Hello, my name is Yogesh

Picture this: a 12-year-old in a cramped Mumbai apartment, surrounded by the scattered remains of his father's radio. The humid air carries the sharp scent of metal and dust, while outside, the familiar chaos of street vendors and auto-rickshaws hums its eternal song. My father watches, a mix of frustration and curiosity creasing his brow, as I hold up a tiny circuit board to the light streaming through our single window.

What started as childhood destruction became my first lesson in creation. Each component told a story, each connection served a purpose. I didn't know it then, but I was asking the question that would shape everything: 'What if this could work better?' Today, that same curiosity drives me to build AI systems that understand human conversations and solve real problems. But the kid with the screwdriver? He's still here, still taking things apart to understand how they tick.

Computer science textbooks filled our dorm room, but something felt missing. While my classmates memorized algorithms, I found myself sketching game ideas in the margins, wondering: 'What if learning could feel like playing?' The Teknack Hackathon announcement felt like fate calling. Forty-eight hours to build something people would actually use.

Our team chose an ambitious idea: 'Upside Down,' an endless runner where players literally flip between parallel worlds. The normal world was bright and safe, the Upside Down dark and dangerous. As I coded through the night, fueled by chai and determination, watching pixels come alive on my laptop screen, I felt something click. This wasn't just programming, this was digital storytelling.

Three sleepless nights later, we hit submit. Then came the waiting. When the downloads started rolling in, 100, 500, 1,000, I realized people were carrying a piece of our imagination in their pockets. First place at Teknack was just a trophy. But knowing someone smiled during their morning commute because of code I wrote? That was magic.

My first week at Impel AI, I was assigned to build AI that helps car dealerships manage service appointments. It sounded straightforward until I realized what we were actually creating: technology that could understand the frustration in a customer's voice when they said, 'My car's making that weird noise again.'

Working with conversational AI felt like teaching a computer empathy. Our system learned to read between the lines. A worried parent mentioning strange sounds got connected to diagnostic services. A busy professional got appointment times that worked with their schedule. Every conversation our AI handled successfully meant someone's day got a little easier.

The breakthrough came when I helped build a validation system that reduced booking errors by a third. But the real victory wasn't in the percentage, it was in the thank-you emails from customers who didn't have to call back, didn't have to explain their problem twice, didn't have to juggle their calendar for a second appointment.

Walking across Syracuse University's snow-covered campus, I sometimes pause and think about that humid Mumbai apartment. The journey from dismantling radios to designing AI systems feels impossible, yet here I am, bridging two worlds with every line of code I write.

At Impel AI, I don't just build software, I translate human needs into digital solutions. React interfaces that make complex tasks feel simple. Backend systems that scale from dozens to thousands of users without breaking a sweat. AI that makes decisions with the wisdom of human experience. Every project carries the DNA of that curious 12-year-old and the discipline of enterprise engineering.

What excites me most isn't what I've built, it's what becomes possible when technology truly understands human intent. Because that kid with the screwdriver? He's not done asking questions.