# Akhila Kosaraju > I help climate solutions accelerate adoption with design that wins pilots, partnerships & funding | Clients across startups and unicorns backed by U.S. Dep’t of Energy, YC, Accel | Brand, Websites and UX Design. Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/akhilakosaraju Your climate solution is technically superior, but you're losing to companies that simply tell their story better. You watch as: ✺ Investors see you as just another startup instead of the category leader you actually are ✺ Strategic Partners pick inferior solutions because yours feels complicated and overwhelming ✺ Customers stick with familiar solutions because yours doesn't feel urgent or necessary I'm Akhila, and I've seen this story too many times. After working with impact based orgs for over 5 years, I learned that breakthrough solutions need more than great science, they need trusted positioning. For climate solutions, this gap is even wider. That's exactly why I built What if Design. We bridge the gap between breakthrough climate science and market success through strategic design. Our approach is simple: ✺ We understand your technology deeply (yes, we read the technical papers) ✺ We create complete solutions where brand story, user experience, and messaging work together to build trust and drive action ✺ We bring in human-centered research to map how decisions really get made in complex organizational structures (spoiler: it's messier than org charts suggest) Result: Your solution becomes the market leader it deserves to be. You get: ✺ Faster funding cycles: Investors immediately grasp your value ✺ Scalable growth: Strong foundation supports rapid expansion ✺ Clear competitive advantage: Your positioning becomes your moat ✺ Higher user adoption: People choose your solution without needing to be "educated" We know this works because we chose this path deliberately. When we realized we wanted to work on world-changing problems, we spent over a year in climate learning from technical founders who had revolutionary science but struggled to turn it into business value. Our clients now are backed by the US Department of Energy, Accel, YC and include unicorns. They've secured $45M+ in funding because we made their value impossible to ignore. They too, started with breakthrough technology that nobody understood or trusted. If that sounds familiar, let's talk about changing your story. Reach out at https://cal.com/akhilak/what-if-design ## Work Experience ### Co-founder, Lead Design Strategist @ What if Design Jan 2023 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area • Co-founded the remote-first creative studio for UI/UX design, app and web development, Industrial design, branding, marketing strategy; and social media management • Established Design Systems, workflows and file management systems for all projects • Led the design of 13 mobile and web user interface projects with a team of 3 members including developers and designers by coordinating with 11 clients across 5 countries • Increased monthly revenue of leap.club by 50% by redesigning the user mobile application post identifying key pain points through contextual inquiry interviews and usability tests • Curated all the marketing collateral for a nation-wide vaccination drive by TATA 1mg • Co-designed an asset & inventory management software for nationwide implementation across health infrastructures facilities in KSA for the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia • Launched a social media campaign for covid-relief fundraising that served 41000+ meals ### Co-founder, Design Lead @ MeetKiwi Jan 2023 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area ### Primary Instructor (GSIR) @ University of Michigan Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 • Primary Instructor for the course ARTDES241: Intro to Product Design. Holding lectures, studio consultations, and workshops for 20 undergraduate students at STAMPS. ### ELP Fellow @ Entrepreneurs Leadership Program Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States • One of 21 students from across all majors, years and programs at the University of Michigan selected to take part in a rigorous program that provides teaching, mentoring, and training to support the entrepreneurial career goals of students. • The program involves personalized mentorship, treks, and entrepreneurial education. ### Product Management + Customer Success @ KODE Labs Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Detroit Metropolitan Area • Conceptualized an industry-first tool for tech-stack matching with 200+ use cases, designing a digital prototype, and defining features. • Conducted 5+ product feature reviews based on functionality and UX feedback • Initiated UX audits and created information architecture for the KODE ecosystem • Created all channel partner training collateral including user guides, tutorials and product explainers to train all incoming and over 30 existing stakeholders. ### Co-Founder @ Oudio Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States • Started off from winning the Business+Tech Innovation Jam at the Ross School of Business from 40+teams. • Created new PRDs docs and business model from surveys, competitors’ research, users’ in-depth interviews, and conjoint analysis, and developed an initial prototype for “OUDIO”. • Discontinued due to customer discovery indicating a solid need for the