by the people around me, not just my own efforts, and for that, I'm deeply grateful.

Growing up, my father & mother played a significant role in my upbringing. Dad held multiple high-profile finance roles as the CFO of a Blackstone-funded company. From a young age, we were taught to give 100% focus to whatever we set our minds to. This mindset of unwavering dedication has always been a guiding principle for me.

He also instilled a belief that it’s equally important to maintain a balance with extracurricular activities—things that ignite passion and bring joy. For me, that passion started with reading, and later evolved into chess, badminton and now Piano!. These activities, which have shifted over time, have shaped me into who I am today.

How was your undergrad days at IIT Madras? What learnings proved pivotal in your professional journey ahead?

When I first joined IIT Madras, I had this typical goal—like many of us do—of becoming a scientist, maybe even a NASA astronaut! But as you progress through undergrad, reality sets in. I quickly realised what I wanted to do, by engaging with peers, seniors. I wasn’t just involved in academics, but I also made sure to experience the variety of things IIT Madras had to offer. For example, I actively participated in NSS, and took part in major campus events like Shaastra and Saarang. 

Initially, my passion leaned toward research, particularly in supply chain management. Regular engineering subjects didn't really spark my interest, but supply chain did. It was during a time when companies like Flipkart were exploring innovative models in logistics, and that excitement pulled me in. I did an internship with ITC in supply chain management, where I got involved in strategic decision-making about optimising logistics networks. It was all about maths and modelling - figuring out how to transport x kg over y kilometers in the most cost-efficient way, how many warehouses you should have, their ideal size, essentially network design.

I also got involved in a project at college that wasn’t officially product management, but it was along those lines. My friends and I built a stock simulation game that became a hit, though our website ended up crashing from the traffic. I was the one writing what we would now call a PRD, but back then, it was more about designing user flows and making the experience simple and competitive for users. That was my introduction to thinking in a user-centric way.

On top of that, a group of us even brainstormed ideas for an app for ride-sharing between cities. Some of us believed in it enough to put our own money in and run a pilot, though it didn’t ultimately pan out. Still, the process was full of valuable lessons, and that’s what mattered most."

During your time at ITC, how did your interest in supply chain management evolve, and how did the role at ITC support that growth? What were some of the key lessons or skills you gained from working in that field, particularly in terms of decision-making and problem-solving?"

At ITC, my interest in supply chain management really deepened. I learned two main things: first, having passion not only for the work but also for learning beyond the immediate tasks. Many of us tend to focus only on what the company is teaching us, but it’s equally important to explore what's happening outside that scope.

Our CEO at ITC, Sanjiv Rangrass, was an inspiring leader. He has now mentored several unicorn founders like those from BlackBuck, OfBusiness, and Zetwerk (& other startups too - GoMarble, VeGrow and so on..) He was someone we were literally in awe of. His approach to management was unique—he gave us facetime and also encouraged us to read and discuss articles from sources like HBR (Harvard Business Review). That coaching style of leadership—where you're constantly learning and growing—was something I really admired.

I still had that kind of, that complex, like, when you go in front of a CEO, I was like, why am I not myself, right?. There was this sense of pressure to always be at your best in front of someone so accomplished. Over time, though, I realised that they’re just people with their own journeys, and I have mine. The key is to give your best in the moment. I mean, to give the cricketing reference, like Afghanistan, how they played the World Cup, right? So essentially, it's about you focusing on yourself and giving your best as of that moment. This is possible when your focus shifts from how you are perceived, to a mindset of: how can I serve this person to the best of my abilities? 

Spiritually, some may call it “seva bhaav”. True service to others creates extraordinary outcomes, such as creating a legacy of outstanding business folks. And I feel our CEO Mr. Rangrass exemplified that.

Was there a specific moment or experience at ITC that made you think, 'I need to do more than this'?" And that actually triggered you to go for an MBA?

If you want to do an MBA, you should really do it only if you want to change your geography, or you want to change your industry. I was certain I didn’t want to move to the US for personal reasons, so geographically, I was focused on staying in India. That left me thinking about my industry or function—while I enjoyed what I was doing, I wanted to take on bigger challenges, and I wanted more speed.

