# Rishi Khanna

> Rishi Khanna is the Dallas-based founder and CEO of ISHIR, which he started in 1999. His work spans custom software, global development teams, digital product innovation and enterprise AI. He also mentors founders and advocates validating customer problems before committing to product development.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at ISHIR
- **Organizations:** ISHIR, BorderlessMind, Digital Success, Texas Venture Studio, Passive Impact, Madira Spirits, ENO8 (historical leadership role), Entrepreneurs’ Organization
- **Education:** Business Economics (described by Khanna in his interview), The University of Texas at Austin
- **Known for:** Founded ISHIR in 1999 and continued leading the business through successive technology cycles., 2020 Entrepreneur of Excellence winner, Tech & E-commerce category, Fort Worth Inc., Has served as an advisor, mentor or judge in programs associated with The DEC, EO Accelerator, Google Startup Weekend, Techstars, TCU and Capital Factory, according to his advisor biography.

## Career timeline

- **Before ISHIR’s 1999 founding** — Worked at Deloitte after university; he describes a 16-month tenure.
- **1999** — Founded ISHIR on November 14, according to his autobiographical account.
- **2000-2001** — The dot-com downturn nearly put ISHIR out of business, according to Khanna’s account.
- **2020** — Won Fort Worth Inc.’s Entrepreneur of Excellence award in the Tech & E-commerce category.
- **2021** — Collected the custom Justin boots awarded to the 2020 Entrepreneur of Excellence winners at a March gathering.
- **2025** — Discussed his reflection and decision-making framework on Paper Napkin Wisdom, episode 222, published March 4.
- **2026** — Texas Venture Studio was featured in Dallas Innovates on January 22; Khanna subsequently described changing his leadership approach for ISHIR’s enterprise AI shift.

## Achievements

- Founded ISHIR in 1999 and continued leading the business through successive technology cycles.
- 2020 Entrepreneur of Excellence winner, Tech & E-commerce category, Fort Worth Inc.
- Has served as an advisor, mentor or judge in programs associated with The DEC, EO Accelerator, Google Startup Weekend, Techstars, TCU and Capital Factory, according to his advisor biography.
- His personal homepage reports 15 companies started, five exits and more than 1,200 employees hired globally; these are self-reported career totals.
- Published business and technology commentary as a Forbes Technology Council contributor; Forbes currently labels his membership as former.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — In a July 31 LinkedIn post, argued that engineering judgment, product thinking and domain expertise determine competitive advantage when companies can access the same AI models.
- **2026-05** — ISHIR listed him as the featured guest at DallasMeetup at The Village Country Club on May 7.
- **2026-02** — Described changing his own leadership approach as ISHIR shifted toward enterprise AI systems, human and agent collaboration, and outcome-based delivery.
- **2026-01** — Dallas Innovates featured his customer-validation argument alongside ISHIR’s new Texas Venture Studio on January 22.

## Links

- Website: https://rishikhanna.net/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishir
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/rishikhanna
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rishikhanna77/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rkhanna

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rishi-khanna
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-16