Software Engineer & Product Thinker

SREYA SARATHY

1,500+ registrations
12 panels hosted
0→1 products shipped
Read the teardowns → See what I've shipped →
How I Think About Product

Product teardowns.
Real takes.

All pieces →

I write about product decisions, the ones that worked, the ones that didn't, and what the gap tells you about how people actually use software.

LinkedIn Knows Everything About Strangers and Nothing About My Friends hover to read more

It took me 12 days to find out my friend got promoted, buried under strangers posting "comment BUILD for the prompt."

Read the piece →
The Feature BeReal Never Built That Could've Saved It hover to read more

BeReal had the right insight and millions of users, then slowly dismantled every decision that made it work. Here's what I'd have shipped instead of DMs and a Discovery tab.

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Why Is a 23 Year Old Still Using Snapchat? hover to read more

Instagram has had Close Friends since 2018, so why was I still opening Snapchat in 2026? Because one list can't hold five kinds of friends, and that gap is a feature waiting to be built.

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The Default Grouping Gap hover to read more

I wrote three teardowns before realizing they were secretly the same one: the product sorts people one way, you want them sorted another. The framework I now run on every product I look at.

Read the piece →
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Things I've Shipped

Built because
the gap was real.

Community Product

Recruiting Buddy Initiative

Problem: Panels give inspiration. They don't give one-on-one support at 11pm when someone's stuck on their resume and their interview is tomorrow morning.

What I built: A peer-matching system inside the community, connecting students who need targeted recruiting help with people a step ahead who've been there. Zero infrastructure cost, high signal.

150 registrations (capped)
0→1 built from scratch
Event Product

Sreya's Virtual Panel Series

Problem: Early-career students needed access to people already in the room, but the existing rooms weren't built for them, and the ones that were didn't exist yet.

What I built: A virtual panel series, free and open, featuring speakers from Apple, Amazon, IBM, Starbucks, Ford, Deloitte.

1,500+ registrations
12 panels hosted
About

Product thinker
who ships.

I graduated from UW–Madison with a double major in Computer Science & Data Science. Software engineer by profession, but product builder and thinker by default. I see gaps in how products are designed, in how communities are built, in who gets access to what, and my instinct is to close them.

Role Software Engineer @ Fortune 500
Education B.S. Computer Science & Data Science, UW-Madison
Sreya Sarathy
Fun facts
Matcha lover Avid matcha lover
Travelling in Budapest Avid traveller
Collaborations

Partnered
with me.

Companies and organizations I've worked with directly, panels, content, and speaking.

huntr.co hover to learn more

Huntr

Partnered on "Breaking Into Tech Hiring," giving students the real playbook for navigating the 2026 job market, from applications to offers.

Rewriting
the Code hover to learn more

Rewriting the Code

Content creator partner. Shared my story with the RTC community on finding your space in tech.

cherielle hover to learn more

Cherielle

Spoke at Cherielle's hackathon (Mar 2026). Workshop: "How to Stay You in CS When Everyone Around You Looks Different." For high school girls finding their footing in tech.

The Grace Hopper Celebration 2026 hover to learn more

Speaking at GHC26. More details coming soon.

SJSU Hoplite hover to learn more

Conducted a workshop on the transition from academia to the workforce.

willa hover to learn more

Willa

Ambassador for Willa, Women Innovating, Learning & Leading AI.

girlcon 2026 hover to learn more

GirlCon 2026

Led a workshop called "What Even Is the Cloud" at GirlCon 2026.

Interested in partnering? Let's talk.

Press & Features

The word
is getting out.

UW-Madison CDIS

Sreya Sarathy ’25 Talks Mentorship

2025
→
UW-Madison CDIS

CDIS Student Spotlight: Sreya Sarathy

2025
→
LinkedIn

Get to know Sreya

2025
→
Podcast Feature

Featured as a guest. Listen to the full episode.

2025
→

For press inquiries, reach out directly.

Speaking

Let's put a
mic on it.

I speak about early-career tech, product thinking, and what it looks like to build things when the room you need doesn't exist yet. University panels, company ERGs, conferences. I show up prepared and I don't do generic keynotes.

Book me →
◆

How to Stay You in CS When Everyone Around You Looks Different

Staying grounded in who you are while navigating a space that wasn't built for you.

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I Spent Two Years Hiding in CS. One Email Changed Everything.

How I went from skipping every opportunity to a fully-funded GHC trip, 6,000+ LinkedIn connections, and building a community I wish I'd had.

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I Thought Everyone Was Better Than Me (Until I Saw Their Screens).

The moment I saw everyone else's Stack Overflow tabs and realized nobody actually has it together. They just weren't talking about it.

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From Panels to Peers: How I Built a Recruiting Support Ecosystem That Scales.

Why inspiration alone doesn't get people hired, and how I built a 1,500-person community from scratch, while working full time, with no team and no blueprint.

Let's Connect

Got something
good in mind?

For press, collaborations, speaking, and panel inquiries. I read every email.

hisreyasarathy@gmail.com