A few months ago, I met a founder who told me about physicist Richard Feynman. He once spent an entire afternoon watching ants carry crumbs across his house. Others may wish to remove these ants. Feynman set up experiments, traced their paths, and discovered how ants communicate through chemical trails. Most people observe, but Feynman built frameworks to understand patterns that others can’t see.
Sharique Hasan reminds me of Feynman in that way. When most academics were content with studying startups from a distance, Sharique wanted to get close enough to understand the chemical trails.
Our paths first crossed back in 2013 when iSPIRT was just taking shape. A friend and mentor introduced us to Sharique, then a professor at Stanford. At the time, Stanford was partnering with IIIT-Delhi, and Sharique was looking to collect data on Indian startups.
But what struck me was his approach. He wanted to architect something meaningful, something that would give back to the founders as much as it gave to his research.
We convinced him that he’d get richer, more authentic data from early-stage startups rather than from students. That conversation planted the seed for what became the PN Growth workshop in Mysore.
We met again to discuss format and structure. Could we adapt Sharique’s original idea into something for B2B startups across India?
Sharique and his team put in tremendous effort to architect the program. Stanford took ownership of the academic framework, while we handled the founder selection and operations. The result was a three-day residential program at the Infosys campus in Mysore.
One hundred and eighty-six founders. Twelve mentors. And a format that broke from everything we knew. Instead of conferences, we created modules. Instead of gyaan, we focused on the application. After each session, founders filled out forms and worked on frameworks they could immediately apply to their companies.
What Sharique crafted wasn’t just another conference. He had the art of messaging. Every founder walked away with a tangible strategy framework.
The program produced a lasting impact. Vinod Muthukrishnan, Arvind Parthiban, Ashish Tulsian, Khadim Batti from Whatfix were part of the program. And people like Rajan of Upekkha, Sandeep Todi, and Gokul, who volunteered at the time, continue to be involved in the ecosystem.
That Mysore program became the foundation for many of SaaSBoomi’s events today. It gave us the model for building profound, immersive experiences. It taught us that residential programs create bonds that last. And it showed us that the correct format can transform how founders think about building their companies.
When I think about Sharique, now at Duke University, writing about AI and sporting a beard, I remember that young researcher who first came to meet us: very warm, very jovial, and easy to smile, yet with a strong intellect and a keen eye for people.
He asked searching questions, the kind that stay with you.
On my most recent trip to the US, we managed to steal an hour of Sharique’s time, and I could see that he is as sharp as he was all those years ago. And these decades of academia have not jaded him one bit; that child-like curiosity from back then is still very much alive.
As we parted ways with a warm handshake, he leaned in, put an arm around my shoulder, and said, “Such an impressive ecosystem you’ve built.” The affirmation from Sharique stayed with me for hours. From someone who helped lay the foundation for much of what we do today, those words meant everything.
Like Feynman with his ants, Sharique didn’t just observe our ecosystem; he helped us understand the patterns, build the frameworks, and trace the paths that would lead to something lasting.
From the Author:
SaaSBoomi began in 2015 as a small gathering of ~50 founders, and today, with over 500 events across three countries and countless lives touched, we’ve only just scratched the surface.
None of this would have been possible without the unrelenting passion of our 125+ volunteers — the lifeblood of SaaSBoomi.
Their contributions go beyond effort; they’ve built a community bound by camaraderie, empathy, and a shared vision for a Product Nation.
Pay it FWD is my tribute to every pay-it-forward champion I’ve encountered on this incredible journey.
Their contributions to SaaSBoomi and the broader ecosystem have been immeasurable, yet there remains a story left to be told — one that echoes the impact they continue to create.