 At ITC, another major takeaway was understanding that I thrive in structured problem-solving environments. That process of breaking down problems systematically really resonated with me, and it helped me realize that supply chain consulting, or operations consulting, might be the path I want to follow. I had a couple of discussions with friends and mentors, and it became clear to me that an MBA could be the right step.

At that point, I had two options: switch to a startup or pursue consulting. I had thought of joining Booking.com when a friend called, but I wasn’t excited about Europe. That’s when I realized ISB would let me explore both paths. Consulting felt like a natural fit due to my passion for structured problem-solving.

My year at ISB was intense—double the workload compared to IIMs—but the diverse exposure was invaluable. From the start, I aimed for a consulting role and secured one. Through ISB's exchange program, I spent time at Wharton, which gave me firsthand exposure to startups like Spotify, Fintechs & BlockChain - expanding my understanding of startup culture.

Consulting is known for its demanding nature. How did you find the balance, and what kept you going during those intense days?

My personal takeaway from the time at ITC & BCG was learning to shift my mindset from self-consciousness to service—understanding that my role was to add value and contribute meaningfully. This approach has been a cornerstone of my leadership style.

My time at BCG was even more intense than ISB. I worked on diverse cases, from long industrial goods projects to shorter consumer and healthcare ones. My financial modelling skills, honed at ITC, proved valuable, and I quickly became known as the "Quant/Modelling expert," with the staffing team & PLs -  even leading Excel training sessions for new joiners.

Consulting is all about breaking down problems and collaborating. One memorable case in the industrial goods sector involved building a financial model that revealed the company’s plants were loss-making due to structural issues. Our insights led them to close unprofitable lines—a huge learning experience in delivering tough truths and driving decisions. Insight was only part one. The larger battle lay in influencing the company leadership which we were able to garner as well. That brings me to EQ.

BCG also taught me emotional intelligence, especially when handling senior clients. Through workshops like 'Grace Under Fire, I learned to stay calm under pressure and shift my focus from self-consciousness to helping the client. This shift was key to being more effective. That shift in mindset, from ‘What will they think of me?’ to ‘How can I help them?’ really helped me reduce my self-consciousness and be more effective. And I had great mentors to learn from - Dhruv Sethi, who was then my Principal on a case, exemplifies grace & presence.

If we look at it philosophically, it reminds me of something Virat Kohli said post the T20 Cup Win - he said he needed to have gratitude and needed to surrender himself  to the game—accepting that you're part of something bigger and that the focus should be on contribution, not self-centered worries of non-performance. That’s when he said he was able to hit the match winning knock.

In consulting too, this approach made all the difference. I also became more aware of repeating patterns, realising that if I kept receiving similar feedback across different cases, it was something I needed to work on. However, the fast pace of consulting is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it accelerates your learning; on the other, it can easily lead to burnout if you don’t take care of yourself!

That’s so insightful. As you mentioned, fast paced consulting is a double - edged sword. Any particular instances where you felt you were pushing too hard, during BCG?

I learned that the hard way. Early on, I pushed myself too hard, always asking for the toughest assignments. I worked in the PIPE (private equity (PE)) practice, partly because my dad was in finance and I wanted to impress him. But  these are short diligences, compressing a normal strategy case of 3 months into 3 weeks. Plus they ask very sharp questions, which forced me to elevate my problem-solving skills even further.

That experience taught me two key lessons: first, IQ and technical skills are important, but EQ—how you communicate, prioritize, and understand the client’s real concerns—is equally critical. Second, consulting pushes you to grow fast, but you need to pace yourself and maintain a balance with healthier habits, or you risk burning out. I didn’t always get that balance right, but it was one of the most valuable lessons from my consulting days.

After BCG, you moved into product roles. What motivated this shift? Was there a defining moment when you realized you wanted to transition from consulting to product?

