Did you know that Airbnb’s journey from a radical idea to becoming an $82.83 Bn hospitality giant was fraught with challenges? The company faced regulatory battles, trust deficits, and the need to build a profitable business model on a revolutionary concept of home-sharing. Scaling issues, cultural differences, and market adaptations added to the complexity as Airbnb expanded globally.

Mona Gandhi, Airbnb’s first female engineer, witnessed firsthand the power of innovative problem-solving in overcoming these obstacles. She realised it took more than engineers and designers—it took problem solvers, who could deal with real-time crises, anticipate user concerns, and think ahead of their time to build solutions that matter.

Her experiences inspired her to found Upraised in 2019, a platform aimed at training individuals to become exceptional product managers at a fraction of the cost of an MBA, without requiring them to leave their jobs.

Recognising product managers as the unsung heroes driving India’s transition to a product-first economy, Gandhi has now launched the Upraised Game Changers.

“The product managers are the real game-changers in the world of business,” says Gandhi. “Through the Upraised Game Changers Campaign, we aim to recognise the effort of 50 Game Changers and inspire others to be ambitious and build world-class products rooted in excellent problem solving.”

Upraised Game Changers 2024 has identified 50 product managers, who were able to solve high-impact problems and bring those innovations to life. Understanding the problem faced by the user and resolving it with solutions beyond the obvious to deliver a delightful offer that creates a lasting impact made the credential for the selection.

The true Game Changers are exceptional collaborators of design, engineering, and strategy by which they deliver products of real value and, in turn, become an inspiration in the industry. These 25 product managers, who feature on the coveted list, were selected through a multi-step process which included an expert shortlisting them based on framework evaluation, community engagement, public voting, and a final review.

Product managers from Zomato, Blinkit, Meesho, Uber, Lenskart, MakeMyTrip, Myntra, and several top Indian brands were shortlisted for their effective solutions to crucial business challenges.

Let’s get introduced to 25 exceptional product managers who have proved to be the real game-changers in the first edition of this list.

Here’s The List Of Upraised Game Changers 2024

Akash Agrawal, Product Manager, Flipkart

While rolling out Hyperlocal Minutes, Flipkart wanted to leverage its extensive customer data to improve the overall shopping experience. But there was a challenge in the database. While the addresses were sufficient for regular dispatches, hyperlocal deliveries needed more details.

As the product team brainstormed for a solution, Akash Agrawal, a product manager and an IIT-BHU alumnus, sprang up with an idea. It selectively prompted customers to confirm their addresses only when the system flagged lower confidence in the stored data. This was followed by a series of address validation checks designed to be minimally intrusive, while striking a fine balance between accuracy improvement and frictionless shopping experience.

The ecommerce giant soon had a database of flawless addresses. It also reduced cancellations because of delivery errors.

Akshobhya Abhigyan, Associate Director, MyGate

In this age of quick commerce, a delivery partner can’t wait for long across the gate to complete the task. The wait gets longer when it comes to serving the gated communities where security personnel can’t let the executive in without verifying the identity and getting a go-ahead from the resident.

MyGate, an app created to manage security in such housing societies, came to the rescue of the delivery agents. Akshobhya Abhigyan, MyGate’s associate director with eight years of experience in product management, introduced Express Entry, which enabled the entry of delivery executives by automating the resident approvals, registering rider’s entry details, and verifying the identity through a six-digit passcode.

MyGate succeeded in cutting down the time spent at the gate by nearly 95% through API-based integration with partner companies like Zomato, Blinkit, and Swiggy.

Amit Jaglan, Director, Design, Urban Company

Urban Company faced some glitches when users started dropping out without booking certain services. The startup that connects customers with professionals for services such as beauty, cleaning and plumbing realised the users were not sure of the details of the services they were booking and what to expect from them.

Amit Jaglan, an IIT Guwahati alumnus and director of the design team, introduced a step-by-step breakup of each service to the user starting from the point when the professional would arrive to what happens after the service ends. This resolved the hesitation and uncertainty among the users.

The traction on the detail pages increased significantly and Urban Company took the widget as a standard for all the services across geographies.

Anirudh Agarwal, Software Engineer, Blinkit

Anirudh Agarwal was clueless about the nearest outlet when he urgently needed to print a document late one evening. The crisis led the software engineer to devise a feature in Blinkit that can save many like him in such times of urgency.

Blinkit’s Print Store allows users to upload documents directly through the app, which are then printed remotely with zero human intervention at a nearby dark store. Once printed, the documents are carefully handled – picked, packed in secure envelopes, and handed over to the delivery rider. Stringent checks and handshakes are incorporated at every step to uphold the confidentiality of the documents.

Anirudh didn’t get a printing shop that day but his brainchild helped hundreds, sending........

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