Nataraj
Sindam
Senior PM at Microsoft Azure · Storyteller · Host of Startup Project — a podcast for people obsessed with building the future of technology.
By day I ship product on one of Azure's largest storage platforms. By night I tell stories — co-hosting the Azure Storage Talk Podcast and interviewing the founders shaping what technology looks like next. A dual degree in Computer Science and Mathematics trained me to ask the questions that get to the underlying system — and Startup Project is where all of it comes together.
I grew up in a small town in South India where the idea of building a company felt distant. Getting here changed how I see founders — every story like theirs is one more proof that where you start doesn't have to define where you go.
Nataraj Sindam
Sr. PM @ Microsoft Azure · Podcast Host
80K+
YouTube subscribers
120+
Episodes published
$50B+
Raised by guests
10+
Unicorn founders
Education
BITS Pilani
M.Sc. Mathematics · 2008–2013
Dual degree programme
BITS Pilani
B.E. Computer Science · 2008–2013
Dual degree programme
Machine Learning Specialization
Online Certificate · 2017
Endorsed by Stanford University · Taught by Andrew Ng
Writing & speaking
Content & community
Writing & speaking
100 Days of AI
One experiment a day · LLMs, computer vision, NLP & developer tools
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Day 20
Using Midjourney for Stock Photos in Your Side Project
Day 19
Klarna's AI Chatbot and The Rise of Generative AI in Startups
Day 18
Developing a RAG using Microsoft Semantic Kernel
Day 15
How Startups Leverage the Power of Generative AI in Their Products
Day 13
How Instruction Finetuning Improves a Pre-trained LLM
Day 9
Can AI Generate a SWOT Analysis for Your Business Idea?
Azure Storage Talk Podcast Co-host
Official Microsoft podcast · Cloud architecture & enterprise storage engineering
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From AWS to Azure: The Step-by-Step Migration Process That Saves Time and Reduces Risks
02Unlocking the Power of Azure Storage Actions for Data Management & Cost Optimization
03From On-Prem to Cloud: The Future of Energy Data Management with ADME
04Provisioned v2 Billing Model for Azure Files Storage
Long-form articles 20+ published
Business models, leverage & technology on Substack & Medium
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Startups
Canva Business Model Breakdown: Product, Revenue, Competition, and The Big Question
Business
Snackable Business Model Breakdowns — Maven.com
Leverage
Follow the Leverage
Media
Media Products vs The Rest: The High Leverage Phenomenon in Media Products
Tech-Startups
How to Evaluate New Ideas For Value?
Technology
The $1 Trillion Moat
Conference speaking
Microsoft & community events · 2023–2025
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Microsoft Ignite 2024 — Speaker
Presented on Azure Files & Azure File Sync for Windows Server, covering hybrid migration, cost optimization, managed file services, and integrated backup and disaster recovery.
MVP Summit 2024 — Speaker
Delivered a session on Azure Files fundamentals and product innovation, covering storage tier strategy, pricing, performance, architecture across SMB/NFS/REST, hybrid access patterns, and the latest advances in redundancy, caching, migration, backup, and data protection.
BITS Unplugged 2025
CTO of Apps at OpenAI, Founder of Breakwater VC, and Co-founder of Boundary ML — building in Seattle.
BITS Sync 2025
Building AI applications with Sathish Talluri from a16z and Director of PM at Meta.
End 2 End Previous podcast · 2019–2020
Deep dives into business models, tech trends, and the startup ecosystem — 13 episodes
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Food Delivery Business
DoorDash, business models & the ecosystem
Unit economics, dark kitchens & the delivery wars
Global trends & customer behavior
Entertainment Media Business
Streaming wars — Netflix, Disney & the bundle
The cable collapse and what comes next
The not so underdog — HBO, Amazon & Hulu
Business & Tech Deep Dives
WeWork — The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Revisiting 2019 Predictions in Technology Business
Conversations
Conversation with HackerNoon Editor Limarc (Part 1/3)
Conversation with HackerNoon Editor Limarc (Part 2/3)
Conversation with HackerNoon Editor Limarc (Part 3/3)
About the show
Why I started Startup Project
I grew up in a small town in South India where the idea of building a technology company felt like something that happened elsewhere — to other people, in other places. That feeling never left me. It's part of why I care so much about telling these stories.
I've spent over a decade building products at Microsoft that serve millions of enterprise users. Along the way I kept noticing the same thing: the founders solving the hardest problems had stories that were never told the way they should be.
Startup Project is my attempt to fix that. Every episode is a deep-dive into a real company — how they found the problem, how they found product-market fit, what they got wrong, and what they'd do differently. No surface-level takes. No PR scripts.
As an angel investor, I use the lens of someone who has to make actual bets. That shapes how I interview — I push founders on business model clarity, defensibility, and the things they're not talking about publicly.
Recent guests include
Eilon Reshef
Co-Founder & CPO · Gong
Andrew Bialecki
Co-Founder & CEO · Klaviyo ($KVYO · $8B)
Andrew Feldman
Co-Founder & CEO · Cerebras ($11B)
Arvind Jain
Co-Founder & CEO · Glean AI
Vijaye Raji
CTO of Apps · OpenAI / ex-Statsig
Ben Kus
CTO · Box
Zach Lloyd
Founder & CEO · Warp AI
Career background
Career background
12+ years building products at scale across healthcare, enterprise productivity, and cloud infrastructure.
Microsoft
Senior Product Manager — Azure Files & Storage
- One of Azure's largest storage products serving enterprise customers worldwide
- Led GTM strategy for Azure Files — owned positioning, messaging, and launch execution across enterprise and cloud-native segments
- Drove growth through competitive differentiation, partner co-sell motions, and analyst relations (Gartner, Forrester)
- Led AI strategy positioning Azure Files across Microsoft 365 & Azure AI ecosystem
- Expanded to 2M+ Arc-connected machines via Azure Arc integration
Microsoft
Software Engineer — Microsoft 365 & Azure Stack
- Built remote management capabilities for Azure Stack hybrid cloud
- 99% reduction in customer support reaction time
- 90% increase in user adoption with new product version
- Delivered features serving millions of enterprise users on Microsoft 365
Epic Systems
Product Manager & Software Engineer
- Designed copay payment workflow adopted by 150+ healthcare clients
- Launched therapy scheduling product generating $2M in recurring revenue
- Ensured DoD security and accessibility compliance
Angel investing
Angel investing
Since 2019 I've been investing in early-stage technology companies — primarily at Seed and Series A — across cloud infrastructure, AI, and developer tools.
My investing lens is shaped by building products at Microsoft scale and interviewing 120+ founders. I back founders who are unusually clear on their customer's pain and already learning faster than their competition.
How I help portfolio founders
Technical advisory
AI architecture, cloud infra, and product strategy from someone who builds at enterprise scale
GTM for B2B enterprise
Positioning, messaging, and go-to-market execution for founders selling into large enterprises
Founder network access
Warm introductions to the 120+ founders and operators in the Startup Project network
10+
Startups invested
Seed → Series B
Stages
Focus areas
Want to be on the show?
I'm actively booking Series A and beyond founders building AI-native companies. If that's you, pitch yourself directly.