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Mohan Rao posted thisYou didn’t deploy AI. You deployed more work. I’ve been in too many Monday morning pipeline reviews where this plays out the same way. The AI tools have been live for six weeks. More signals than ever. The conversation is slower than ever. Here’s what actually happened: AI increased the supply of insight. But nothing increased the capacity to act. So the system didn’t get more efficient. It got overloaded. More to review. More to validate. More to decide — less clarity, less action. I call this the AI Overload Loop: more insight → more work → more hesitation → less trust → demand for more AI. Once you’re in it, it doesn’t break itself. Underneath it is something deeper: Work System Debt — the organizational equivalent of technical debt. You layered AI on top of a system you never redesigned. So instead of leverage, you get load. And like all debt, it compounds. The question most leaders can’t answer: when you deployed AI, what specifically did you remove from your team’s plate? If the answer is nothing, the loop is already running. We’ve solved for insight. The winners solve for action. #AIStrategy #FutureOfWork #ProductLeadership #B2BStrategy
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Mohan Rao posted thisMost companies are winning an AI race that doesn't matter. Their developers ship faster. Their sales reps write better emails. Their analysts produce sharper decks. The productivity numbers are real. The board is happy. The AI strategy looks like it's working. It's not transformation. It's acceleration. Here's the tension nobody is naming: We spent thirty years building systems to store organizational knowledge — SharePoint, Confluence, CRM note fields, knowledge bases — convinced that if we captured enough of what people knew, the organization would get smarter. It never worked. Because stored knowledge doesn't think. Now we're deploying AI that makes individuals faster — better emails, faster code, smarter analysis, even agentic workflows — and calling it transformation. Different tools. Same mistake. The returns are real — but they're linear, non-compounding, and they walk out the door when your people do. The best account manager leaves and takes everything with her — not just the relationships, but the reasoning. That's not a people problem. That's an architecture problem. There's a different race worth running: Not AI that makes your people faster. AI that makes your organization smarter. One compounds. One doesn't. I call this the Judgment Gap — the widening distance between firms whose organizations learn and firms whose individuals do. The efficiency gap closes. The judgment gap compounds. A year from now, most companies will be faster. Very few will be smarter. That gap is where advantage compounds. #AIStrategy #FutureOfWork #ProductLeadership #B2BStrategy
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Mohan Rao shared thisCrucial addition to the Knownwell team alert: Tracy Edwards is joining us as VP of Product Management and Development. Tracy's deep experience leading complex SaaS transformations and AI-forward product strategy will be pivotal as we evolve the Knownwell platform and deliver deeper intelligence and value to our clients. You can read more about Tracy's addition to the team in today's press release here: https://knwnwl.com/47nGSnj Welcome aboard, Tracy!
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Mohan Rao shared thisBest practices were never the problem, until they became a checklist. When “this is how we do it” calcifies into a hardened rulebook, innovation stops. In this short clip from this week's AI Knowhow, I talk about why best practices need a reboot and how agentic systems and adaptive teams can replace rigidity with responsiveness. Watch the clip below, then ask yourself, "Where in my organization have best practices become barriers instead of enablers?" Watch or listen to the full episode here: https://knwnwl.com/47rHABa
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Mohan Rao shared thisFor decades, best practices have been our compass: predictable, reliable, and repeatable. But in the AI era, predictability can become a liability. The systems we’re building today are adaptive by design. They learn and evolve, and our playbooks have to do the same. At Knownwell, we talk a lot about “next practices.” These are context-aware approaches that continuously adjust to new data, markets, and people. In Episode 102 of AI Knowhow, we explore why mastery in the AI era comes not from rigid adherence but from continuous reinvention. Swipe through the carousel to see why it’s time to retire “best practices” and what comes next. And be sure to watch or listen to the full episode here: https://knwnwl.com/4nPGDIy
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Mohan Rao shared thisThe 100th episode of AI Knowhow is officially LIVE. I've always been big on numbers and data, so here are some relevant stats about the show so far that I thought you might find interesting: 🌎 The podcast has reached viewers and listeners in more than 30 countries around the world, totaling more than 155K views and downloads to date 📈 More than 90 guests have joined us for expert interview segments, including one of my personal favorites that I got to conduct: Logan Kilpatrick of Google DeepMind 🎙️ We've aired more than 3200 minutes of AI-focused discussions with some truly fantastic leaders in the space Being a regular on the podcast and talking through some of the most pressing topics executives need to know about AI over the last two years has stretched my brain in ways I didn't know were possible. Tune in to the full 100th episode on the Knownwell site here for a retrospective on the last two years in AI and a look at where we see the space going in the near future: https://knwnwl.com/4nOtHlU
