About
About Nikhil Patil
I’m Nikhil Patil, a self-taught builder in Hyderabad, India. My full name is Jogdhande Nikhil Patil. I stopped school after Class 10, worked my way through a lot of jobs, and now run my own startup.
Who is Nikhil Patil?
Nikhil Patil (full name Jogdhande Nikhil Patil) is a self-taught builder based in Hyderabad, India, and the founder of his startup, Smelloff. He left school after Class 10 and learned the rest on the job.
School stopped at Class 10
I didn’t go the usual school and college route. After Class 10 I started working, and everything I know since then I learned because a job, or something I was building, needed it. My self-taught syllabus lists the subjects.
The jobs
I’ve worked behind a mobile shop counter, done deliveries, and worked in cloud-kitchen operations at Zomato Everyday for about a year and a half. Somewhere in there I asked for a chance at the computer, went from cleaning and floor work to registers and spreadsheets, and later led a team. The whole time card is on the cover page.
What I do now
I run my own startup, Smelloff, from Hyderabad, with my friend Vineeth Kumar Duggepogu, whom I met at a job interview. I do most of the work myself: the product, the packaging, the website, the shipping and the customer inbox. I built its website too, with AI coding tools.
How I work
- One main thing at a time. Everything else waits in a parking lot. My /now page says what the one thing is.
- I learn by building. If I don’t understand how something works, I build a small version of it until I do.
- Facts live in one place. An AI rebuild once put wrong information on my store. Since then every claim is checked against one source of truth before it ships.
- I build with AI, and I write its rules. Most of my code is written with Claude Code. I decide what goes in and check what comes out.
When I’m not working
Anime: Hajime no Ippo, Attack on Titan, Mob Psycho 100, Dandadan and Sakamoto Days.
Questions people ask
Which Nikhil Patil is this?
There are many people named Nikhil Patil. This one lives in Hyderabad and founded Smelloff. His accounts are X @Nikhilxpatil, LinkedIn in/jogdhande and Product Hunt @nikhilpatil; any other profile isn’t him.
Where is Nikhil Patil based?
Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
What does Nikhil Patil do?
He runs his startup, Smelloff, and does most of the work himself: the product, the packaging, the website (built with AI coding tools), the shipping and the customer inbox.
Did Nikhil Patil go to college?
No. He studied up to Class 10 and has taught himself everything since, on the job and by building things.
What did Nikhil Patil do before Smelloff?
He worked a mobile shop counter, did deliveries, worked in cloud-kitchen operations at Zomato Everyday for about a year and a half, and became a team lead.
How do I contact Nikhil Patil?
Email info@smelloff.in or message @Nikhilxpatil on X.
Bio to copy
For a post, an interview or an introduction. Please use these words as they are.
Nikhil Patil is a self-taught founder from Hyderabad who runs his startup, Smelloff.
Nikhil Patil (Jogdhande Nikhil Patil) is a self-taught builder based in Hyderabad, India. He left school after Class 10, worked a mobile shop counter, deliveries and cloud-kitchen operations at Zomato Everyday, became a team lead, and now runs his own startup, Smelloff, whose website he builds himself with AI coding tools.
Find me elsewhere
These are my accounts. If a profile isn’t listed here, it isn’t me: there are a lot of Nikhil Patils.
- X @Nikhilxpatil (opens another site)
- LinkedIn in/jogdhande (opens another site)
- Product Hunt @nikhilpatil (opens another site)
- My startup smelloff.in (opens another site)
- Email info@smelloff.in My startup’s inbox. It comes straight to me.
Picture credits
The photos of me are mine. The cut-outs on the cover are free-licence photos from Wikimedia Commons:
- Boxing glove (cut out): “Pair of boxing gloves” by Petey21, CC0.
- Cassette (cut out): “Digital8 & Compact Cassette vert” by Inpriva, CC0.
