Avinash
Upadhyay
Founder-operator building AI-powered CPaaS for WhatsApp, Email, and SMS automation, with 9+ years across SaaS consulting, strategy, and business operations.
About
Scaling AI Messaging Workflows with Founder-Operator Discipline
Avinash Upadhyay is the founder of Cheerio AI, a Bengaluru-based startup building no-code messaging automation infrastructure for growth and support teams. He combines enterprise execution discipline from Darwinbox and Coforge with founder-led speed across GTM, product, and partnerships.
Industry Domains
Technical Skills
Founder & Business Leadership
CPaaS & Growth
Consulting & SaaS Implementation
Operations & HR Strategy
Core Foundations
Career Timeline
Founder
Cheerio AI
Oct 2021 – Present
Building an AI-powered CPaaS platform that enables teams to launch WhatsApp, Email, and SMS automation in minutes with minimal engineering overhead.
- ▸Built Cheerio AI as a product-first startup focused on speed-to-value in business messaging automation
- ▸Owned founder-led GTM while driving partnerships, hiring, and product roadmap decisions
- ▸Positioned the platform around high-intent marketing and support use cases with no-code onboarding
- ▸Established an execution loop across customer discovery, shipping, and commercial adoption
Lead Consultant
Darwinbox
Apr 2021 – Dec 2022
Consultant
Darwinbox
Apr 2020 – Mar 2021
Senior Manager - Human Resources
Real Estate Development Group
Nov 2018 – Mar 2020
Senior Manager - Strategy Operations
Coforge
May 2018 – Nov 2018
P&L Manager - UK Operations (Inceptica)
Whishworks
Sep 2017 – Apr 2018
Business Consultant
CallHealth Services
Apr 2016 – Sep 2017
Career DNA
Career Graph
SKILL CONNECTIONS
Skill Progression
Featured Projects
Cheerio AI No-Code Messaging Platform
Cheerio AI
Built a no-code CPaaS platform for orchestrating customer communication journeys over WhatsApp, Email, and SMS.
Impact: Reduced automation launch friction and improved time-to-activation for growth and support teams.
Founder-led GTM and Sales Motion
Cheerio AI
Designed and executed a founder-led GTM motion to accelerate early adoption and sharpen market positioning.
Impact: Created a repeatable commercial engine combining discovery, partnerships, and product feedback loops.
Enterprise HRMS Implementations
Darwinbox
Delivered enterprise HR tech implementations focused on adoption quality, process architecture, and stakeholder alignment.
Impact: Improved enterprise rollout confidence and reduced change-management risk during HR digitization.
Strategy Operations Programs
Coforge / Whishworks
Supported organization-wide strategic initiatives spanning marketing, delivery, talent, and new business workstreams.
Impact: Improved cross-functional operating cadence and execution quality across strategic programs.
Education & Certifications
MBA in Human Resource Management
XLRI Jamshedpur
2014 – 2016
Postgraduate management program with focus on strategic management, talent systems, and organizational behavior.
B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Vellore Institute of Technology
2010 – 2014
Engineering foundation across power systems, electronics, and applied analytical problem-solving.
Recommended by Service Selection Board
Indian Air Force & Indian Navy
2014
Recognized by defense selection boards, reflecting strong leadership potential and performance under assessment.
Testimonials
“Building Cheerio as an AI-powered CPaaS platform that helps businesses automate no-code messaging across marketing and support workflows.”
Avinash Upadhyay
LinkedIn About Statement