An Exclusive Interview with Shubhendu Sharma, COO & Founder, Dabba Network, a pioneering DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) marketplace
In the world of decentralized tech, DePIN is transforming physical infrastructure. Shubhendu Sharma, COO and Founder of Dabba Network—a pioneering marketplace—shares its origins, blockchain-driven empowerment of communities, and strategies leading Web3 infrastructure forward in this exclusive interview.
What sparked the idea for Dabba Network back in 2017, and how did your early role at IIMA’s innovation center influence partnering with Karam Lakshman to build affordable WiFi solutions?
Shubhendu Sharma: The idea for Dabba Network came from a simple but frustrating observation in 2017. Despite India being one of the world’s largest internet markets, broadband / wifi access was still either expensive, unreliable, or unavailable for large parts of the population.
During our stint at IIMA innovation centre, I was working closely with companies solving problems at the intersection of infrastructure and affordability. That environment pushed us to think in terms of systems, not just products.
Around the same time, we were independently exploring low-cost networking hardware. It became clear that the real opportunity was not just cheaper hardware but a new distribution and ownership model.
By combining grassroots deployment, software-driven automation, and local entrepreneurship, we believed we could make internet access dramatically more affordable and scalable.
Can you explain how Dabba’s two-sided marketplace works, where global sponsors buy hotspots and local cable operators deploy them for paying customers in emerging markets?
Shubhendu Sharma: Dabba operates a two-sided marketplace that separates capital from operations. On one side, global sponsors, DAOs, or ecosystem partners fund or purchase WiFi hotspots.
These sponsors are typically looking to support connectivity, earn network-linked incentives, or participate in decentralized infrastructure.
On the other side, local cable operators and micro-ISPs deploy these hotspots in their neighborhoods. They already understand local demand, customer behavior, and last-mile logistics.
Customers pay affordable monthly fees, operators earn recurring income, and sponsors see real-world utilization of their capital. This structure allows us to scale rapidly without centralized ownership or heavy balance-sheet risk.
As COO, how do you balance strategy, execution, new business development, and commerce initiatives to make self-install hotspots a mass-market reality in under 10 minutes?
Shubhendu Sharma: My role is largely about translating vision into operational reality. Strategy sets the direction, but execution is where trust is built. We obsess over removing friction. Every design decision, whether hardware, firmware, or onboarding, is tested against one question: can a non-technical operator install this in under 10 minutes?
We work closely with manufacturing, logistics, and field partners while simultaneously building new distribution and commercial models.
The balance comes from tight feedback loops. Field data informs product changes, and product simplification unlocks new business opportunities. Speed and simplicity are our biggest advantages.
What were the biggest hurdles in pivoting from a hardware-software firm to a decentralized network, and how did capital constraints in emerging markets shape your demand-driven approach?
Shubhendu Sharma: The hardest shift was mental, not technical. Moving from selling products to operating a decentralized network requires giving up control and designing for incentives instead. Capital constraints forced discipline early on. We could not afford speculative deployments or excess inventory.
As a result, we became demand-driven by default. Hardware only ships when there is a paying customer. Capacity is added where revenue already exists. This approach reduced risk, improved unit economics, and aligned perfectly with decentralized infrastructure principles.
With sold-out hardware seasons and Messari reports highlighting your Telco 3.0 vision, how do you sustain momentum amid regulatory and deployment challenges in India?
Shubhendu Sharma: India is complex, but it is also incredibly resilient. We work closely with licensed operators, comply strictly with local regulations, and focus on WiFi as a complementary layer rather than a replacement for telcos. Our momentum comes from fundamentals. Strong unit economics, near-zero churn, and genuine demand.
External validation helps, but what sustains us is the fact that every deployment improves someone’s daily life and generates real revenue. Regulation is a constraint, not a blocker, if you design within the system.
Looking ahead, how will Dabba expand beyond India, potentially delivering half a billion connections in 5–10 years, while keeping infrastructure publicly owned and inclusive?
Shubhendu Sharma: Our model is inherently global. Any region with local operators and unmet demand can adopt it. Expansion will happen through partnerships rather than centralized rollouts. The goal is to keep infrastructure ownership distributed among communities, operators, and network participants.
Blockchain enables transparent incentives and public ownership without requiring trust in a single entity. If we execute well, scale becomes a function of adoption, not capital intensity.
For entrepreneurs eyeing DePIN, what are your top lessons from Y Combinator, government partnerships, and building a scalable WiFi ecosystem on blockchain?
Shubhendu Sharma: First, start with real demand, not tokens. Infrastructure must solve an existing problem. Second, distribution matters more than technology. Local partners win markets. Third, design for regulation early, especially in physical infrastructure.
From Y Combinator, the biggest lesson was focus and speed. From government partnerships, patience and compliance. From DePIN, alignment. When incentives, ownership, and utility move together, scale follows naturally.
Shubhendu Sharma shows why Dabba Network leads DePIN, bridging digital and physical worlds with shared nodes for equity and efficiency. “DePIN builds the future,” he says. A must-watch for blockchain fans eyeing infrastructure’s next revolution.
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