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Mohan Rao shared thisWe're hiring a Head of Sales at Knownwell who can build our revenue engine from the ground up. Our product is rapidly maturing and finding compelling value with customers—yet we're still very early in our overall vision for creating an AI-CRM for Commercial Intelligence. You'll carry quota, build the playbook, and lead from the front as we scale our AI platform that elevates human work. If you're an exceptional sales leader or know of one, we would appreciate referrals. See more details below in David's message. #Hiring #SalesLeadership #AIMohan Rao shared thisHigh Performers Only: Head of Sales at Knownwell Most companies say they want a “builder.” We mean it. We’re hiring a proven high performer with a track record of consistently beating quota and leading teams to the next level. We’re at a pivotal moment: moving from founder-led selling to a disciplined, repeatable, metrics-driven sales engine. To win here, you’ll need to thrive at the intersection of strategy and execution. You’ll architect the playbook, but you’ll also carry a quota. You’ll set the culture, but you’ll also run deals. You’ll lead from the front. This is not a role for those who prefer predictability handed to them. It’s for those who create predictability — the kind of leader who has run at least a region successfully and knows how to turn performance into process. Here’s what defines the opportunity: Ownership: You’ll take full responsibility for Knownwell’s revenue outcomes. Blueprint Builder: You’ll codify our sales methodology and create the playbook others will follow. Hands-on Leadership: You’ll coach with metrics, not gut feel, and hold yourself and your team to the highest standard of excellence. Strategic Partner: You’ll work side by side with the CEO and senior leadership, influencing not just pipeline, but the future of the company. And here’s what defines us: We prioritize humanity — people come first. We achieve together — no silos, no politics. We drive forward — we act with tenacity and discipline. We stay true — integrity isn’t optional. We are on a mission to elevate the dignity of human work through the application of AI. We are building the enterprise platform for orchestrating the agentic workforce of tomorrow. If you’ve scaled sales in a Series A environment, consistently beaten quota, led at least a region, and carry both executive credibility and a coach’s mindset, this may be your next stage. 📍 Hybrid, DC or Nashville metro preferred, but not required. 👉 See the full role and apply here: https://lnkd.in/eCrn6tfw This is a rare opportunity to build something enduring. If you’re a high performer looking to join an exceptional team in the early innings — it’s here. Tagging Brian Shea, Brian McCarthy, Ryan Heinig, Bobby Christian, Phil Jung, Joseph Coyne, Dom Colasante, and Scott McDonald for reach.
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Mohan Rao shared thisLast week's MIT study heard round the world means that boards are going to become even more hyper-focused on when and where your company will see ROI from your AI efforts. What two other areas should boards be most focused on, and where should you as a leader be prepared to steer your company in the right direction with AI? Listen to this week's AI Knowhow for more from David DeWolf, Courtney Baker, and me. https://knwnwl.com/4n0ewWA #podcast #artificialintelligence #AI #AIKnowhow
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Mohan Rao shared thisWhat fun is it being on a podcast if you don't get to say something controversial every now and then? For certain types of companies, they need to really go for it with their AI spend in 2026. That means no more starting small with AI pilots and OpEx, which is the tech equivalent of renting a studio apartment. If you commit to investing in your data and infrastructure in 2026—targeting high-impact problems right in the daily workflows—you'll see massive returns on that '30-year mortgage'. Read more, and watch this week's full AI Knowhow episode on budgeting for AI in 2026 here: https://knwnwl.com/4mRtmyr
Mohan Rao replied to a comment
20h
Thanks for sharing this Sam — really resonates.
We’ve seen this firsthand as well with some organizations. It’s a big part of why we built RevOps for Clients services alongside the platform at Knownwell — software alone doesn’t solve the last mile. The organizations that get this right evolve the operating model with the software.
There’s also a growing body of work pointing to this — AI doesn’t reduce work as much as it redistributes and, in many cases, intensifies it.
Well said on “if nothing comes off the plate, it’s just more work.”
Mohan Rao replied to a comment
1d
Scott — really appreciate this framing. I think you’re exactly right to connect it to Theory of Constraints.
The “AI overload loop” is really how that shift in constraint shows up in practice — especially as it moves into judgment, validation, and the ability to act.
Agree this was always true — AI just makes it much more visible.
Mohan Rao replied to a comment
1d
Brad, such an important point — thank you.