product, but low willingness to pay. ### Project Architect @ Bhumiputra Architecture Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India • Spearheaded the design and the sub-consultant coordination for a $10.8 million project, a 14-floor lake facing apartment in Bangalore with prospective LEED gold certification • Executed the construction of the Catalyst law office by collaborating with 20+ consultants, vendors, suppliers and artisans to integrate expertise across the interior design project ### Junior Architect @ Bhumiputra Architecture Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | Bangalore, India • Designed the Kalinga Aquatic Centre that involves the training of Olympic level swimmers of India and a 10,000 seater stadium with a project cost of INR 120 Cr. • Co-Lead for the design and coordination for a 14-floor lake facing luxury apartment building type in Bangalore India. The project cost is INR 80 Cr. with one of a kind sustainability features like lush green terraces and a closed energy cycle. • Designed a set of unique urban design products to be prefabricated and assembled in a 75m thick buffer zone around the Puri Jagannath Temple to create a high-security zone with complete redevelopment of spaces to reorganise the temple functioning. The design went on to win a competition among top 5 Urban design and architecture firms in India selected by the CM of Orissa. ### Freelance Design Consultant @ Multiple Companies Jan 2016 – Jan 2020 | India • Collaborated on 27 projects ranging in graphic design, website design, user interface design, architecture, facade design, social media strategy and design consulting • Consulted with 15 organizations with focus ranging from tech-driven logistical support to wellness industry consumer products, providing design and creative media expertise ### Official Delegate @ ARCASIA Student Jamboree 2018 Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | Tokyo, Japan •Selected as the National Representative from India by the Indian Institute of Architects to represent the country in 13th Asian Congress of Architects’18 at Tokyo, Japan from 250+ Registered Architectural Colleges across India. •Part of a student workshop including discussions, brainstormings, field surveys, lectures to think about our futures through tackling global issues/problems with more than 210 students from 21 asian countries. • Brain Stormed on the topic of Automation VS Craft to design an origami-based Extension for existing Metro trains in Tokyo to solve the congestion in Metro lines during Peak hours under the Guidance of Prof.Kensuke Hotta. ### Architectural Intern @ MIA Design Studio Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam •Received appreciation and recommendation from Mr. Nguyen Hoang Manh, Architectural Director - Owner, MIA Design Studio •Successfully pitched the design for Beach Club at Alila, Hoi An resulting an increment worth $7.8mn in the total business •Initiated the concept design and deduced the area program optimising the cost for Ms. Thao Villa having a project worth of $5mn •Solely developed the schematic design package for Ocean Villas at Alila, Hoi An and Mr. Tien Villa, Ho Chi Minh City •Co-led a 4 member team towards successful completion of presentation model for Beach Club at Alila, Hoi An ### Architectural Intern @ MICD Associates Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Colombo, Srilanka Worked as an Architectural summer intern under Ar.Channa Daswatte • Prepared the entire revised set of construction drawings including the electrical layout, Schedules and toilet details due to a change in the roof structure of a residential building in Jaffna. • Assisted the head architect in the site supervision of construction • Prepared the CAD Drawings for the refurbishment of a Rajasthan Govt Building in New Delhi. ### Summer Architectural Intern @ Manasaram Architects Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Bangalore • Prepared the presentation models of structural models using Bamboo splits for Venice Biennale,2016. • Solely responsible for the design, estimation and costing of a bamboo-fabric installation scheduled to be built in Palazzo mora,Venice in September 2016. • Prepared rainwater harvesting plan and presentation renders for Aditi Greenscapes,a housing project in Bangalore. • Documented a previous project that used prefabricated bamboo crete wall panels and studied about its scope for the future. • Created a report on Prefabricated Bamboo walls to be included in the Bamboo Application Technology course for PG Diploma students under the center. • Tenaciously managed to conduct an Open day to display the “Bamboo Architecture” of the firm along with a workshop on Bamboo and Mud. ## Education ### M.Des in Business + Design, Entreprenuership University of Michigan ### Climate Change : Learning for action Terra.do ### Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) in Minor in Economics, Architecture Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur ### High School in MPC Narayana Junior College ### High School KCP Siddhartha Adarsh Residential Public School ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/akhilakosaraju - Website: https://www.akhilakosaraju.com/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/akhilakosaraju JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/akhilakosaraju/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-08