Proof of work

Summary

I’m an engineer-turned-designer who has helped small startups to large companies ship some of the most impactful products and features over the last 13 years. I’ve worked across Enterprise SaaS, consumer tech, healthcare, education, mobility and many other domains. I love building solid design teams and working alongside them to ship high quality products.

Unacademy Group

I led the talented design teams across the Test-prep business, Airlearn, Relevel, NextLevel and Graphy under Unacademy Group. During the 4-year tenure, I got promoted from Director → VP → SVP of Design.

Test-prep business

• We revamped the

How I operate

• I’m quite demanding with work. I expect a higher rate of iterations when we’re working on a problem. I also expect high quality – both in your thinking and in your execution.
• I’m high-touch at work, and I prefer working together in person. When we work on a project, you can expect frequent exchanges of ideas, directions and inspiration.
• I’m hands on as a designer. Throughout all the leadership titles I’ve held – Director, VP and SVP, I have continued to remain involved in design. You’ll find me jamming on design files, discussing matters in comments and sharing articulate feedback on the tiniest of details. When we work, I’m zoomed in and no detail is too small.
• I expect sincere work of the highest quality when we sit down to discuss feedback. I don’t review poor quality work. Don’t cheat the craft.
• I give very detailed feedback on the work. I also love discussing feedback and its nuances. If I have not explained my feedback fully, I encourage you to question me till you’re convinced.
• I will fight to protect your focus. You’ll have a clear idea of your priorities and the time we have to complete them.
• I communicate key information instantly, with urgency and clarity. You can rest assured that you’d never have to operate in anxiety or confusion.
• I expect preparation from you when we have a meeting. I do the same. I also cancel the meeting and give time back when either you or I have not prepared.
• I don’t like shoddy writing. You owe clear writing to the people you work with. It’s so easy to fix nowadays (with all the free tools available) that there’s no excuse for being bad at it. Poor writing is a sign of poor attention to detail – writing basic product copy, Slack messages, updates and so on. I expect you to take writing very seriously.
• I prefer to be aware of how things are progressing, and if & when they’re blocked. I appreciate async but timely updates.
• I don’t like following up. If I’m reminding you about something we’ve discussed before, it’s too late.
• I expect closure on the feedback I share. Such a closure (in action and in communication) helps move things forward definitively.
• I like it when you do your homework and bring clear questions to me so that I can help you with decisions.
• I love bullet points. That’s how I communicate. Expect to receive a lot of YABLs (Yet Another Bullet List) from me at work. I assure you though, you’d grow to love them.
• Progress over processes. We put processes only where we’re sure they help us make more efficient for outcomes we want.
• No status quo. Doing something a certain way because that’s how we’ve done it in the past is a horrible idea. If something doesn’t work anymore, we change it. We evolve.
• Low agency is a disease. When people get stuck and don’t do anything about it, it sets inertia in the team. If you don’t know the answers, come to me. If you know the answers, go execute. Don’t get stuck and wait. Agency gets stuff done, and I love it when people exhibit it.
• Don’t complain about problems if you haven’t tried to solve them or sought help from someone who can help solve them.
• I don’t keep a timesheet for when you clock in and out of work. I don’t count how many leaves you take. I trust you.
• When you’re not feeling it, take time off. I don’t keep a tab on how long you’re gone for, I just expect you to be back 100% when you return.
• I have great respect for the willingness to learn and improve. I have good tolerance for low skills but high intent. I have very low tolerance for low skills with low intent.

• I prefer candor and informality. I make jokes and keep things light. I like to do serious work without being too serious.
• I like to connect with my team outside work as well, so you’d see me take interest in your hobbies and other activities purely out of curiosity. Also if you’re interested, I love traveling, collecting watches, taking photos, watching football and writing.
• I don’t like people who spread negativity. I prefer to address the issues instead of venting about them.
• I love when you question things – processes, ideas, projects, priorities, decisions, direction, strategy… anything.

Let’s work together?

If all of this sounds exciting to you, shoot me a mail on me@hvpandya.com.