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Gaurang Chhajed
Founder's Office · Strategy & Operations
Sizes the market. Knocks on the doors. Builds the system.
Manager, Founder's Office at Pacific Surfaces, Bengaluru · ex Monitor Deloitte, M&A Strategy · founder twice
Pacific Surfaces
14 days from rebuild to go-live · 2 legacy systems retired · 16 custom screens · 5 teams on one system
W3 Go-live · W6 Old CRM switched off · W7 ERP link live · W11 Own field app replaces the vendor's
What each team got
- Marketing Leads uploaded, routed by PIN code, tracked to the order.
- Sales Quotes, approvals, targets and a live order book.
- Field Check-ins, visits and expenses in our own app.
- Factory Live stock from the ERP. Samples from request to dispatch.
- Leadership Rep performance, exports and daily reports, without asking.
Analysis
Key accounts · Design fit · Marketing spend vs sales · White space
Strategy
Pricing architecture · Distribution models · Online channels · Exports pipeline · New product lines
Engineered quartz. 378,000 sq ft plant, 45+ countries, 270+ SKUs.
Samvara
50+ interviews before building · 20+ distributors onboarded · 6 months · 4 categories live
Walk in → Explain → Onboard → Return
What it was
- A B2B marketplace for India's stone and surfaces trade.
- The problem: opaque prices, invisible stock, buying by phone call.
- 50+ interviews with manufacturers, distributors and retailers set the roadmap.
- Onboarding happened in person, shop to shop across Mumbai.
- Ran product, go-to-market, partnerships, unit economics and a small team.
- Self-funded throughout.
Then took the same problem to Pacific Surfaces.
Monitor Deloitte
10+ engagements · $700M largest programme · 6 markets · 10+ sectors
- Insurance Market assessment · $1.4B player
- EV charging rollout Go-to-market · $700M programme
- Affordable housing finance Diligence · ~$500M AUM
- Consumer tech, six brands Diligence · $300M platform
- Organic tea and nutraceuticals M&A · $230M acquisition
- Trucking platform Diligence · $35M+ investment
Clients unnamed. Figures describe a deal, programme, company or AUM and are not summed.
Toolkit
Market sizing · Competitor assessment · Projections · Customer and vendor analysis · Commercial diligence · Go-to-market
Sectors
Consumer tech and D2C · EV charging · Trucking · Consumer products · Housing finance · Insurance · Healthcare · Laminates · Real estate · Plastic recycling
Clients
Global private-equity funds and Indian conglomerates.
Recognition
- Multiple firm awards for client impact.
- Led a firm-wide session on digital assets for 50+ colleagues.
Candid Expressions
250+ artists onboarded · 5+ B2B commissions · 1 D2C line · 1st company, started in college
What it was
- A platform that got independent artists discovered and paid.
- Started in the first year of college.
- Built the go-to-market and ran operations.
- Delivered B2B commissions and launched a D2C line from creator art.
Off the clock
Mumbai, by way of Rajasthan
- Raised in Mumbai. Fast and diverse. It shaped how I see things.
- Roots in Rajasthan. Where the family is from.
- Bengaluru since August 2026. New city, fresh start.
- Curious by default. Comfortable finding my way somewhere unfamiliar.
Out of office
14,000+ feet, Hampta Pass
- Trekking. Hampta Pass is a favourite so far.
- Running and cycling. The everyday version.
- Travelling. New places over familiar ones.
After hours
- Live music. A favourite way to spend an evening.
- Gaming and esports. A long-running interest.
- Technology and digital-asset markets. Followed for years.
- Good conversations. New perspectives welcome.
Calls made
Rebuild, don't patch. Clean start. Live in two weeks.
Pilot in one city first. Bengaluru reps shaped the build.
Own the field app. Dropped the vendor licence, kept the data.
Kill the report that only punished. Replaced with reports people act on.
Report the real number. Clean-up conversions stay out of the metric.
One visible price. List price is the floor. Below it needs approval.
Say hello
Hand me the problem that doesn't have an owner yet.
- I size it. Is it worth doing?
- I go and ask. What do customers actually do?
- I build it. So it runs without me.
Manager, Founder's Office at Pacific Surfaces