Intrinsic

Software Engineer

Open Robotics

At Open Robotics, I was the "ROS Boss" of the Humble (LTS) release of ROS 2. This involved extensive collaboration with various stakeholders and the development of new infrastructure to streamline the release process.

To address a need in the testing process, I designed and implemented a Test Case Manager tool in Typescript. This tool automates the creation of test cases for different platform permutations and has been employed in several key releases, including ROS 2 Humble, ROS 2 Iron, and Gazebo Garden.

In addition to these responsibilities, I worked on various other projects that required a wide range of technical skills. These included debugging multithreaded executor issues, designing C++ client library features for Nvidia, contributing to NASA's VIPER mission, and integrating different UAV frameworks under a common API.

Robohub

As the Podcast Director at Robohub, I managed an international team and conducted over 100 interviews with key figures in the robotics field. The variety of our interviewees, from academics to industry leaders, allowed us to present a comprehensive view of the sector.

I led the team in expanding our podcast's monthly listenership from 2k to 120k and secured $20k in academic sponsorships. This growth and financial support helped to sustain our operations and extend our reach.

During my tenure, we produced and released 160 podcast episodes. This consistent output, combined with our increased listenership and financial support, illustrates my focus on steady growth and commitment to sharing knowledge in the robotics community.

Podcast Director

Halodi Robotics

Software Engineer Intern

senseFly

I work at Intrinsic AI, where I am a software engineer. I am also the host of the Audrow Nash Podcast. Previously, I hosted the Sense Think Act podcast and led Robohub's podcast. Outside of robotics, I rock climb.

Audrow Nash

Rereeti - Revitalizing Museums

𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧: We've brought the joy of learning through museums to over 11,000 students in 20 schools in Bangalore and almost 5,000 families have attended our museum workshops.

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧: ReReeti transforms museums in India into learning centers. We enable engagement through cultural resources and capacity building programs. Our work has been recognized and highlighted by national newspapers like The Hindu, The Economic Times, The New Indian Express, and many others.

Member Board Of Directors

Chirag Rural Development Foundation

𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧: Chirag has illuminated over 700 villages across India.

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧: Chirag is a youth-driven initiative that provides integrated solar-powered rural development solutions to remote villages across India that have no access to electricity.

Founding Board Member

Sisu Global Health

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧: Sisu Global builds innovative medical devices that address critical health system needs in emerging markets. Our work is supported by USAID, Gates Foundation, GC Canada, UKAID, the Govt of Norway, and has been featured in The Financial Times, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine, and many other global publications.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦: 
• Guided our patented medical device, Hemafuse, from prototype to production to market
• Helped secure funding from VC and angel investors
• Negotiated and managed strategic partnerships with the largest Africa-based NGO, and Kenya's largest medical device & pharma distributor

Chief Operating Officer

Member Of The Board Of Advisors

Standard Skills Development Private Limited

𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧: I championed Systematic Entrepreneurship to over 20,000 aspiring and current entrepreneurs across India through various public and private forums, sharing implementable frameworks to help startups and small businesses build and grow faster.

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧: Our mission at Standard Skills was to help solve the employment challenge in India - a minimum of 10 million jobs need to be created annually. Our solutions were focused on entrepreneurship development.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦:
• Conceived, designed, and executed India's first funding competition for small and medium businesses
• Undertook a 42-days road trip across India covering over 10,000 kilometers and 20 cities to advocate the initiative and champion the need to support SME/SMB entrepreneurship
• Engaged hundreds of entrepreneurs, over a dozen business associations, and conducted press conferences in every city including a feature on CNBC’s Hindi news channel (see abridged interview below) to promote our initiatives

Founder

Embrace Innovations

𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧: Embrace has reached over 475,000 babies in 22 countries across the world

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧: 
Embrace was a multiple award-winning medical device startup. Our infant warmers were recognized by the WHO as one of the top innovations in global health. Our key investors included Khosla Impact Fund (Vinod Khosla) & Capricorn Investments (Jeff Skoll)

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧 𝗜 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗧:
Low birth weight babies can't maintain their body temperature. The 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘀𝘁 is a radical innovation - a portable infant warmer that helps maintain a baby's temperature even when there's intermittent electricity and cost less than 10% the cost of traditional devices. It was designed for use in rural primary health care centers, non-metro hospitals, in ambulances, and when Kangaroo Mother Care wasn't possible. It met global quality standards - ISO 13485 & CE.

Chief Financial Officer

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦:
• Built teams from scratch and led the operations, finance, HR, quality assurance, and legal functions
• Designed and implemented comprehensive ISO 13485 standard production, supply chain, and after-sales service systems
• Created cost reduction program resulting in a 43% reduction in product COGS within two years
• Facilitated contract negotiations of a vital 7-figure USD partnership with GE Healthcare
• Led the hiring of all key managers to build teams across the rapidly growing company

Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦:
• Setup product assembly line along with relevant SOPs on a very tight schedule of fewer than 3 months including hiring and training the team; delivered the project under budget
• Led operations teams in implementing ISO 13485 and ISO 9001 standards, achieved quality certification within 6 months

Executive Vice President Of Operations

Mentor

d.light

𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧: Our solar lanterns and lighting systems have currently empowered over 150 million lives worldwide.

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧: D.light is a global social enterprise delivering affordable solar-powered solutions in emerging markets without access to reliable energy via its 10 field offices and 4 hubs in Africa, China, South Asia, and the United States. D.light products are sold in over 62 countries.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦:
Transitioning into the role of Regional Business Manager - West and South India was a pivotal moment in my social impact career. Our first sales team, despite their efforts, faced challenges in delivering expected results, which led to increasing pressure from investors.

