Hi, I'm Hrithik Kedia
I like building things when there isn't a clear manual.
I'm a generalist operator working at the intersection of strategy and execution. Over the last few years, I've worked across startups and businesses, taking on everything from go-to-market work and growth to business development, profit and loss, partnerships, and special projects.
Somehow, I also found time to co-build a community for people doing similarly chaotic jobs.
Strategy is interesting. Execution is where I feel at home.
01 — The generalist advantage
I never really fit into one job description.
Early in my career, I realised I was less interested in climbing a predefined corporate ladder and more curious about how businesses actually work.
So I chose the messier route.
I've worked in Founder's Office and Business Operations roles where one quarter could mean building go-to-market strategies and the next could mean evaluating a new market, running a P&L, fixing an internal process, launching a campaign, or working on a partnership.
That's what I love about being a generalist.
You develop context. You learn to connect dots across functions. And most importantly, you learn how to move from “someone should solve this” to “I'll figure this out.”
My favourite job description is usually the one that hasn't been written yet.
02 — The journey
Not a résumé. More like a series of chapters.
The longest and most significant chapter so far — one that kept changing shape as the business did.
Learn
Development potential and floor-space limits, land economics, joint development, joint ventures, development management, project cash flows, financial modelling and returns.
Build
Evaluating expansion opportunities across cities; working on travel and category profit and loss, marketing and referral channels, partnerships and special projects.
Own
Taking ownership of city-level profit and loss and Founder's Office responsibilities.
- Started by jumping into business development and deal evaluation
- Moved across marketing and growth — referral marketing, influencer campaigns, content, BTL and multi-city initiatives
- Piloted domestic travel experiences for the 50+ demographic before a strategic reset
- Worked on strategic projects across CX, operations, digital transformation, M&A and new initiatives
- Built partnerships and alliances with multiple brands
Every few months, a different problem. The mission stayed the same: move the business forward.
- GTM and new initiatives
- Community and event-led growth
- Strategic partnerships
- Customer stories and content
- Projects that contributed to pipeline and brand visibility
- Working across teams instead of staying inside one function
Learning how growth happens when strategy meets execution.
My first real Founder's Office experience taught me what operating without a playbook actually means.
- Worked across business operations, finance, sales, marketing, people ops, customer success and compliance
- Experienced the realities of a startup navigating pivots and the search for product-market fit
The place where I learned that context-switching can be a feature, not a bug.
My first job taught me something important: I wasn't looking for a bigger title or a clearer ladder. I wanted to understand how businesses were actually built.
So I left the predictable path and moved to Bengaluru to join a startup.
A few things I'm proud of.
- 0110+ deals evaluated in my first quarter at Primus
- 02Expansion opportunities across 7+ cities
- 03~20% contribution margin (CM1) achieved across 6 domestic trips in the travel category
- 041.2k+ Topmate bookings
- 0540 testimonials on Topmate
03 — Things I've built & owned
Less a skill list. More how I operate.
Businesses & profit and loss
From evaluating new markets to owning categories and understanding what makes a product or service profitable, I enjoy learning what makes a business work.
Zero-to-One & Special Projects
The projects with the least clarity are often the most fun.
Growth & GTM
Go-to-market work, community, events, partnerships, marketing and new initiatives — always with an eye on the business outcome.
Partnerships & Ecosystems
I enjoy bringing the right people and organisations together to create leverage.
Operations & Systems
Behind every exciting business is usually an unglamorous process that needs fixing.
Connecting the Dots
My biggest strength is probably context — the ability to see how different parts of a business connect.
04 — Founder's Office Club
Building the community I wish I had when I started.
While working in Founder's Office roles myself, I kept noticing the same thing: generalists sit at the centre of a business, but they often build in isolation.
There isn't a conventional career path. There isn't always a peer group. Most of the learning happens through trial, error and context-switching.
Generalists spend their careers figuring things out. We didn't think they should have to figure everything out alone.
So a few of us started Founder's Office Club — a place for people across Founder's Office, Chief of Staff, Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Office-of-CxO roles to trade experiences, frameworks, opportunities and honest conversations.
More than a WhatsApp group.
From conversations online to rooms full of operators, some of the best parts of building FOC have happened when people simply get together and start talking.