This hit me during a due diligence of an MSME startup, where I noticed that great product leaders didn’t just build what customers asked for—they built what they truly needed. This active listening reminded me of Brian Chesky’s (Airbnb’s CEO) philosophy of digging deeper to understand real customer needs. That’s when I became intrigued by product management.

At BCG, I realized that consulting and startups operate in completely different worlds. From 2018 to 2020, tech was less than 2% of India’s GDP, but by 2030, it's expected to reach 10% (Matrix Partners report) While consulting focused on established companies, I saw that the future lay in tech and startups.

Second, while consulting provided a strong foundation in problem-solving, I realized that I wanted to be directly involved in building and scaling products. I joined Urban Company, where the talent pool was impressive—ex-consultants, ex-Adobe, and ex-Uber folks with deep product expertise. I led growth initiatives like video consultations during COVID, to help UC expand into areas like skin treatments and moving services. We built a module for remote services and sales through instant video consultations, & its still live today.

The satisfaction of building something impactful was new to me. While consulting taught me problem-solving, product allowed me to create real change. My journey has taught me that product management is not just about executing strategies—it’s about deeply understanding customer needs and creating solutions that resonate. It’s this focus on customer-centricity that continues to drive my work.

Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything. Consulting gave me structured problem-solving skills, and ITC taught me operational rigor—both crucial for success in product management.

Can you share your experience working on product at Urban Company? How do you view product management as a field, and what insights have you gained from your time in this role?

In product management, I realized there are three key areas: zero-to-one, growth, and scaling from one to ten. I worked on all three, leading the launch of video consultations during COVID and developing an express delivery service. These projects taught me the importance of balancing immediate requests with pre-booked appointments and highlighted the value of demand forecasting.

At Urban Company, I worked on both zero-to-one and core products, with a focus on improving NPS for services like appliance repairs. My main learnings came from building products from scratch.

Execution rigor was key, especially in managing variables like partner availability and incentivization. We also integrated tech to streamline experiences, like scheduling installation services within an hour of product delivery—something even Flipkart found challenging.

The second and more fundamental part was driving team outcomes. I personally believe in leading from the front and inspiring others to give their best. A lot of times, our VP Product love my style of managing the team of PMs, Engineers & business folks that worked on this project. Influencing & getting folks onboard becomes much easier basis a compelling strategic vision and when folks see someone getting their hands dirty, trust naturally sets in.

These experiences deepened my understanding of building and scaling products, and the satisfaction of creating impactful solutions. Urban Company’s success, especially in IoT and tech integrations, reinforced the importance of combining operational insights with strong product management to drive growth.

Tell me about what inspired your decisions to move ahead from UC, and now finally to PocketFM. 

I was clear about making a career in Tech, 10 years down the line, if I think of a CXO/Senior Leadership role, that would mean knowing in depth about 2 functions. For me that was Product & Growth. 

At UC, I was primarily doing 0-1 & 1-10 product led growth. This needed ambiguous problem solving & deriving insights from customer/partner conversations to drive product roadmap. Balancing intuition with analytics is critical, and I learnt it at UC with roles that required quick, bold decisions without the comfort of complete information.

Next, I wanted to focus on core product and handle large teams which led me to Cars24, where I led a team of 3-4 SPMs, and 3-4 PDs. Working on redefining the way auction led sales (Cars24’s core business) works, was awesome. 

While it was a great experience, I got the opportunity to join PocketFM in a business role, handling content, product led growth, and P&L—a major shift. Over time, I realized that as you grow in product roles, P&L ownership and handling larger teams becomes essential. Hence my shift here.

At PocketFM, my role blends business and tech, focusing on product and P&L to solve a complex problem of getting users to repeat listen. It’s all about getting the right insights, as Brian Chesky often says—actively listening to customers to understand their true needs. Solving a complex problem needs deep insight but that is just Step1. The next step is to drive this alignment with key stakeholders because many a times, these are very subtle differences to the existing model. Hence getting team alignment quickly is key. Whether in product or business, staying close to consumers is hence critical for driving faster change.