Recognizing the critical juncture the company was at, Sam, D.light's co-founder, invited me to  bolster our sales efforts. Driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact, I accepted the role.

Starting from scratch, and hiring a new team of managers, reps, and engineers, we expanded our reach across 400,000 sq. kms. in just 3 months and successfully established a network of 175 distributors, wholesalers, and retailers within 6 months bringing our lights closer to those that needed them most.

Leading the launch of Kiran, the world's most affordable solar lamp at that time, amidst the challenges of the SARSH1N1 pandemic, was particularly fulfilling.

Achieving a record sale of nearly 1000 lights in a single day was our most notable milestone. It shattered preconceived notions about what was achievable, as our average sales previously hovered at around 250 lamps per month. It demonstrated our product-market fit and business viability, a testament to the collective efforts of our team.

Finally, implementing a rural entrepreneur initiative for last-mile distribution and grassroots employment that directly impacted over 40,000 lives was a profound reminder of the broader purpose of our work.

Serving as Regional Business Manager was more than a role; it's where I found my calling.

Regional Business Manager

Towards the second half of 2008, Dlight's Indian operations were facing challenges with the initial setup. By then, Sam and I would talk almost daily for an hour or two. One day Sam mentioned things were getting out of control, he was fighting too many fires. I asked how I could help. He thought it would be great if I could come up to New Delhi (from Bangalore) and help fire fight. If agreed and took a few days vacation from my family business.

Those few days became a 10-day adventure. The passion and commitment of the early Dlight team was infectious. I bonded with the team members and we were quickly able to solve many key challenges across the board.

By the time I was ready to head back to Bangalore, Sam made me an offer I couldn't refuse (pun intended). I would come back every month for 10 days to help Dlight setup shop in India. The fun I had working with this team, wasn't anything like my family business - yes, we wanted to make money but there was more to it - we had a purpose, to make this world a better place. I was hooked.

Over the next seven months I made the monthly trip to New Delhi helping resolve several setup challenges, building the national business, sales, and marketing strategies, and conducting numerous interviews to hire key team members. I was also involved in almost all commercial contracts and negotiations.

While these were early days, I was able to bring in few processes around supply chain management as well as travel and expense reimbursement policy. The joke around the office was that I was like Dlight's internal GPS. My job title - Head of Global Processes and Systems was a play on that acronym.

Head of Global Processes & Systems

I met Sam and Ned while they were students at Stanford University in early 2007. Sam told me of his experience as a Peace Corp volunteer in Benin, seeing first-hand the harmful effects of kerosene lanterns. This was something I had seen in India as well. I was inspired by their mission to help eradicate kerosene lanterns and offered to help if they decided to come to India.

That chance meeting led to a series of phone calls through 2007-08 where I helped the Dlight team with their initial need-finding trip to India and later their transition from Palo Alto to New Delhi. 

I was on the steps of The Met in New York, when Sam/Ned called in early 2008 and told me they'd decided to gift me a few thousand shares of Dlight for my role as their advisor. That unexpected gesture was the beginning of my journey into social entrepreneurship.

Advisor

SGC - India

Returned from the US after my MBA and led my family business through a generational transition as well as business transformation by conceiving and building a "first of its kind" integrated polymer film based resin-to-product manufacturing facility in India; achieved 20X increase in revenue.

Sujay Commercial Corporation

Taught myself how to assemble computers and started a business in my garage at age 18 with $20 capital, achieved $100,000 sales by the 3rd year and sold the business to pursue an MBA in the US.

I've helped build several startups in their early stages that have grown to deliver global impact. Dlight's solar lights have improved the lives of 150 million people, Embrace's infant warmer has helped over 475,000 babies, and Chirag has illuminated 700+ villages.

My ventures have been featured or awarded by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, CNBC, Forbes, BBC, CNN, USA Today, 60 Minutes, Times of India, ET, Fast Company, and other worldwide organizations.

I’m an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and The University of Iowa.

𝗠𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
• Started my first business at age 18 with $25, assembling computers in my garage, scaled to $100,000 sales by the 3rd year, sold the business to pursue an MBA in the US

• Post-MBA, led my family businesses from 2000 to 2008; conceived and built a "first of its kind" integrated polymer film-based resin-to-product manufacturing facility in India, and achieved a 20X increase in revenue

• In 2008, I found my calling in for-profit social entrepreneurship; since then, I've played pivotal roles in shaping several high-impact social ventures

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻: 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲
SALES
• Product launch management
• Setting up distribution and after-sales service
OPERATIONS
• Setting up manufacturing facilities
• Establishing resilient global supply chains
• DFM and DFA
FINANCE & FUNDRAISING
• Comprehensive analysis of pitch decks, data room docs; term sheet negotiation guidance
• Building budgeting, forecasting, and financial control systems
HUMAN RESOURCES
• Recruiting the core team
• Instituting appraisal, retention, and training processes
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
• Business strategy and management processes
• Strategic business planning
QUALITY (QMS)
• ISO 9001
• ISO 13485

𝗠𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
I am on a mission to empower 10,000 startup founders and entrepreneurs over the next decade.

The idea is to share my complete knowledge and experience with those who are committed to building a better world. 

My hope is what they build will push the boundaries of what we believe is possible and, more importantly, bring out the best within us.

𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗜𝗻
India, USA, UK, Singapore, Kenya, & Australia

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗠𝗲
If you're a first-time startup founder or entrepreneur and feeling like you want to talk to someone who has been there before. 

I'd love to share the insights I've gained from my journey.

Send me a LinkedIn connection request with a short note telling me about yourself, your venture, and how I can help.

taplio

The Battle

Audrow Nash

Sajju Jain

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?