He Builds Useful Things That Give a Lot of Value to a Lot of People | Tharaka Hettihamu episode artwork

EPISODE · May 16, 2026 · 22 MIN

He Builds Useful Things That Give a Lot of Value to a Lot of People | Tharaka Hettihamu

from The Creative Odyssey Podcast · host Sheran Ranasinghe

He didn't walk away from aircraft engineering because something better came along. He walked away because nothing he built ever reached anyone — and that was the only thing that mattered to him.Tharaka Hettihamu is a product manager and builder working at the intersection of agritech, AI, and startup product development in Sri Lanka. In this conversation, he breaks down what product management actually demands, why he pivoted from aircraft engineering into tech, and how his team at Spectrify AI is digitising data across Sri Lanka's tea industry to turn a supply chain into a value chain.📥 Download the Sri Lanka Podcast Tour Magazine — free: https://stan.store/TheCreativeOdysseyPodcast/p/get-inside-the-creative-odyssey-magazine?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bioWhat we get into:Why Tharaka left aircraft engineering and what he found on the other sideWhat product management actually is — and why emotional intelligence is the core skillHow Spectrify AI is using infrared spectroscopy to digitise agricultural data in Sri Lanka's tea industryWhat it means to convert a supply chain into a value chainThe Govi Lab program — one of 10 startups selected, backed by the Bill Gates FoundationAI agents, digital workers, and the Vector projectWhy creativity in tech has nothing to do with artistic talentHow AI access in rural Sri Lanka is an infrastructure problem, not a readiness problemHow to get into product management from any background — including the free resources Tharaka usedCONNECT WITH THARAKA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hetti.tech/ Website: https://hetti.tech🎙️ The Creative Odyssey Podcast Hosted by Sheran Ranasinghe | Produced by Odyssey House Media Recorded at Hatch.lk, Sri Lanka🎧 Listen and subscribe: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/12SGsSsLz4DqlLFwxigjXX Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/the-creative-odyssey-podcast/id1750306317 Buzzsprout: https://thecreativeodysseypodcast.buzzsprout.com 📩 [email protected] Us A Message! We'd love to hear your thoughts!Support the show

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He didn't walk away from aircraft engineering because something better came along. He walked away because nothing he built ever reached anyone — and that was the only thing that mattered to him. Tharaka Hettihamu is a product manager and builder working at the intersection of agritech, AI, and startup product development in Sri Lanka. In this conversation, he breaks down what product management actually demands, why he pivoted from aircraft engineering into tech, and how his team at Spectrify...

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He Builds Useful Things That Give a Lot of Value to a Lot of People | Tharaka Hettihamu

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