I’m a strategy consultant based in Bangalore. I’m also passionate about and good at data and quantitative methods, which I use heavily in my consulting business.
My main business combines data/analytics and strategy consulting, as I help companies solve their business problems using data and quantitative methods.
Then, I write. I’ve written a book. I wrote a column for Mint for six years. I write a fairly popular blog with over 2600 posts, and have started four newsletters.
I’m an Adjunct Professor at IIM Bangalore (India’s top-ranked business school) and have done public policy research for the Takshashila Institution.
And I’m always up to some interesting thing or the other.
STRATEGY CONSULTING
The bread and butter of my work since 2011 has been to help businesses solve strategic problems using data and quantitative methods.
I have done a large number of assignments, across industries and company life stages, helping companies figure out how to get the best value out of their data and make more informed decisions. My work can be broadly classified into two broad categories – model/product building and strategy consulting driven by data.
In the recent past, I have focussed on two programs that I have designed for high growth businesses – data diagnostic (to help companies realise value from the data they have already collected), and founder conversations (to act as a sounding board to help founders make better data-driven decisions).
BOOK
In this “popular economics” book published in 2017, I use concepts from financial markets to explain bugs and features and quirks and inconsistencies in everyday markets.
I talk about how Uber/Lyft/Ola revolutionised local transportation, why Chelsea paid £50 million for Fernando Torres and why the likes of Redfin or Zoopla or Housing haven’t made a dent in the real estate market.
I have discussed the key concepts of the book in this podcast with Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway of Bloomberg.
Read an excerpt from the book here:
ARTICLES
I wrote a regular column for Mint between 2013 and 2018. I used data and quant to comment on various things, from elections to politics to sport to data itself.
I have also written for The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg Quint ($) and Forbes.
I always suspected @karthiks is India's Nate Silver. His piece in today's Mint seals the argument for me. http://t.co/4RxxA4Qo9d
— sukumar ranganathan (@HT_Ed) October 29, 2013
COOL STUFF
I have been blogging since 2004. At the time of last updating this website, I have 2600+ blogposts. I’ve linked to some of the more “interesting” ones here.
I tweet, sometimes very often, sometimes not at all.
I have built a cool model for evaluating cricket matches. The thing works live.
I have built a Single Malt Scotch Whisky recommendation engine.
I have, till date, started four newsletters. I don’t claim to write any of them regularly.
I have participated in several podcasts.
I used to collect bad visualisations.