Name: Prashant Sridharan
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Occupation: Marketing Executive
Room size: 10 m² (108 ft²)
Cost of setup: ~$6K
Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself
I’m a marketing executive who specialises in products aimed at software developers.
I started my career at Sun Microsystems in the 1990s, moved to Microsoft to run Visual Studio marketing and product management, went to Amazon to be the first Director of Marketing for AWS, then had stints on the platform businesses at Facebook and Twitter.
Since then, I’ve been at numerous database startups as VP of Marketing.
Currently, I lead Product Marketing at Supabase.
I am the author of Picks and Shovels: Marketing to Developers During the AI Gold Rush, a practical guide to developer marketing due out in Fall/Winter 2025.
I also advise several startups and help startups find and hire up-and-coming talent as their first Head of Marketing. You can subscribe to my blog Strategic Nerds.
I am originally from Washington, DC, but consider myself a Californian.
My wife and I own homes in San Francisco, California, and, since 2021, have been living in Lisbon, Portugal.
We have a three-year-old son and are truly enjoying the family-centric life in Portugal.
Take us through your setup
| Item | Model |
|---|---|
| Monitor | Apple Studio Display |
| Laptop | MacBook Air M4 |
| Headphones | B&O Beoplay |
| Keyboard | Apple Magic Keyboard |
| Mouse | Apple Magic Trackpad |
| Chair | Herman Miller Aeron |
| Tablet | Apple iPad mini |
| Microphone | Shure MV7+ |
I don’t like cluttered spaces, and can only think when my desk is clear.
What you see in the photo isn’t a cleaned up version of my space.
It is my space as it nearly always is, day and night.
I originally had a 49″ LG wide screen monitor, but found it to be too distracting.
I have since switched to a 27″ Apple Studio Display, and love not only the image quality but the focus that the screen affords.
We created the space when we moved to Portugal.
We bought a home and remodelled it, and our architect designed my desk for me.
My home office consists of my desk, two beautiful paintings of my beloved San Francisco, and a flat-panel TV on the wall behind me.
There is a ton of natural light from a window that gets fantastic morning sun.
We moved to Lisbon during the pandemic and soon after moving into our new house, we learned my wife was pregnant.
As a result, we didn’t feel comfortable yet exposing her (and, therefore, me as well) to the gym, so we added a Stages bike and a water rower.
Since gyms opened up, they have rarely seen any use, but at the time, they were lifesavers!
The Stages bike holds special significance.
It is the same bike, customised just like the ones used at SoulCycle, our favourite spin studio in the US.
I once did 679 SoulCycle classes in one year, and 120 SoulCycle classes in one month.
I met my wife at a bar in San Francisco across from a SoulCycle studio. And we (no joke!) got married during a SoulCycle class, officiated by our favourite instructor.
So, having a “SoulCycle bike” here in Lisbon with us is a way of keeping an important part of our life in San Francisco with us at all times.
I don’t plan on adding anything to the space anytime soon.
It is exactly the way I want it — decluttered and clean.
Makers
What’s your favourite item on your desk?
I have a small oak frame in which I rotate my son’s artwork.
Since the little man started school, the house has been awfully quiet.
Every parent knows the dilemma. “It’s so quiet, and I can think! How do you expect me to think with all this quiet???”
You would never, ever have convinced me in my 30s that kids would be great.
But now… I love my goofy little family, and it’s truly awesome having a piece of him with me while I work.
What apps or tools do you use to get things done?
I’m pretty boring. I use all the standard Google Workspace stuff.
But I think my favourite SaaS product du jour is Linear.
It’s so beautiful and elegant that it makes project management joyful.
What books, blogs, or podcasts recently caught your attention?
Well, obviously, my book: Picks & Shovels: Marketing to Developers During the AI Gold Rush, due out in Fall/Winter 2025.
Get it where all quality books are sold — and probably a few places where not-so-quality books are sold, too.
Prashant Sridharan
Beyond that, I love quality fiction with well-drawn characters.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was exceptional.
One everyone should read: Table for Two, the short story collection by Amor Towles who wrote the equally fantastic A Gentleman in Moscow.
I just finished Victory City by Salman Rushdie. It has been out for a while, but I loved it nonetheless.
And The Ministry of Time was really great as well.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
A genre-blurring novel that blends romance, sci-fi, and dark comedy with a literary twist. It follows a civil servant assigned to live with a time-travelling Victorian explorer as part of a secret government project. As the pair navigate their strange arrangement, washing machines and all, an unexpected connection forms. But when the truth behind the project unravels, so does their sense of control over time — and each other.
I was a Shakespeare major, so there’s always a good chance that I’m reading a play.
On vacation through Italy two years ago, I got obsessed with the Roman Empire and devoured as many books as I could.
Yes, I’m a TikTok cliché.
Any tips for other makers who want to improve their workspaces?
The minimalist life isn’t for everyone, so I hesitate to offer any tips.
Do whatever makes you happy.
Makers
What does your typical day look like?
I’m up at 4 am daily.
I do a little Slack and check in on work (our company is global remote, so this is a good chance to interact with folks in Asia and the US simultaneously.)
At 5:40 am, I head to the gym.
It’s 20 minutes away and I’m always the first person there when it opens.
I get my workout done and I’m usually back home by 7:15 am.
The kid usually wakes up at this time, so I get the dog walked, take a shower, and make breakfast as quickly as I can.
My wife always drives him to school, so once they’re out the door, I take a quick nap and then I’m in front of my computer for the next six to eight hours.
I always have dinner with the family at 6 pm. As every parent can relate, this is the witching hour.
Getting a toddler bathed and in bed is like wrestling a six legged alligator that’s slathered in bacon fat with both arms tied behind your back.
Finally, at 7:30 pm, my wife and I can collapse and watch TV for a bit before bed.
I love working from home, and was doing it long before COVID.
As a parent, it affords me quality time with my family and significant focus time on my job.
Parenthood, in general, is a hugely de-focusing endeavour.
Removing an arduous and unnecessary commute from the equation helps considerably.
Makers
Your tips for working from home?
I’m afforded the great privilege of having a dedicated workspace and the ability to close the door and wall myself off the chaos of home in order to focus.
Not everyone has this, I know.
As for time management, I have tried all the beautiful products from Ugmonk (which I adore) and others.
But I created something awesome on Canva to manage my own time.
It helps me organise my work, personal, book, and advisor work items and be able to juggle them appropriately.
Makers
We’re a reader-supported publication. This article might contain affiliate links. It means we may receive a commission if you click a link and buy a product that our maker has recommended. The interview was done independently.
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