Deepankar Adiga

Why this persona fits the audience

Oversees billing operations for an 8-person exam-prep subscription service selling monthly plans to students in India and the Gulf. He works with Razorpay, Google Sheets, and one part-time support agent to track renewals, coupons, and failed payments.

• Age: 29
• Location: Bengaluru, India
• Occupation: Operations Lead, subscription learning platform
• Income: ₹22 lakh
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Commerce
• Company size: 8 employees (exam-prep startup)
• Years in role: 18 months

“The only thing worse than a failed payment is a failed payment you didn’t catch in time.”

Deepankar Adiga grew up in Bengaluru’s suburban neighborhoods, the son of a bank officer and a schoolteacher. He studied Commerce at St. Joseph’s but didn’t have the grades for an MBA—something he still resents. His first job was in an e-commerce startup’s billing team, where he learned to reconcile payments manually. When his current edtech startup hired him as their first ops hire, he saw it as a chance to fix billing from scratch. Now, 18 months in, he’s drowning in spreadsheets. His team sells exam-prep subscriptions to students across India and the Gulf, but the billing system is held together by Razorpay, Google Sheets, and one part-time agent. Deepankar spends his days chasing failed payments, fixing data discrepancies, and patching holes in the process. He’s tried automating pieces of it but hasn’t found a tool that fits. His CEO pushes for rapid growth, but Deepankar knows the system can’t scale. He’s frugal at work, negotiating every vendor contract, but he’s also pragmatic—he’ll spend on automation if it saves time. Outside work, he’s a die-hard cricket fan, playing in an amateur league and tracking every IPL match. He’s close to his parents but keeps work stress to himself. His biggest fear is a payment failure slipping through, causing churn. He’s been researching better tools but hasn’t pulled the trigger yet—he’s cautious with company money. His goal? Build a self-sustaining billing system, save for a coaching certification, and climb to GM Operations. But first, he needs to fix those damn payment failures.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Deepankar wakes at 5:45 AM, does 45 minutes of gym, and showers before 7 AM. Breakfast is loud—his mother insists on chit-chat despite his grunts. By 8:15 AM, he’s in the office, opening Razorpay to check overnight payment reports. His first task is flagging failed payments and sending automated reminders (he wrote a Zapier script for this). At 10 AM, he reviews the support agent’s work and fixes discrepancies. Lunch is a sad office canteen meal (he hates their food but eats fast to save time). Post-lunch, he dives into reconciliation—matching Razorpay data with Google Sheets. At 3 PM, a CEO meeting disrupts his flow—they discuss scaling, but Deepankar knows the billing system can’t handle more users. He spends 4 PM–5:30 PM chasing last-minute payment issues before leaving for his cricket practice. On his way, he checks LinkedIn for automation tools. Dinner is quick, then he reviews payment failures until 9 PM, marking them in his spreadsheet for follow-up.

Lifestyle

Deepankar lives in a two-bedroom flat in HSR Layout with his parents, who are retired. His routine is rigid: 6 AM gym, 7 AM breakfast with his mother (she insists), and an 8 AM commute to the office. He wears the same three pairs of formal pants and five shirts, rotationally optimized for efficiency. His phone wallpaper cycles between cricket highlights and Razorpay dashboard screenshots. He spends ₹2,000 monthly on cricket match tickets (IPL season) and another ₹3,000 on a health app subscription—his only indulgence. He avoids socializing outside work unless cricket is involved. His bank account is meticulously split into categories, with a strict 'no-spend' rule on weekends unless it’s for cricket gear. His few close friends are ex-colleagues from his days at an e-commerce startup.

Work life

Deepankar’s workday is a cycle of spreadsheets, Razorpay dashboards, and Slack messages. His startup sells monthly exam-prep subscriptions to 12,000 students across India and the Gulf, and every month, 5–7% of payments fail due to expired cards or network issues. He micromanages the one part-time support agent who manually chased failed payments, but the process is leaky—some students slip through the cracks. He’s been experimenting with automation but hasn’t found a tool that integrates seamlessly with Razorpay. His CEO pushes for growth, but Deepankar knows the billing system can’t scale. He spends 30% of his time firefighting payment failures and another 20% reconciling spreadsheets. His coworkers respect his efficiency but find him taciturn. He’s considering hiring a full-time ops assistant but isn’t convinced the budget justifies it.

Relationships

Deepankar is close to his parents but keeps work stress separate. His father, a retired banker, occasionally gives unsolicited financial advice. His mother worries he works too hard and tries to feed him home-cooked meals daily. His social circle is small—mostly work friends and cricket teammates from an amateur league. He respects his CEO’s vision but often clashes on operational trade-offs. His part-time support agent is competent but needs more oversight, which frustrates him. He’s the go-to person for billing issues in his extended family, which he tolerates but doesn’t enjoy. His sports teammates are the only ones he fully relaxes around—cricket is his stress relief.

How they decide

Cautious and data-driven. He’ll research multiple tools before committing, then test them extensively. Hates bandwagon decisions. Prefers free trials over sales pitches. Once convinced, he’s loyal to a tool—until it fails him. Avoids impulsive spending but will invest in something that proves ROI within 3 months.

How they sound

Speaks in clipped, efficient sentences. Avoids filler words. Prefers bullet points in messages. Uses cricket metaphors often ('This spreadsheet is a boundary, but payments are dot balls'). Doesn’t joke around much at work. Uses 'huh' instead of 'no' when disagreeing. Hates buzzwords ('disrupt' makes him roll his eyes). Speaks in Hindi with his parents, English with colleagues, and a mix of Kannada and Tamil with his cricket buddies.