Janardhan Massar

Who they are

Janardhan Massar is Founder of Designdockapp — a Bengaluru-based product design agency he bootstrapped in April 2023 to serve Shopify app builders, while also running a design blog at designdock.in.

Person

Janardhan did a Bachelor's at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (2012–2017) before crossing to London for a Master's at City St George's, University of London, completing it in 2022. He came up through India's design-studio and edtech scene: Lollypop Design Studio, then Unacademy, then Coral, then dezerv — a path that moved him from agency craft into product work at high-growth consumer and fintech companies. Along the way he also did a stint at Qentelli and took on UX and interaction design certifications from the Interaction Design Foundation and a product design course at 10K Designers, signalling someone who actively self-invests between jobs. In April 2023 he went out on his own, founding Designdockapp — a bootstrapped product design agency focused on Shopify app ecosystems, covering MVP design, B2B SaaS design, and product branding. He guest lectured at the National Institute of Fashion Technology India in Jodhpur on 'Product Experience and Interface Design' in November 2024, and appeared on Whiteboard.fm (#029) in 2021 talking design careers. He writes at designdock.in (design workflows, Shopify app design, skill matrices, career growth) and publishes essays on Medium at medium.com/@janardhanmassar. The through-line is a designer who keeps sharpening craft — agency to product to founder — and then turns that experience into teaching material.

How they likely show up

Short stints across Lollypop, Unacademy, Coral, and dezerv before founding Designdockapp → likely a fast learner who extracts what he needs from each environment rather than settling in for years.
Founded Designdockapp as a bootstrapped agency right after his Master's → high agency, comfortable with ambiguity, doesn't wait for permission to start.
Active writing at designdock.in and Medium on skill matrices, workflows, and career growth → process-minded, tends to systematise learnings rather than keep them implicit.
Guest lectured at NIFT Jodhpur and appeared on Whiteboard.fm → comfortable teaching and being visible; probably responds well to peer-level design conversations.
Certifications from Interaction Design Foundation and 10K Designers alongside formal degrees → deliberate about filling skill gaps; values structured learning even when self-directed.

Conversation tips

→ Reference designdock.in specifically — he built it as a content property, not just a portfolio, and will notice if you've actually read it.
→ Ask about the Shopify app niche as a strategic choice, not an accident — he positioned the agency there deliberately and will have a clear point of view on why.
→ His NIFT guest lecture (November 2024) is a recent signal of where his head is at on design education — it's a good thread to pull.
→ He came through edtech (Unacademy) and fintech (dezerv, Coral) before niching into Shopify — acknowledging that breadth shows you've done more than skim his LinkedIn.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on designdock.in — he built a design blog covering skill matrices and Shopify app design workflows, which is a deliberate bet that content is part of the agency's value proposition, not just a side project.
Reference the Whiteboard.fm episode (#029, 2021) where he talked through his design career at Unacademy and Lollypop — it pre-dates the founding of Designdockapp and gives context for what pushed him to go independent.
Bring up the NIFT Jodhpur guest lecture in November 2024 — he taught 'Product Experience and Interface Design' there, which says something about how he thinks of design education as part of his identity, not just client delivery.

Discovery questions

You positioned Designdockapp specifically around Shopify app ecosystems — what was the insight that made that niche the right call rather than staying generalist?
Your writing at designdock.in covers measurable skill matrices for designers — how do you apply that framework internally when you're bringing in collaborators or growing the agency?
You went from product design at fintech companies like dezerv and Coral to founding an agency for Shopify builders — what did those fintech years teach you that you're now bringing to the Shopify space?

Avoid

Don't treat him as a generalist freelance designer — he has a deliberate niche (Shopify app ecosystems), a content brand, and a teaching track; flattening that to 'UI/UX work' will lose him fast.

Make it yours