Kochi: Ershad Kunnakkadan, a 33-year-old engineer rooted in Kerala’s free-software community, has taken charge as the new CEO of Gumroad. His appointment marks a striking rise from local open-source groups to the leadership of a global e-commerce platform that records over 100 million dollars in Gross Merchandise Value.
Gumroad founder Sahil Lavingia announced the transition and described Ershad as the perfect leader to guide the platform after fourteen years of his own stewardship. Ershad, who shifted to New York only in May as a staff software engineer after working remotely with the company since 2020, said he felt honoured and ready to serve creators with greater commitment.
His journey has drawn wide attention in Kerala. His interest in computers grew in a government school classroom, through a gifted Ubuntu 8.04 CD, and through active involvement in Swathanthra Malayalam Computing. The collective helped shape his early work in open-source development and localisation.
A detailed post by Menlo Ventures partner Deedy Das has been widely circulated. It traces Ershad’s teenage immersion in terminals, scripting contests, Linux administration, security work, and blogging. College studies lost priority as he explored the free-software world. He left a private engineering college in Kerala after his second year, promising his family he would complete his education. He later earned a degree through a distance programme while gaining industry experience through internships and workshops. He also identified security bugs in Github and Prezi and secured a Google Summer of Code selection.
His appointment has sparked pride across Kerala’s tech community.
