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Vish Sahasranamam

Harnessing entrepreneurial innovation at national scale to orbit shift India's tech sector

Vish Sahasranamam is a seasoned operating executive and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in strategic business development and innovation.1 As the Co-Founder and CEO of Forge Innovation & Ventures, he leads the organization's efforts in harnessing entrepreneurial innovation at a national scale to transform India's tech sector.1

Professional Background

Vish's career spans multiple sectors and roles:

  1. Telecom Industry: He worked for 8 years in the global telecom sector, holding positions in technical sales, product marketing, product management, strategic alliances, and business strategy with multinational corporations like Cisco, Nortel, and Ericsson.1

  2. International Experience: Vish has over 7 years of resident international work experience in the USA, Canada, Sweden, Israel, and China.1

  3. Entrepreneurship: He co-founded the Coimbatore Innovation and Business Incubator (CIBI), a government-catalyzed technology business incubator.1

Forge Innovation & Ventures

At Forge, Vish's responsibilities include:

  • Strategy development
  • Fundraising
  • Entrepreneurship training
  • Consulting and advisory programs
  • Ecosystem operations
  • Startup investments
  • Alliance building
  • General management1

His vision for Forge is to create and catalyze innovation-powered enterprises that leverage the intersection of hardware, software, and computing technologies to solve real-world problems, generate economic gains, and deliver social impact.1

Education

  • PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (2008-2010), majoring in strategy, entrepreneurship, and marketing1
  • B.E. in Electronics and Communications from College of Engineering Guindy, Chennai (1996-2000)1

Additional Roles

Vish serves as a coach and consultant for startups, offering business advisory, strategic planning, and execution support in various areas including business strategy, product management, marketing, and investments.1 He is also known for his expertise in helping startups transform their technologies and products into disruptive innovations through a comprehensive managed innovation process.1

Highlights

Jun 19 · linkedin

When it comes to Outbound Referrals (I as Person3 am referring Person1 to Person2) or Inbound Reference Checks (I as Person3 am asked for opinion about Person1 by Person2), I am super certain about one thing:

FOCUS disproportionately on 'WHY this association will not work?'

In other words I start with "Hey P2 this seems like a good idea but I see these reasons/risks why this will fail! Now are you sure you want to go ahead?" This is most critical to break out of the Confirmation Bias that P2s suffer from - oh heck I as P2 have suffered terribly and miserably, leading to adverse consequences. But I have learnt from these mistakes. Oh Hell Yeah!!!

Now obviously as P3 myself I try to nudge P2 the one I am referring to or is taking reference from me to focus on asking me "Why it won't work?" But generally I find them reluctant to go that route because they assume that as someone who knows P1 better I should focus on Why it will work? But albeit counter intuitive P3s should use their knowing P1s better to focus on Why it won't work?

Probing Why it won't work? will ultimately lead to Proving Why it will work? irreversibly!

Feb 7 · linkedin

(PROCESS & OUTPUT) Metrics That Matter in Seeding, Accelerating and Scaling Industrial Tech Innovations and Ventures!

Current Active Portfolio!

OUTCOMES Metrics That Matter coming up... Stay tuned!

Forge Innovation & Ventures FORT innovateTN

StartupTN iDEX Defence Innovation Organization City Innovation Exchange (CiX) Vedanta Spark MeitY Startup Hub

Related Questions

What are some of the key projects Vish Sahasranamam has led at Forge Innovation & Ventures?
How did Vish Sahasranamam's experience at Cisco and Ericsson influence his approach at Forge?
What is the mission of the Coimbatore Innovation and Business Incubator (CIBI) that Vish co-founded?
How does Vish Sahasranamam's educational background contribute to his leadership at Forge?
What are some of the startups that Vish Sahasranamam has coached or consulted for?
Vish Sahasranamam
Vish Sahasranamam, photo 1
Vish Sahasranamam, photo 2
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Experience

Co-Founder & CEO at Forge Innovation & Ventures
Business Consulting & Innovation Strategy at Independent Consultant (July 2010 - December 2014), Director of Product Marketing at ThoughtWorks Studios (June 2011 - April 2012), Director of Strategy & at Cisco (July 2000 - September 2003)

Education

PGDM majoring in strategy, entrepreneurship and marketing from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (2008 - 2010), B.E in Electronics and Communications from College of Engineering Guindy, Chenna

Location

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India