Ashwin Goyal

My Projects

AI-BIN (Artificial Intelligence powered Automated Dustbin)

Automatic dustbin- segregates waste into bio/non-biodegradable (and other categories like plastics). Waste segregation and disposal are done through image classification using machine learning and computer vision. The product is cheap(₹8000) and is integrated with a portal that provides actionable data about the waste(weight/type of waste etc). Target customers: industries, corporate offices/campuses, institutions/colleges, commercial complexes.

Agrizone: Connecting Farmers to Manufacturers and Buyers Directly- by Eliminating the Middlemen

Through the Agrizone app, we were able to eliminate middlemen and enable farmers to buy directly from the manufacturers and sell directly to the buyers in the market. This Flutter-based mobile app also allowed farmers to buy or sell in bulk (through groups) hence saving costs immensely. This way, the farmers get the right market price for their produce.

"EY CAFTA Case Championship: Managing the treasury of Indian multinational conglomerate"

Formulated investment strategies for the treasury of Orion Technologies. I performed portfolio allocation through a sound investment strategy to deploy the surplus cash of INR 2,000 crore. For this, I used Python libraries(PyPortfolioOpt and others) for optimization. Key components: Weight matrix, Covariance Matrix, Volatility, Sharpe ratio, Efficient Frontier theory, Annual return. Visualization and Dashboarding done through PowerBI, Python.

My Product Observations

Google Keep: a meticulous user's delight

A note-taking platform by Google which helps us store and organise information

Seamless Integration with other Google apps
Colour coding my notes, organising them according to colours and labels/tags
Add collaborators feature- where more than one person can work on one note collaboratively.
Its competitors (main competitor- Pocket) lack these features and do not provide as much flexibility

Netflix and its well-thought Plans

When you buy a plan on Netflix, it automatically gives the next best plan for 1 month at no extra cost. If you buy the ₹650 plan, you get the ₹800 plan for my first month at no extra charge-- and it is somewhat likely that you accept that higher plan, like it, and switch to it. What an amazing way to increase higher paying customers.

Gamification on DataCamp

One way to test the success of any feature is instant feedback. DataCamp displays different kinds of error messages, and to improve the error messages, it asks for instant customer feedback- Did you find this feedback helpful? Also, it is quite likely that the learner will respond to this message, as it is displayed every time an error comes up. This must be helping them improve various aspects of displaying errors in code. This ultimately improves user experience.
Another thing at play on the platform is gamification. They discourage you from taking hints by awarding a -10XP.
Moreover, through little elements of micrcopy, they make the learning journey more delightful.

OnePlus and its marketing through '1'

One Plus has a unique way to highlight the one in its name. It uses this to market the product.
One the phone, whenever there's a 1 in the time/weather/other apps, it'll be shown in red.
Most product/feature launches/updates arrive on dates which include a 1. The latest product- OnePlus band launched on 11 Jan 2021 at 11am.

Success of GMail Advertisements

Very few people open the Social and Promotional tabs in GMail, and out of them, still few people would really click on them. Final CTR is very less.
But given the huge user base of Gmail (1.5 billion), the actual CTR is still very high in absolute terms.

Create a Video Meeting' feature in Linkedin

Now you can directly send a video meeting invite on LinkedIn. It seems very valuable for conducting interviews for candidates and recruiters.
Right now, they are using 3rd party software like MS Teams, Zoom etc.

Google Fit: the motivation to fitness

Motivating users to work harder and achieve their daily goals

Google Fit keeps you on your toes by giving reports at the end of the day.
It also tells how far you are from your goal and measures many things like heart rate, steps, calories burnt etc.
One thing that makes a difference is the Gamification part- you get 2 heart points for each minute you spend doing a more intense activity. They also compare our workout with WHO's advisory on weekly activity.

Google Word Coach and Customer Engagement

Google Word Coach is a gamified platform for learning vocabulary. It has made me learn a lot of new words. I search for the meaning of a new word and end up spending 5-10 minutes on the app. What a wonderful way to engage customers.