Feels like a sequencing issue — adjusting capacity before redesigning the work system. And a real leadership challenge to navigate well.
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Mohan Rao reacted on thisI am very proud of this team and so grateful to all of our stakeholders, from our clients and candidates to our investors. Driving positive human capital impact with all of you is an amazing journey!Mohan Rao reacted on thisHireCapital turns five. What began as an idea has grown into a business we’re deeply proud of, shaped by the trust of our clients, partners, investors, candidates, and team. To everyone who has been part of this journey, thank you. Your support, belief, and partnership have helped build HireCapital into what it is today. A special thank you to the teammates who have been with us since the beginning and continue to help define who we are. We’re proud of what we’ve built over the last five years, and even more energized by what’s ahead. Paul Villella Jasmin M. Alana Hyman Rachel (Hyman) Lamb Steve Gan Hannah Herbst Jeannette B. #HireCapital #5YearAnniversary #Staffing #TalentPartners #Hiring #BusinessGrowth
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Mohan Rao liked thisRoughly, 15 months ago, an undergrad student Spencer Mateega, walked up to me after class to discuss his job options: join Google, Silver Lake, or apply to YC and start something new. Knowing Spencer, the answer was obvious. And Spencer decided to take a gamble and started AfterQuery with other friends from Penn. AfterQuery is a research lab curating data for training AI models. In just 12 months, the company has surpassed $100M in revenue run rate. I am fortunate to be an investor and advisor to the company. If you are training AI models, you need to talk to AfterQuery about their data solutions to power your supervised finetuning and RL loops.Mohan Rao liked thisToday, AfterQuery is excited to announce that we have raised $30 million at a $300 million valuation to build the data layer powering the next generation of professional AI. Since closing a few months ago, we’ve grown exponentially and have surpassed $100 million in revenue run rate. This round was led by Altos Ventures, with participation from The Raine Group, Y Combinator, Latitude Capital, BoxGroup, and angels from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta Superintelligence Labs, and Microsoft AI. For most of history, expertise has been scarce, constrained by time and reach: one person, one career, one lifetime. Now, for the first time, we can encode, evaluate, and scale it. We believe the wisdom that once took a lifetime to build shouldn’t take a lifetime to find. Our datasets and reinforcement learning environments power every frontier AI lab and will redefine how millions of people around the world think, work, and interact. To our customers, colleagues, and partners, thank you. This is just the beginning. Read our Co-founder and CEO’s Spencer Mateega’s post on what this milestone means. Blog in the comments.
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Mohan Rao reacted on thisDear Shreya Hiwarkar - deeply moved by your sentiments expressed. You won more than an award. YOU found *making meaning* very early in your life - so good on you! It’s a life win only few people can claim. It’s uniquely yours. This award merely recognizes what you already have…so Congratulations! You channeled your neuropathic pain into purpose; fueled your solitude into strength to power you through your suffering post a *spinal-cord* injury…and turned your software engineering talents into ‘solving for others’ - a rare trait. Pune Institute of Computer Technology is the boutique institution that instills - courage, conscience, and conviction. You certainly now added a new ingredient - #compassion! The ‘Harihar-Boccasam Excellence’ award in perpetuity to honor Dr. Ashok “Doc” Joshi is not to just recognize brilliance, but also *social impact*. You are its first recipient - and may you inspire the next cohorts to follow in your footsteps - but with less pain and suffering that you endured. The fact that your application is now deployed in #production at Pune hospitals also paves a way for your exciting entrepreneurial journey ahead. #Entrepreneuship bring its own challenges - but am sure it will be no match for what you have already exhibited. Wear your #humanity with pride, but more importantly wear your #humility even more closely so you can continue to be an inspiration for others. With sincere admiration and blessings for the road ahead… ~PV CC: Prahlad Kulkarni Dr. Girish Potdar Dr. Pravin Patil Shantanu Kothavale Gautam Godse Neha Narkhede Prem Pahlajrai Shrikant Patil Sunil Jalihal Aniruddha Kumthekar Aniruddha Joshi Raj Sethi Ramakant Pandrangi Savitribai Phule Pune University Jeannine Piacenza Paloma Boccasam Tory Jensa Prabhu Venkatesh Prasanna Harihar Sulekha R.Mohan Rao reacted on thisOn 29th March 2026, history was made at PICT. And I'm still trying to find words worthy enough to describe what it felt like to be the one who made it. I won the Harihar-Boccassam Foundation PICT Excellence Award. An award that had witnessed more heartbreak than celebration. Every year, the most exceptional projects in the room had their eyes on it, and