Masterpieces have been created by the use of a straightforward tool, a chisel. Used for intricate designs and sculpting, the secret magic behind this tool may be mirrored in today’s technology.

Every artisan is looking for the best way to create a masterpiece that others will admire. But unlike art, the chisel in technology aids in solving problems and helping others achieve their goals.

One such visionary craftsman is Praful Chavda, a young man who started Chisel to fix a problem he was having with previous product management software.

Product managers lacked the necessary tools or used several programs to complete the job. Companies lost time, money, and sometimes patience due to the lack of proper software.

Continue reading to uncover the story of turning extensive professional experience into creating a single piece of technology that’ll turn heads.

Experience United

The founder of Chisel is Praful Chavda, a product leader with years of extensive experience. Born and raised in India, Praful received his education by attending India’s best educational institutions.

He received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Thadomal Shahani Engineering College. He went on to finish his Master of Business Administration and Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

Praful started his career back in 1998 by getting a job as an analyst with Accenture, and this job was just a stepping stone for the position of Director of Product and Engineering with Microsoft. He dedicated more than 15 years of his professional life to Microsoft, gaining most of his experience there.

After leaving Microsoft, Praful founded Bright AI, a company that created a conversational analysis and intelligence platform under the same name. It was intended to drive customer satisfaction and retention while protecting the brand simultaneously.

Who’s Behind the Success?

With over 20 years of experience, Praful received a license from Stanford University via Coursera on Machine Learning. He is also very agile in patenting his work - with a total of 12 submitted patents, 6 of the patents have been approved.

An investor in Chisel, Vivek Bhaskaran, is a relatively active person on the IT scene. Born in India, where he completed his primary education, Vivek later moved to Russia and then to the U.S. Receiving his Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Brigham Young University, Vivek started his career as a Systems Architect with eSage Group, LLC in 2000.

Since 2005, Vivek has been involved in several companies as an Executive Chairman or Board Member. In 2005, he founded and became the CEO of QuestionPro, a leader in web-based research technologies.

The Chisel team is not afraid of challenges and risk. Wanting to learn, perfect themselves and not get stuck in a repetitive job, they challenge themselves to reach higher goals. The risks they've been taking throughout their careers have led them to be the successful team that is always on the lookout for new adventures.

Choosing What Matters

When thinking about IT experts who try to make our lives easier, the usual picture is often of people sitting behind computers all day. While that may be slightly true due to the nature of the job, the Chisel team has turned out to be quite an interesting crowd.

This group of IT geniuses also has other interests other than creating softwares and playing with the keyboards. Other than being a successful businessman, Vivek Bhaskaran is also a passionate biker and says that motorcycles and client success are the things that motivate him every day.

Parag Vaish, who wanted to become a dentist in his childhood, turned out to have many talents. Other than the IT interests, his music talents are also rising to the surface. Always challenging himself, he wished to see if he had what it takes to make music from beginning to end, so he became a music producer, among other things.

Garnering the Experience

Parag Vaish is also among the Chisel leadership and is an expert in design and digital product management. He has worked for giants like Microsoft, Google, Tesla, the Walt Disney Company, and other globally recognizable Goliaths.

Andrew Reddish, an engineering leader with over 20 years of experience, is highly skilled in ML, 2D and 3D Data Visualization, and SaaS. Andrew is an expert in edge and cloud computing, holding several patents himself.

Niraj Rajput is a graduate of IIT Roorkee with a passion for scalable infrastructure and systems. Kshitij Pratap Singh is also a graduate from the IIT Roorkee, an engineering leader with experience building fantastic user experiences. He’s worked with OPTUM (UHG) companies and startups like Stockroom.

Crafting Useful Tools

Chisel was founded in 2020, offering a solution to all product managers in the product lifecycle management market. Praful aimed to create a solution and a useful comprehensive tool specifically targeting project managers. According to him, product managers use slides and spreadsheets that don’t offer all the necessities for completing the tasks.

When crafting quality products, this product management platform addresses three fundamental aspects: team alignment, customer product feedback, and creating excellent product roadmaps. Using product roadmap data, Chisel acts as a record system where product managers can unify customer and team feedback.

The uniqueness of Chisel may be seen through the solution optimization of every step of the product management process, saving companies both money and time.

Chiseling Out the Competition

Being present in a competitive market where product management solutions emerge regularly is not easy. However, if the company has a product that offers so much more, it’s no wonder that its popularity will skyrocket.

How does Chisel rank against the competition? Well, even though the market was already home to some prominent names like Trello and Asana, Chisel didn’t get easily scared and stood tall.

Chisel is a rising star among its competitors because it also offers audience targeting, customer surveys, and team feedback to manage the overall feedback on the product roadmap.

Patience Pays Off

The company has received several awards, such as the 2022 award for High Performer (High customer satisfaction scores) and Software Suggest (Rising star). It was also among the top-rated tools on Major Review Platforms.

Praful Chavda and his advisors built a world-class product thanks to their extensive professional experience, which, when compiled together, amounts to 100 years.

Being new to the market doesn’t stop the company from receiving stellar reviews from its customers. Starting as a startup with not more than 24 people, Chisel will soon be expanding its employee list. Due to its growing popularity, Chisel is hiring new staff in the United States and India to contribute to future demands.

The Chisel of Today

Today, Praful Chavda is the CEO of Chisel, supported by his Advisory team members Vivek Bhaskaran, Parag Vaish, and Andrew Reddish, and his founding engineers Niraj Rajput and Kshitij Pratap Singh.

Chisel’s headquarters are located in San Francisco, California, and it’s a privately owned company. The company's total funding amount is $1.5 million raised over one pre-seed round. The investors that believed in what Chisel delivered include Array Venture, a lead investor, and Ridge Ventures.

Chisel is proving to be a rising star that will make the lives of product managers easier. Already offering more than expected, their platform will undoubtedly provide new tools and possibilities following the trends and demands of the clients. Sculpting success is what Chisel does best, and we can only wait and see what next will be sculpted.