ShepHertz Revolutionizes the Future of Work: How Siddhartha Chandurkar is Scaling "Work Anywhere" and "Talent Anywhere" with Applied AI

In the traditional corporate mind, the "office" is a physical boundary—a place where culture is absorbed by proximity and productivity is measured by swipes of an access card. But the world post-2020 has shattered that paradigm. As "skill globalization" takes hold, a graphic designer in Himachal Pradesh or a marketeer in Indonesia is now as accessible as someone living a mile from your headquarters. The challenge isn't the distance; it's the infrastructure of trust, compliance, and engagement in a decentralized world.

Enter Siddhartha Chandurkar, the founder and CEO of ShepHertz. With a 14-year legacy in the API and Big Data space, Siddhartha has pivoted his Made-in-India product company to solve the most pressing problems of the "Anywhere Economy." Through platforms like wAnywhere and TalentAnywhere, ShepHertz is using Applied AI to ensure that remote work isn't just a temporary solution, but a permanent, superior alternative to the traditional 9-to-5 grind.

The Rebirth of AI: From Infrastructure to Enabler

Siddhartha views the current generative AI boom not as a new phenomenon, but as a "rebirth." ShepHertz launched its first machine learning recommendation service back in 2012, long before "AI" became a marketing buzzword. To him, AI is the electricity of our time—a foundational utility that will fundamentally change every aspect of business and domestic life.

However, he is quick to distinguish between "Fundamental AI" and what he calls Applied AI. "It's like quantum physics vs. applied physics," he explains. "You need physics to build machines that solve real-world problems. That's our goal: taking the power of LLMs and Computer Vision and applying it to recruitment and workforce management."

The Pivot: The Night the World Stopped

The genesis of wAnywhere (Work Anywhere) happened almost overnight. When India's lockdown was announced in March 2020, Siddhartha realized that his clients in the BFSI (Banking, Finance, Security, and Insurance) sector were in a crisis. These companies manage highly confidential data—data that legally cannot leave the office. How could they work from home?

Contrary to the trend of "Return to Office," ShepHertz has seen its sales multiply post-COVID. Companies have realized that the savings in real estate, energy, and commute time are too significant to ignore—provided they have the right tools to manage their "anywhere" workforce.

TalentAnywhere: Disrupting 20 Years of Stagnation

While researching the recruitment landscape, Siddhartha made a startling observation: job portals haven't fundamentally changed in two decades. The sites look the same, and the hiring process remains a "Helter-Skelter" race where both candidates and recruiters are exhausted.

TalentAnywhere uses GenAI to bridge this gap. Instead of manual shortlisting, an Enterprise recruiter can type in plain English: "Find me a project manager who has worked in Telecom." But the real disruption is the AI Avatar Interviewer.

The Privacy Paradox and Computer Vision

One of the primary objections to remote work is data security. Siddhartha addresses this through non-intrusive yet robust Computer Vision solutions. For industries that require it, the system can detect if the logged-in person is indeed the employee and flag unauthorized data access.

"In some offices, you have to submit your mobile phone outside," Siddhartha notes. "We recreate that level of compliance digitally. It's not about 'spying' on employees; it's about enabling regulated industries to offer their staff the flexibility of working from Goa, Himachal, or their native towns."

Building Culture in a Virtual Room

As the CEO of a 100% remote company, Siddhartha is intimately aware of the "missing touchpoints." How do you percolate culture when people never meet? ShepHertz has developed over a dozen "productivity and engagement apps" within its ecosystem to gamify interaction and provide feedback. Instead of a manager saying "you're not doing this right," the AI acts as a coach, suggesting "how you can become better."

Advice for the Next Generation of AI Founders

For entrepreneurs looking to make an impact, Siddhartha's advice is to focus on Applied AI. The "Opportunity knocks once" rule doesn't apply here—the opportunity is already at the door, and it's a paradigm shift equivalent to moving from Nokia/Blackberry development to Android/iOS.

Today, ShepHertz stands as a testament to the power of constant evolution. From providing the "plumbing" of the internet via APIs to reimagining the "walls" of the office via AI, Siddhartha Chandurkar is building a future where talent and opportunity meet anywhere on the globe, unrestricted by physical boundaries.