Saiman Shetty’s career trajectory illustrates the intersection of technical research and business insights in the automotive and robotics industries. His work spans manufacturing optimization, autonomous vehicles, and entrepreneurial ventures, offering insights into how research expertise can be applied to business challenges.
At Tesla, Shetty worked on manufacturing optimization research, focusing on translating theoretical improvements into practical manufacturing solutions. The experience, which lasted two and a half years, shaped his perspective on applying research in business contexts. Reflecting on his time there, Shetty describes it as formative: “At Tesla, I saw personal and professional growth in 2 years which would typically take 5 years in similar companies.” Despite the challenges of long hours and high expectations, he found value in the demanding environment. The role influenced his approach to innovation and risk-taking, particularly in how he viewed the relationship between technical excellence and business outcomes.
Following Tesla, Shetty moved to Lyft’s self-driving division, where his role bridged engineering research and product development. The transition from engineering to technical product management expanded his understanding of how research findings could be transformed into viable products. At Nuro, his position involves robotics research focused on practical applications. The work centres on integrating advanced robotics technology into everyday uses, requiring both technical expertise and business acumen.
While maintaining his corporate career, Shetty has pursued several independent ventures. These include Hygeia, an IoT-based waste management project that applied environmental research to waste management challenges, and Resume Puppy, a data-driven platform for job seekers, with particular attention to immigrant professionals. He also developed immigration consulting services based on his experience navigating the EB-1A visa process.
Through his experiences, Shetty has developed several observations about business and innovation. “Simplicity is key,” he notes. “A lot of business success comes down to applying common sense consistently.” He emphasizes execution over planning: “Don’t get stuck in the planning phase,” as a lot of people can people very few people can execute, and he also stresses the importance of recognizing personal biases in decision-making.
When it comes to startup development, Shetty focuses on two fundamental questions. First, the identification of real problems: “If you’re not targeting a problem, your startup won’t serve any purpose in society.” Second, the clarity of the business model: “If you don’t know how to make money out of it, your startup won’t serve any purpose to you.”
His approach to business development focuses on addressing /seeing the existing challenges from a new lens rather than creating new markets. “I didn’t create a need or demand but worked on the existing issues based on research and personal experiences,” he explains. This methodology has informed both his corporate work and entrepreneurial projects. The relationship between research and business success requires careful consideration. It is noted that approximately half of new businesses don’t survive their first five years, highlighting the importance of thorough research and planning in business ventures.
Shetty maintains multiple projects simultaneously, describing them as “ongoing experiments of finding himself.” This approach is sustainable as one is always motivated to keep on learning and experimenting. His experience suggests that to set a niche combining technical expertise with business understanding can be effective.
The evolution of technology continues to create opportunities for research commercialization. Shetty’s experience demonstrates that one can approach bridging technical innovation and business application, though outcomes naturally vary based on market conditions, timing, and execution.