For instance, HUL’s MD once visited a rural market and noticed a Lifebuoy soap wasn’t retaining its fragrance. That small observation led to a product change that solved the issue. It’s this kind of hands-on, detail-oriented approach that makes a difference.

Deepinder Goyal in his talks, mentions about building the muscle of solving complex problems. At PocketFM, I’m applying this mindset to marketing efficiency and GTM strategies, areas I hadn’t tackled before. 

Mapping out the 3 skills of GTM experience, managing large teams and solving complex problems, is something I’ve realized is crucial for my long-term career growth. SImilarly, you should have a sense of what kind of skills you would want to have 10 years down the line.

Can you emphasis more on setting a long term goal(like you mentioned having a 10 year trajectory)

I believe setting a long-term goal is crucial. For example, if you aim to be X, 10 years down the line, the first step is questioning why that goal is important. Only when you understand and build conviction around it can you own that goal. For me, it was about solving complex problems and owning a significant P&L, so I asked myself what skills and experiences would help me achieve that.

During my time at BCG, I had mentors who helped me see the importance of goal-setting. I realized that in tech, reaching a decision making role is possible because of the fast pace of growth. Once I knew tech was where I wanted to be, the next question was: product or business role? I learned that to be in a senior roles, you need expertise in at least two key functions. For me, that was product and marketing.

I structured my journey around this. At Urban Company, I asked for zero-to-one projects and led initiatives like instant video consultations. Some projects didn’t work, but others, like express deliveries in <30mins, Product sales, were successful. I kept refining my skills in product and GTM (Go-To-Market) strategies, which I focused on when I joined PocketFM.

Now, my career path is either continuing in a mix of GTM & PLG role. I look at people like Anuj Rathi, whose career trajectory inspires me. By studying the paths of CXOs, I’ve learned that combining growth product management with GTM expertise can lead to exciting opportunities. My passion lies in building and launching new products, and that’s what drives me forward.

I love mentoring my juniors too, and hence loved doing this conversation! 

This is so insightful, Chinmay. I have one personal question, which I wanted to ask. What should one optimise for early in their career?

The most important thing is to build a long-term vision. Start by setting a 5 or 10-year goal—what do you want to achieve? Then question why that goal is important to you and build conviction around it. Once you have clarity, you can identify the skills you need to get there. There are 2 parts to this - hard skills & soft skills. Soft skills are more about managing ourselves better. 

For instance, the key to manage ourselves is to identify destructive beliefs. These have held you back, else you would already be at your goal! Once you identify them, you can work on replacing them with constructive ones. Over time, this mindset shift allows you to make better decisions, little by little, until they compound into big changes.

In terms of career, having a clear goal is essential. Without it, you're directionless. You need to research roles, industries, and find what excites you. This won't happen overnight—it requires effort, reflection, and continuous learning. Listen to podcasts, read, talk to people, and gradually refine your vision. I did less of talking to my seniors, and I should have indexed more on that. 

To end our conversation on a high note, here are some quick questions for you.

Blitz Questions

Best thing you watched recently -  

It would be Swami Sarvapriyananda’s Contemplating Non-Duality at Dawn. I know,  It's very weird, I'm into spiritual territory but that was crazy insightful. If you combine management gyan, and spiritual knowledge, you will see all of them talk about the same thing. 7 Habits, Atomic Habits talk about bettering yourself. Spirituality does it in a very different way but it's exactly the same. 

Best thing you read recently

Autobiography of a Yogi. I did not know Steve Jobs, or Virat Kohli or the Beatles were so into this book! This book can truly be life altering.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering a career in consulting or product management, what would it be? 

Understand what you want and then commit to it and then go full hog. Like full hog means whatever hrs are required or whatever learning is required beyond work. Just absorb everything like a sponge, at least in the early years. Also seek out great mentors. It will take you a long way..

If you liked our conversation with Chinmay, please leave a comment on what resonated with you the most and also we would love to hear from you. Feedback on how we are doing is always welcome!

This is no doubt one of the most detailed and insightful conversation we had in our professional lives, do share it with your network so that this reaches more and more people.