Engineer by craft, entrepreneur by passion—building products that matter | 150+ products built | Founder of Crayon’d | Innovator | Mentor | Venture studio in the making 🎯

I shipped my first edtech product on a floppy disk when I was just 17.

It was 2001, and as a student entrepreneur, I set out to solve a simple problem—

Helping my peers learn vocabulary faster.

Who knew that tiny floppy disk would spark a lifelong passion for:

Technology
Innovation &
Problem-solving

Today, with 150+ products built across 12+ industries, I’ve learned that building impactful solutions requires more than technical skills—

It’s about:

Resilience
Purpose
People

Every failure, every connection, and every opportunity has shaped me into four things:

𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵. 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦-𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳.

✅ 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭

For over two decades, technology has been my craft and calling.

- Built 150+ products for startups, scale-ups, and enterprises.
- Led ERP implementations and created cutting-edge solutions.
- Delivered transformative products across North America, APAC, EMEA.

✅ 𝐀𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫

Entrepreneurship wasn’t a choice—it was a calling.

- Bootstrapped five startups in edtech, mobility, ERP, and digital transformation.
- Founded Crayon’d, partnering with startups and enterprises to create scalable products.
- Built strong, people-first cultures that drive organic growth.

𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴?

Well, I’ve had my share.

But as a first-generation entrepreneur from a humble background I learned to embrace failure. 

My mantra—

“𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”

✅ 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫

I believe in using technology to solve meaningful problems.

Some of the initiatives I’ve launched:

𝐔𝐝𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐦: A geo-based platform for blood donations.
𝐁𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫: An afforestation drive to fight global warming.
𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦 108: A solution to help ambulances clear traffic efficiently.

I’m driven by the belief that—

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 5% 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 95% 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵.”

✅ 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫

Early in my journey, I lacked exposure and mentorship. 

Today, I strive to give back by:

Guiding young talent, especially those overlooked by traditional systems.
Inspiring first-time founders and student entrepreneurs.

𝘔𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯?

To build the next generation of leaders.
To help them embrace entrepreneurship as a path to impact.

...

Bold ideas deserve world-class execution. 

Let’s collaborate to design, build & scale something truly extraordinary 🤝

Email: makesh@crayond.com

Makesh Gopalakrishnan

Belyf Technology Ventures

Consulting company to manage all my consulting work.

Proprietor

Trilogy

- Crafted software specs for a portfolio of over 100 software products
- Built assembly lines for efficient spec delivery and streamlined processes with productivity-tracking dashboards.
- Developed tools for spec ordering, searching, certification-based tasks, and successful CTO bootcamps.
- Our cost-saving initiatives led to the creation of a new product, CloudFix.
- Was on an accelerated path to becoming a VP of TPM that manages 60+ TPMs.

Technical Product Manager

- Centralized IT operations across portfolio companies for a global workforce of over 2000, yielding substantial cost savings.
- Devised playbooks for IT systems transition and integration during M&A.
- Created succinct two-slide decks each quarter for CEO-level presentations.
- Coached and managed 20+ senior engineers. 
- Set up JIRA workflows and productivity reports collaborating with Software Engineering Leaders.

Lead Software Engineer & Acting IT Ops Manager

Tissow Technology Ventures LLP

- Led end-to-end architecture design, development, and maintenance of Humingo, an e-commerce product aggregation platform.
- Revamped Ticketgoose, a bus operator management and ticketing platform, by adopting modern technologies and simplifying the architecture.
- Implemented cost-effective measures to optimize technology operations and ensure efficient resource utilization.

Technical Co-founder

Pranion Technology Ventures Private Limited (Formerly NallanTech)

- Led the architecture, development, and deployment of Kachyng, a PCI-compliant mobile payments platform featuring single-click checkout and ad placements.

Software Consultant, Tech Lead

EMRG Software Solutions Private Limited

- Built and led a team of 10 members in software engineering and SaaS Operations.
- Designed and developed products in the financial information research space.

YuMe, Inc.

- Managed infrastructure and automated deployments in internal environments.
- Handled end-to-end production deployments, migrations, and critical DevOps responsibilities.

Systems Engineer

- Pioneered R&D in native mobile technologies, staying ahead of industry trends.
- Developed Proof-of-concepts in Google Web Toolkit, demonstrating the potential of innovative web technologies.

Java Application Developer

Seasoned and pragmatic, with 15 years of diverse IT experience, committed to making impactful contributions through bold, proactive, and transformational leadership. Track record includes over six years of leading complex, critical technical decisions involving comprehensive product teardowns, functional changes, new builds, and rebuilds. Renowned for collaborative approach and exceptional people management skills that nurture purpose, mastery, and autonomy. Excels at providing expert guidance and fostering a supportive environment that empowers teams to deliver outstanding results.

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The Battle

Makesh Gopalakrishnan

Manimaran Selvan

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