Nikhil Karnik

Nikhil Karnik

I started my career working as a software engineer for a biotechnology and data infrastructure startup. I transitioned to an engineering role at Microsoft, where I worked on Yammer. I studied electrical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

Website: www.nikhilkarnik.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhil-karnik-78819241
Member since March 30, 2016
  • About
Education
2013 University of Pennsylvania , BS , Electrical Engineering

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I work or worked for:
Yammer, Microsoft, Optofluidics
Achievements (products built, personal awards won):

I analyzed Crunchbase funding data, mapping investment by location - was featured in TechCrunch and Business Insider: http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/05/zillabyte-startup-fundings/

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-mesmerizing-time-lapse-maps-show-how-startups-are-transforming-major-cities-2014-11

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to change the world.

My favorite startups:

Uber, Stripe, Slack

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

Frustrating: Hearing no.

Rewarding: Hearing yes.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Building too many product features before really understanding the market they are serving.

Full bio

I have a deep expertise in software engineering. I built a data infrastructure platform @ Zillabyte, improved video streaming at Microsoft (Yammer), and have consulted for a dozen Bay Area startups, focusing on making internal data useful.