Learning together
Learning from people doing the job.
There isn't a textbook for most generalist roles.
So we've tried to learn from the people already figuring it out — operators, founders and leaders sharing the frameworks, mistakes and lessons they wish they knew earlier.
Masterclasses
Founder's Office & Chief of Staff: Career Playbook Secrets
Learning from people who've been in the room.
In real life
FOC Community Mixer — Bengaluru Edition · June 2025 Aftermovie
Taking the community beyond the screen.
Conversations
Mixer Recap: A Night of Networking, Insights and Fun
Honest discussions about careers and operating.
Conversations
Mixer Recap: Connecting the Ecosystem's Best
Operators, founders and builders in one room.
What started as conversations between a few operators has grown into a community of people navigating careers that don't always come with a clear playbook.
05 — Things I might build
Things I might build.
I have a bad habit of spotting problems and immediately wondering if there's a business hiding inside them.
Some are half-baked. Some have been thought through a little too much. A few I genuinely want to build someday. This is where I keep them.
A chain of BYOB social spaces where people can bring their own alcohol instead of paying the 5–6x MRP markup typically associated with bars.
The insight
A lot of people want a place to chill and drink with friends, but don't necessarily want to drink at home because of restrictions, lack of ambience, or simply because they want to go somewhere social. At the same time, traditional bars can make the experience expensive because of alcohol markups.
The concept is a BYOB-themed social space where there is a liquor shop on the ground floor and customers can purchase alcohol there and bring it upstairs.
Where revenue could come from
- Sitting charges
- Food
- Indoor activities
- Liquor sales, including takeaway
- Liquor purchased by customers visiting the venue
The experience
- Bowling
- Snooker
- Foosball
- Virtual games
- Other indoor games and social activities
The long-term ambition is to build a recognizable chain across major Indian cities with a consistent theme and experience. This is an idea being explored — nothing launched, nothing approved.
An application where people can write and build their own autobiography over time. Still only a concept.
Insurance designed specifically for students and their parents during college, similar in spirit to the insurance and benefits ecosystem available to working professionals.
An application where people can make a mannat or promise connected to a desired outcome.
If the desired outcome happens, the committed amount is sent to the temple, mosque, church, NGO, or other institution selected by the user. If the condition is not fulfilled, the amount is refunded.
An early-stage concept only.
A platform connecting colleges with companies that want to hire through campus placements.
Colleges could invite relevant companies for on-campus hiring, while companies get a way to discover and engage with colleges where they want to recruit.
An alternative professional network where the core objective is to keep a person's CV continuously updated rather than rewriting and tailoring it every time they apply for a job. The CV can be shared directly with companies during applications.
For companies
- ATS functionality
- Hiring management software
- Outbound hiring capabilities
- Discovery of strong candidate profiles
Core thesis
Your professional profile should stay ready — not be rebuilt every time you apply.
TODIRE is a discovery platform for tools and service partners used by startup teams.
Startup decisions about tools and agencies often happen through scattered recommendations across WhatsApp groups, Slack channels, and communities.
TODIRE organises these recommendations into a structured, searchable repository to help teams discover trusted solutions faster.
The idea for FIRE took shape while working at Primus, where I saw the depth, complexity, and beauty of the real estate industry up close.
Despite being one of the most execution-heavy and impact-driven industries, real estate operators are often underrepresented, fragmented, or unfairly looked down upon compared to their counterparts in other industries.
Who it would bring together
- Business Development
- Finance
- Sales
- Marketing
- Liaisoning
- Engineering
- Design
- Projects
- Asset Management
The goal
Enable real conversations, cross-functional learning, and the exchange of on-ground insights that lead to better execution, stronger collaboration, and meaningful innovation across India's real estate ecosystem. Still an idea, not a launched community.
A hyperlocal tiffin aggregation and delivery platform for college students and working professionals who want affordable, reliable, home-style meals but don't have access to a regular tiffin service.
Instead of setting up our own kitchen, the model partners with 2–3 independent dabbawalas/home cooks in a locality. Customers can choose between their menus and plans, while the platform aggregates demand and manages last-mile delivery through its own delivery network.