those same eyes watched it disappear. Until one night. This year, the Award found not one, but two homes. Harsh Butle's team. And mine. Sharing this moment with someone who fought just as hard makes it mean even more special. Though I actually had no team. No co-founder. No one to split the sleepless nights with. No one to blame when things broke. No one to celebrate when things finally worked. Every literature review. Solo. Every feature engineering decision. Solo. Every failed experiment, every rebuilt pipeline, every agonizing moment of "why is this not converging." Solo. In a competition where nearly every team had multiple people, I walked in as a party of one. What I built- Imagine surviving a spinal cord injury. The trauma is over. The surgery is done. You made it. And then, weeks later, an invisible, excruciating pain begins. Central Neuropathic Pain. A neurological nightmare ambushing patients long after the damage heals. No warning. No early signs. No way to see it coming. Until now. I built NeuroCNP. A system that finds the ghost of pain before it becomes a haunting. Before the patient feels a thing. Before it's too late. NeuroCNP detects the fingerprint of Central Neuropathic Pain at its embryonic stage, giving clinicians a chance to act before the storm. This is machine learning with a conscience. AI that doesn't just predict. It protects. Now, the man behind this award. Prashanth "PV" Boccasam. A PICT alumnus who walked into Microsoft in the early 90s. Founded Entevo (Symantec), Approva (Infor), ClearStandards (SAP). General Partner at a $600M fund. NASDAQ board member. A man who could've forgotten where he came from. He didn't. He built a legacy — the Harihar-Boccassam Foundation PICT Excellence Award, in honor of Dr. Ashok "Doc" Joshi. It found me. I'm just someone who found a problem that refused to leave me alone. Who had no one to hand off the hard parts to, so I just did the hard parts. And built something that I hope, someday, will refuse to let that pain arrive unannounced. That's enough for me. PV Bóccasam Sir, most people climb and forget the ladder. You came back and built an elevator. Thank you for everything.🙏 A solo project is never truly solo. My guide Satish Narkhede Sir was the compass I returned to when everything felt directionless. Thank you so much Sir for your guidance.🙏 Thank you Dr. Girish Potdar Sir, Dr. Pravin Patil Sir and Pune Institute of Computer Technology. Forever grateful.🙏 #PICT #Pune #AI #ML #NeuroCNP #EEG #NeuropathicPain #MachineLearning #Tech #AIForGood #InC2026 #HariharBoccassam #SoloProject #HistoryMade
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Mohan Rao reacted on thisMohan Rao reacted on thisI have predominantly traveled solo or with one friend who just says “works 👍🏼” for all messages. Because in a group of 5 who want to finalize on a place for breakfast: One has recently turned vegan One is experimenting with keto One is on a detox diet One found this restaurant 2 hrs away yesterday and claims it is on their bucket list And one just wants to grab something and start the day tour. The last one is labelled the one who spoils the trip! #travel
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Mohan Rao liked thisMost revenue problems start quietly inside your existing client base, not in the lead pipeline. That's one of the big ideas I’ll be discussing next Thursday with Brian Shea in our executive masterclass on signal-led growth. Too many leadership teams still get surprised by churn risk, missed expansion opportunities, and blind spots that were visible far earlier than anyone realized. The issue is usually a lack of visibility into the signals that actually matter instead of a lack of data. If you're a CEO, CFO, CRO, RevOps, or Customer Success leader thinking about how to protect and grow revenue with more precision, I think you’ll find this conversation valuable. Hope to see you there!Mohan Rao liked thisRevenue Risk Starts in the Install Base Across the B2B landscape right now, leadership teams are facing a growing paradox: We have more customer data than ever…more dashboards than ever…and yet surprise churn and renewal risk continue to catch executive teams off guard. What we’re seeing is that most revenue breakdowns don’t start in pipeline, they start quietly inside the install base.
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Mohan Rao reacted on thisMohan Rao reacted on thisI don’t need big wins every day. I need moments like this. A simple message. A real experience. Someone saying, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝. No dashboards. No metrics. Just this. That’s why I’m building Hoogah If you’re bringing people into a room— don’t just gather them. Make it mean something. → 𝐔𝐬𝐞 Hoogah Thank you Liz N. for letting Hoogah part of your event & Michelle Tanguez for participating !
Volunteer Experience
Courses
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DMGT LDP at Moller Center, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, UK
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Several Executive Education Programs, William & Mary, Raymond A. Mason School of Business
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Honors & Awards
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