Vivek Sharma

Hi, I’m Vivek.

My journey has taken me through research laboratories, chemistry classrooms and software development. Today, as the founder of Red Banana, I bring those experiences together with a simple ambition: to turn good ideas into things that are useful, thoughtfully made and easy for people to engage with.

I enjoy understanding how things work. More importantly, I enjoy figuring out how they could work better.

It started with curiosity

I studied at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, completing a five-year B.Tech. (Hons.) and M.Tech. dual degree in Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering between 2007 and 2012. My academic work gave me a grounding in scientific research, experimentation and analytical thinking.

During those years, I also undertook two summer research internships at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, working on projects involving molecular biology and protein interactions. At IIT Kharagpur, my research explored arsenic-resistant bacteria and the genes involved in arsenic transport.

Research taught me to be comfortable with not having the answer immediately. To ask better questions, test an assumption, learn from what does not work and try again. That approach still feels relevant every time I begin something new.

Then came the classroom

After IIT, I spent several years teaching chemistry to students preparing for engineering and medical entrance examinations, with roles at IITian’s PACE in Mumbai and Aryaan Study Circle in Goa. My work included classroom teaching, developing study material, setting assessments and helping students work through difficult concepts.

Teaching shaped the way I communicate and solve problems. Knowing a subject is one thing. Explaining it so that someone else can understand it, question it and use it is another.

It also taught me to listen. A useful explanation starts with understanding where the other person is coming from, not with demonstrating how much you know.

That is a lesson I bring to working with clients and teams.

From explaining systems to building them

I later moved into software development, joining EY in 2022 as a backend web developer. There, I worked on backend applications, REST APIs, automated testing, debugging and improvements to software reliability. My technical toolkit included Python, Flask and related backend technologies.

The move from teaching to technology was a change in profession, but there was a familiar challenge at its centre: take something complicated, understand its structure and make it work clearly.

It reinforced something I value about learning. You do not have to remain within the boundaries of your first qualification. You do, however, have to be willing to start again, practise and do the work.

Bringing it together at Red Banana

Red Banana is where I bring that mix of curiosity, communication and hands-on problem-solving.

My approach starts with understanding the need before deciding on the technology. What are we trying to make possible? Who will use it? What would make their experience simpler, more engaging or more useful?

I like being involved in both the thinking and the making, from discussing an early idea to working through the details that help it take shape. I care about what happens after something is launched, too: whether it is dependable, whether people enjoy using it and whether it does the job it was built to do.

The ambition for Red Banana is to build a company that people enjoy working with as much as they value the work itself. A place for thoughtful questions, honest conversations, experimentation and care in the execution.

I’m still curious. Still learning. And happiest when there is something worth building.