Sonjaya Tandon

About Sonjaya Tandon

McKinsey Associate Partner. Green Chef co-founder ($100M ARR → HelloFresh acquisition). 25+ years building technology at every scale. Now helping companies shape what's newly possible with AI — through an open-source methodology designed for your independence.

25+

Years of technical experience from C++ pioneer to AI methodology

$100M

ARR reached at Green Chef before successful HelloFresh acquisition

60

Person team led at McKinsey with $50M annual investment responsibility

Open

Source methodology — transparent, verifiable, yours to own

Career Journey

From technical pioneer to McKinsey Associate Partner — a path combining technical depth, strategic consulting, and entrepreneurial execution

1987-1998

Technical Pioneer

Among the first C++ developers globally, building foundational expertise

Cornell → Layered → Lotus → Park City Group

Started at Cornell with Computer Science degree, then became one of the first 4,000 C++ developers globally at Layered Inc. (acquired by Paul Allen). Continued as Sr. Software Engineer at legendary Lotus Development Corporation and Principal Engineer at Park City Group.

  • Among first 4,000 C++ developers globally
  • Technical pioneer in Windows/C++ development
  • 6 years as Principal Engineer
  • Deep systems programming expertise
1998-2010

Hands-on Leadership

Building companies and leading engineering teams

DATASKILL CTO → Multiple Startups → ImagineSports

Served 7 years as CTO at DATASKILL with full P&L responsibility. Co-founded Eternal Adventures Entertainment, architected systems at Syntricity, and led engineering for ESPN.com-featured sports games at ImagineSports.

  • 7+ years as CTO with full business responsibility
  • Multiple co-founder experiences
  • US Patent #6,073,142 holder
  • Government consulting leadership
2010-2018

Big Tech & Scale Leadership

Leading large teams at Disney/Playdom and co-founding Green Chef

Disney/Playdom → Green Chef Co-founder

At Disney/Playdom: Built Facebook game hitting 500K DAU in 6 weeks, led cross-studio teams. Co-founded Green Chef (first USDA-certified organic meal kit), built MVP to paying customers in Month 1, $15M Series A in Month 5, $100M revenue by Year 3, acquired by HelloFresh.

  • Green Chef: MVP to $100M ARR to acquisition
  • Disney/Playdom: 500K DAU in 6 weeks
  • Led engineering teams across multiple states
  • Complete startup success story
2018-Present

McKinsey Strategy + AI Methodology

Strategic consulting excellence combined with open-source AI methodology

McKinsey Associate Partner → Consortium.Team Founder

McKinsey Associate Partner, Head of Product, Design & Engineering for ClienTech. Led 60-person cross-functional team, oversaw 100+ asset portfolio, $50M annual investment committee member. Now building an open-source AI consulting methodology that transfers capability to clients.

  • McKinsey Associate Partner level
  • $50M annual investment responsibility
  • Open-source reverse prompting methodology
  • Clients achieve independence in months

Key Career Achievements

Measurable value creation and proven results at scale

McKinsey & Company

Associate Partner, Head of Product, Design & Engineering

ClienTech Division

2020-2022

Led 60-person cross-functional team and oversaw 100+ asset portfolio. Asset investment committee member investing $50M annually in technology solutions.

Impact: Strategic consulting depth combined with hands-on technical leadership.

Green Chef

Co-founder & CTO ('The Dude')

First USDA-Certified Organic Meal Kit

2014-2018

Built MVP and shipped to paying customers in Month 1. $15M Series A from NEA in Month 5. Reached $100M revenue by Year 3. Successfully acquired by HelloFresh.

Impact: Complete startup success story demonstrating MVP to acquisition execution.

US Patent Office

Patent Holder

Patent #6,073,142

Innovation

Granted patent for technical innovation, demonstrating deep technical expertise and innovation capability in emerging technologies.

Impact: Proven innovation track record in technology development.

Disney/Playdom

Sr. Director, Engineering

Social Gaming Platform

2010-2013

Built Facebook game (Treetopia) in 23 days that hit 500K DAU in 6 weeks. Led cross-studio teams for architecture, launch readiness, and capacity planning.

Impact: Large-scale consumer platform engineering at Disney scale.

Approach

What makes this practice different

Strategy + Implementation

Most consultants are either strategic thinkers OR technical implementers. This practice bridges McKinsey strategic methodology with hands-on technical capability.

Review your code architecture in the morning and present to your board in the afternoon.

Proven at Scale

Every approach is backed by real-world results. From MVP to $100M ARR at Green Chef, to leading 60-person teams managing $50M investments at McKinsey.

Co-founded Green Chef: Month 1 paying customers → $100M ARR → HelloFresh acquisition.

Ownership Through Delivery

Each success map earns the next through delivery. An open-source methodology means you own the capability — and can verify exactly how it works.

Clients go from first conversation to owning the methodology independently.

Current Focus: AI Methodology That Transfers

Consortium.team exists to surface what companies can't yet articulate about AI — and give them working tools. Not roadmaps. Not strategy decks. Working tools they use tomorrow.

The methodology is open-source. The tool used in first conversations — Project Creator — is publicly available on GitHub. Clients see exactly how it works, learn to run it themselves, and achieve independence in months.

Current clients include growing companies ($1M–$50M revenue) who need to shape new AI capabilities — not optimize existing ones. CEOs, co-founders, and Chiefs of Staff who want strategic clarity and working tools from their first conversation.

Consortium.Team

May 2024 – Present

  • Open-source reverse prompting methodology
  • $3,500/month per success map
  • Clients achieve independence in months
  • Working tools from first conversation
  • McKinsey strategy + hands-on implementation

Ready to Start a Conversation?

Surface what you can't yet articulate about AI. Leave with clarity and working tools.