In an age when technology often overwhelms its users, Ishaan Agarwal, Senior Product Manager at Square, stands as a pioneer of human-centered innovation. His work is grounded in one simple yet revolutionary idea: technology should fade into the background so that people can focus on what truly matters — their work, their customers, and their dreams.
From his early days as a computer science prodigy at Brown University to his impactful leadership at Microsoft, Brex, and now Square, Agarwal has continually challenged the status quo. His mission has been clear — to create technology that empowers rather than distracts, to simplify rather than complicate, and to humanize rather than mechanize.
Ishaan Agarwal: Early Curiosity – Building a Foundation at Brown University
Agarwal’s academic journey at Brown University was marked by brilliance and curiosity. Completing both his B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science within four years, he demonstrated not only intellectual agility but also a deep passion for understanding systems that shape human behavior.
While most saw computer science as purely technical, Agarwal saw it as a bridge between people and possibility. His coursework in economics deepened his understanding of business pressures, while his time in industrial design studios at the Rhode Island School of Design honed his aesthetic and user interface sensibilities.
At Brown, Agarwal became the first student to join the Human-Computer Interaction Lab under Professor Jeff Huang. The experience proved transformative. “We studied how people actually navigated digital spaces,” Agarwal recalls. “Where they got lost, what empowered them, and what frustrated them. That’s when I realized — the best technology is invisible.”
This philosophy became the foundation of his product management career — an intersection of design, empathy, and engineering.
Breaking into Product Management: The Translator Between Worlds
For many, product management is an unclear path. But for Agarwal, it was a natural evolution of his interdisciplinary skills. His early internship at Facebook (now Meta) was unconventional — coding by night as an engineering intern and studying product strategy by day. “That summer was my crash course in the three languages of product management,” he says, “the language of business, the language of users, and the language of engineers.”
This unique trilingual fluency led him to his first major role at Microsoft, where he would lead one of his most impactful projects — reimagining the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
Ishaan Agarwal: Transforming Microsoft: Making Enterprise Tools Accessible to All
When Agarwal joined Microsoft, the Admin Center was designed for corporate IT departments, filled with complex controls that intimidated small business owners. Agarwal saw an opportunity for transformation.
His team interviewed dozens of small business owners — florists, bakers, accountants — who struggled with basic tasks like adding a new employee or viewing invoices. “They didn’t need advanced tenant management,” Agarwal explained. “They needed simple human language actions.”
Leading a team of twenty, he spearheaded a redesign that simplified workflows without compromising capability. The result was revolutionary — the introduction of AI-powered ‘Top Actions’, predicting what users were most likely to need and surfacing those options instantly.
The results were staggering:
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Net Promoter Score (NPS) rose by 12%, signaling higher customer satisfaction.
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Monthly active users increased by one million in a single year across six continents.
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And perhaps most importantly, user support calls decreased dramatically — an early example of Agarwal’s “disappearance metrics,” a new approach that measures success by how little users struggle.
“The best products,” Agarwal says, “are the ones that disappear. When people don’t have to think about technology, that’s when it’s working perfectly.”
Brex and Beyond: AI-Powered Solutions for Global Entrepreneurs
After three transformative years at Microsoft, Agarwal brought his philosophy to Brex, a leading fintech platform for high-growth businesses. His mission: to simplify the financial experiences of entrepreneurs operating across time zones and borders.
One of his first challenges was to improve Brex’s global user experience. “Users in Asia were getting verification calls at 3 a.m. due to timezone mismatches,” Agarwal noted. His team introduced context-aware AI systems that adapted to user locations and preferences, improving satisfaction and reducing friction dramatically.
He also spearheaded the development of mobile-first onboarding flows for contractors and professionals with limited computer access, boosting completion rates by 10%. His innovation didn’t stop there — Agarwal introduced WhatsApp-based verification to overcome connectivity barriers in rural areas, expanding Brex’s accessibility in regions with limited internet infrastructure.
These initiatives demonstrated not just technical prowess but deep empathy — an understanding of how real people live and work.
Leading Innovation at Square: Empowering Small Businesses Globally
Today, as Senior Product Manager at Square, Agarwal continues his mission to humanize technology. Square, a part of Block, Inc., serves millions of small businesses worldwide — from neighborhood cafés to independent artisans. Agarwal’s focus lies in developing AI-enabled workflows and customer data platforms (CDPs) that help sellers understand and connect with their customers effortlessly.
“As a café owner or a local accountant,” Agarwal explains, “every minute spent trying to wrestle with software is a minute not spent serving customers. My purpose is to give them that time back.”
His current work centers on integrating AI-driven insights into Square’s ecosystem — tools that predict customer behavior, automate follow-ups, and simplify financial management, all while remaining intuitive and unobtrusive. This approach has positioned him as one of the most forward-thinking product leaders in Silicon Valley.
Thought Leadership: Sharing Knowledge Through Forbes Technology Council
Beyond his corporate achievements, Agarwal is an active voice in the technology community as a member of the Forbes Technology Council. His thought-provoking articles cover a range of topics, from cross-functional collaboration to composable architecture and AI ethics in product design.