Ambar Shante

Product, Strategy & Operations

Driving product growth and operational scalability at tech startups and scaleups.

About

Hello! I build and scale products in environments where data, operations, and product collide. Over the last decade I've worked across fintech, food tech, and B2B marketplaces, mostly in ambiguous roles where the stakes are high. I've helped launch new business lines, rebuilt core systems, and shipped workflow-heavy products used by thousands of customers.

I enjoy taking messy, cross-functional problems and turning them into clear systems that scale. I work closely with engineering and data teams, move fast with lean resources, and stay hands-on until the job is done.

Outside of work, I enjoy travelling, reading, exploring new technologies, and just generally being outdoors—hiking, camping, canoeing, and playing football, tennis and pickleball. I've also been a marshal at various motorsport events, including the Raid-de-Himalaya, and twice at Formula 1 GPs. I've previously lived and worked in Gurgaon and Toronto, and am now based in Dubai.

Projects

  • Ella - ElevenLabs Voice Scout

    A conversational AI agent that helps users discover the perfect ElevenLabs voice for their project. Built using the ElevenLabs API and Agents Platform SDK.

    • Solo Project
    • AI Agent
    • Conversational AI
    Ella - ElevenLabs Voice Scout

  • Real Mortgage

    A free toolkit for people looking to navigate the UAE real estate market.

    • Solo Project
    • Fintech
    • Real Estate
    Real Mortgage

  • CrowdRiff Creators

    A B2B creator marketplace geared towards leading travel brands and destination marketing organization, achieving $1.2M ARR.

    • Marketplace
    • B2B
    • SaaS
    CrowdRiff Creators

  • Atlas Rent Reporting

    A new product offering by Atlas that helps renters build their credit by sharing their rent payments with the major credit bureaus.

    • Fintech
    • Credit
    • Product Launch
    Atlas Rent Reporting

Experience

  1. Jan 2025 - Present

    Freelance Consultant and Solo Builder · Various

    • Independently built Ella, a voice-powered AI agent that leverages the ElevenLabs Agents Platform and Voice Library API to provide conversational voice discovery and recommendation through natural voice-based interaction; and Real Mortgage, a free toolkit for people looking to navigate the UAE real estate market.
    • Consulted with the founder of a mental health business to productize their offerings, enhance customer experience, and automate workflows.
    • Consulted with portfolio companies of a mid-market investment firm on international operations setup and partnerships; optimized the investment firm's internal CRM to improve efficiency of the operations team.
  2. Apr 2024 - Nov 2024

    Product Operations Lead · Atlas

    • Revamped the onboarding and user activation funnel after identifying key friction points; implemented targeted infrastructure and process changes that improved activation rates by 90%.
    • Improved profitability by building and executing a debt collection lifecycle using advanced workflow automation, boosting the collection rate by 29% within 3 months of implementation.
    • Drove the operational execution for a new rent-reporting product, from competitive & regulatory research to launch, leading to improved retention and growth while providing an average 30-point increase in users' credit scores.
  3. Apr 2022 - Aug 2023

    Director of Product Strategy & Operations · CrowdRiff

    • Led a high-impact project to launch a new B2B marketplace (CrowdRiff Creators), owning the initiative from ideation and problem discovery through to GTM strategy and execution, achieving $1.2M ARR.
    • Developed an actionable roadmap for the North America rollout, defining and monitoring KPIs to track performance against strategic goals while leading a three-member team.
    • Designed and implemented automated operational systems and dashboards (SQL, BI tools, Airtable, Zapier) to support the marketplace, providing critical tooling and enablement that improved internal team efficiency by over 80%.
  4. Nov 2021 - Apr 2022

    Senior Strategy & Operations Manager · Ninja Delivery

    • Analyzed operational data to identify key levers for marketplace efficiency; built an automated order batching system (using Google Apps Script & Maps API) that improved rider efficiency by over 75%.
    • Conducted a deep-dive analysis of procurement and inventory data to identify root causes for capital inefficiency; implemented standardized processes that reduced wastage by 70% while supporting market expansion through the launch of new dark stores.
  5. Sep 2020 - Apr 2021

    Product Manager · Skylight

    • Owned the product roadmap for internal operational tools; collaborated with Engineering to translate user requirements into features that reduced project timelines by 60% and material costs by 15%.
  6. Apr 2013 - Sep 2020

    AVP Strategy & Operations · Zomato

    • Led product management for key marketplace functions, including B2B logistics, payments, and integrations, driving initiatives that reduced churn by 35%.
    • Collaborated with Software and Data Engineering leadership on long-range technical planning for the Hyperpure business line, including the strategic migration of core platform infrastructure to support future scalability.
    • Collaborated with the COO on improving financial performance and reporting; led a global, cross-functional initiative with Finance, Legal, and HR to optimize business operations, driving large-scale cost reductions across all markets.
    • Acted as a key operator and worked closely with the founders and executive team on numerous initiatives during the company's rapid global expansion into 24 markets.

  • MBTI Personality Type

    A curious and independent thinker and problem-solver, driven by logic, theory, and innovation.

    INTP

    The Logician

Built in Dubai 🌴

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