Lakshmi.
Portfolio 2026 / Vol. 01Operator. Builder. Founder. Currently building GUTSY and advising growth-stage companies from Dubai.
I've spent a decade scaling operations across 8 markets at Deliveroo and Talabat — managing €100M+ budgets, building pricing frameworks, and turning scrappy teams into machines. Then I quit, had a health scare, and started building GUTSY from scratch. Now I advise founders, build with AI, and write about the chaos of doing both at once.
Dubai / Open to speaking, collabs & advisory
A Decade of
Scaling.
8 Markets ·
€100M+ Budgets ·
Deliveroo to Talabat
Fractional Operator
Advising founders on scaling, data strategy, and operational playbooks. Bringing a decade of marketplace experience to growth-stage companies without the full-time overhead.
€100M+ Annual Budgets | 8 Global Markets | C-Suite Advisory
Market Expansion | Pricing Strategy | Operations Excellence
Software Engineering
2013 — 2016Where I mastered the “how” — before realizing I cared more about the “why.” The engineering mindset never left. It just found new problems to solve.
Scaling logic across 8 markets teaches you one thing:The chaos is the constant.
Building
in Public.
47 experiments.
One health scare.
Dubai, UAE.
Born from 47 failed experiments.
Two years ago, a health scare pushed me to start training seriously. I needed supplements to build strength and resistance — but every product on the market left me bloated, in pain, and covered in acne. The industry is full of influencer-led miracle cures with zero transparency.
So my husband and I started experimenting in the kitchen. 47 failures later, GUTSY was born — science-first gut health supplements with zero proprietary blends. We're currently navigating Dubai municipality approvals before launch. For someone who spent a decade shipping at scale, the bureaucratic wait is a different kind of challenge entirely.
*47 experiments.
Zero proprietary blends.
Built with
AI.
6 projects.
All AI-assisted.
From productivity to commerce.
Current State
Tracking daily focus, energy, and output. Built to replace the spreadsheet I was already living in.
ProductivityFirst 90 Days
A structured companion for new job transitions — goals, stakeholder mapping, and quick wins.
Career ToolBudget Tracker
Personal finance without the fintech bloat. Track spending, set targets, see where the money goes.
Personal FinanceFitness Coach
AI-powered workout and nutrition planning. Born from the same health journey that created GUTSY.
Health & FitnessHeadless Shopify
A headless storefront built for speed, flexibility, and modern commerce.
E-CommerceAI Life Coach
Goal-setting and reflection powered by AI. Built to coach myself through a career pivot.
AI Coaching*Not a developer. An operator who builds with AI as a creative partner.
What I'm into right now
The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Ben Horowitz
GUTSY — launching soon. Plus a new venture on the horizon.
Fractional Operator — advising founders on scaling, data strategy, and operational playbooks
AI as a building tool — productivity apps, this portfolio, and a growing obsession with what's possible
The
Arc.
Three chapters. One thread.
Software Engineer
The RootsBuilt systems and realized I cared more about the "why" than the "how". Trading technical debt for human logic.
“First realization: Sleep is a variable, not a constant.”
Operations & Markets
The ScalingMoved from code to humans. Scaled operations across 8 markets with €100M+ budgets. Learned that businesses are just complex algorithms with more human variables — and the humans are the hardest part.
“PowerPoint became my primary IDE.”
AI & Public Building
The PivotQuit, took a break, and started building with AI. Not a PM. Not a developer anymore. An operator who builds — GUTSY, AI tools, and whatever's next. A new chapter is loading.
“Built a productivity app, a life coach, and this entire portfolio with AI. Welcome to the chaos.”
Writing in public.
Why I Left Corporate to Build a Supplement Brand
After 9 years in tech operations, I traded KPIs for bioavailability reports. Here's why.
The AI Tools I Actually Use Every Day
Not a listicle. A real breakdown of what stays in the stack and what gets deleted after a week.
Read more →Jan 2026Scaling Operations Across 8 Markets
Managing €100M+ budgets taught me that spreadsheets are just vibes with formulas.
Read more →Dec 2025Gut Health Is a Tech Problem
Why I'm treating supplement formulation like a software architecture challenge.
Read more →What kind of founder are you?
Let's build
something.
I'm building GUTSY, advising founders on scaling, and writing about the chaos of doing both. A new role is on the horizon too — more on that soon. In the meantime, if you're looking for a fractional operator, a speaking panelist, or a collaborator — let's talk.
I believe AI exists in balance with the human touch. If you have a project, a stage, or a team that needs both — reach out.