My Publications

AI in India

Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Economy

Lockdown: A learner’s delight

Digitalization: An Indian Odyssey

Mini Case Studies

Improve Google Docs as a whole or focus on particular features to improve

Out of Students, Corporates, Individuals, I’ll target students who use GDocs more-improving it will greatly impact them.

Students make reports, assignments on GDocs, want specific formats hence more formatting options required

Solutions:
A-Integrating GMeet with GDocs so that chat/MoM can be better used while working together
B-Integration with GForms, GSheets to automatically import data entries, fields
C-Limited formatting options-more options (e.g.more fonts) should be introduced(like MS Word). More editing features required

B,C have maximum impact,A exists but ineffective
Success Metrics: 1] % DAU/MAU will measure B,C
2] CTR (clicking on app plugins) would measure A

view detailed solution

What killer feature would you build next as a PM at Netflix- A feature which has high impact is to be built for Netflix

Customers: 1]Teenagers 2]College Students 3]Corporate Employees 4]Old people
I’ll focus on Teenagers and college students since they constitute a huge chunk of users.

They are affected greatly by their friends’ preferences
Friends want to discuss about shows before watching them

Main pain point is that friends cannot discuss and rate things together. Solutions:
A-Groups on Netflix wherein users talk about shows/movies
B-User rating option
C-Comments, Upvotes and Downvotes

A and C: High effort, high impact. C isn’t preferred because-when a user reads someone’s review/comment he might wrongly get affected by their preferences
B: medium impact, low effort So, Prioritize A

view detailed solution

How would you improve the Apple iPhone?

Home Screen:

Home Screen should have more customisation
Widgets should be more dynamic- with more options/customisation

More integration with other devices like home products/home lighting

Apps: Improvements in Safari- adding more features for the tech-savvy

Shape: shape should be such that the screen is protected more- screen should be inward with some extrusion on the sides

Screen views: Allow more customisation for tech savvy users

Some innovative features like zen mode can be introduced in iPhone

view detailed solution

Achievements & Extra Curriculars

1. Selected as a top APM in India: Upraised Product Cohort

Was one of the 40 students selected from top 30 engineering colleges of India as an APM after 3 competitive PM test rounds conducted by Upraised. Underwent Rigorous Product Management Training.

2. Head Representative at Finance, Analytics & Consulting Club (FinCOM), IIT Ropar

Arranged, Hosted and Coordinated more than 50 sessions, workshops, seminars, panel discussions and alumni meets
First to introduce Product Management Culture in college. Fostered through Senior Flipkart PM workshops, PM School workshops
Successfully managed semester long FnC101 FinCOM paid course with 100+ students participating; Revenue generated: 50,000+

3. Finance and PR Head at ENACTUS, IIT Ropar

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE THROUGH SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTION | GLOBAL NON-PROFIT ORG.
Projects-Shwas, STrend: generated 2.5 lakh+ revenue, direct impact:1000+ families, collected 10k+ clothes,7500+kg waste reduced

4. Finalist in Smart India Hackathon 2019 (”World’s Largest Hackathon”)

Built and managed MVP: AGRIZONE, for KISAN Forums Ltd., which allows farmers to sell/buy in bulk through an app and connect them to buyers in the market and manufacturers directly, by eliminating the middlemen

5. Core Backbone Team member- Sponsorship & Marketing Team Head: Zeitgeist 2019, (Annual Cultural Festival: footfall-25000+, Total Sponsorship raised:1 crore+),

Co-led a team of 100+ students for sponsorship and marketing of the fest6. Model United Nations Club founder & representative at IIT Ropar,

6. Model United Nations Club founder & representative at IIT Ropar,

Organised 10+ mock MUNs
Secretary General: inter college MUN 2019• took part in 10+ MUNs across India, and at NUS, Singapore

Education

Internship(s)

My Projects

My Product Observations

My Publications

Mini Case Studies

Achievements & Extra Curriculars