Initial model
WhatsApp-first and hyperlocal, starting with one office/college cluster and approximately 20–50 daily customers.
Value proposition
- For dabbawalas: predictable recurring orders without spending heavily on customer acquisition
- For customers: choice, consistency and reliable delivery through a single platform
Long-term thesis
As demand density increases, expand by onboarding more dabbawalas and locations — eventually becoming the distribution and reliability layer for fragmented home-food/tiffin providers rather than a kitchen or food-production company.
A one-stop travel platform for modern Indian travellers aged 25–45 who value personalized experiences and convenience.
The problem
Travel planning is fragmented. People often rely on multiple apps and websites for different aspects of a trip, creating a cumbersome and time-consuming experience.
What it would bring together
- Destination discovery
- Itinerary planning
- Accommodation booking
- Activity booking
- Sharing travel experiences
The goal is to simplify travel planning through personalized recommendations tailored to each traveller's preferences and budget, for both domestic and international travellers.
A digital repository of temples across India, capturing not just where they are, but the stories behind them — who the temple is dedicated to, why it was built, how it came into existence, and the history and beliefs surrounding it.
The initial product is essentially a discovery and knowledge layer for India's temples.
Where it could go
- Discover temples across India
- Learn the story and significance behind each temple
- Explore temple history, traditions and associated stories
- Experience digital darshan
- Order / offer prasad digitally
- Potentially make other offerings or participate in temple services remotely
Long-term thesis
Start by becoming the repository and discovery layer for India's temples and their stories. Then gradually become the digital layer connecting devotees with temples, without requiring them to physically be there. An idea being explored, not an existing business.
Most of these will probably never get built. That's kind of the point.
I'd rather have 100 problems worth thinking about than wait for one perfect idea.
06 — My operating philosophy
Four things I keep coming back to.
Context before conclusions
The answer usually changes when you understand the full picture.
Ownership beats job descriptions
If something important needs doing, the org chart can wait.
Strategy without execution is just a nice document
Ideas only become valuable when someone is willing to get their hands dirty.
Build people and communities along the way
The most meaningful work compounds when it helps other people grow too.
07 — Outside the spreadsheet
When I'm not jumping between business problems…
- 01
Exploring new places for food
Trying a new spot is one of my favourite ways to get to know a place.
- 02
Playing badminton
A little friendly competition is a welcome change of pace.
- 03
Going for a swim
Some days, a swim is the simplest way to reset.
- 04
Playing Counter-Strike
I still enjoy a few rounds of Counter-Strike when there's time.
- 05
Playing 8-Ball Pool
8-ball rewards patience — and occasionally a lucky shot.
- 06
Being a bathroom singer
Some days I’m a bathroom singer. Very occasionally, I actually record it.
- 07
Stand-up, films & interesting things
I'm always up for a good comedy set, a film, or a plan that sounds interesting.
- 08
Travelling & collecting experiences
New places tend to leave me with the best stories — and a list of places to eat next time.
08 — Worth a conversation?
Sometimes 30 minutes can save you 6 months of figuring it out yourself.
I've spent the last few years navigating Founder's Office, Business Operations, go-to-market work, growth, profit and loss, partnerships and the wonderfully messy space in between.
I've also spent a lot of time helping people think through careers in the Founder's Office / CoS / EIR ecosystem.
If you're at a point where you're trying to figure something out, I'm happy to share the context, mistakes and lessons I've picked up along the way.
- “How do I break into the Founder's Office / CoS / EIR ecosystem?”
- “How do I build leverage across functions?”
- “How do I take something from zero to one?”
- “I just need another operator's perspective.”
On Topmate
4.9 / 5
50 ratings · 1.2k+ bookings · 40 testimonials
“Firstly, big shoutout for the amazing work at the FOC community. I had a good session preparing for my upcoming interviews where we discussed in detail of my overall trajectory. Received honest feedbacks and his insights on tough questions was impressive. Would highly recommend.”
“Hrithik's advice on building a career in a founder's office role is valuable. He's helped me understand what it takes to succeed in this role.”
“Thank you for sharing your expertise on career development and networking. Your guidance will help me build a strong personal brand and advance my career.”
Based on 1:1 conversations on Topmate.