From Q City to KonektoCRM: Bridging Creativity and Technology
Hi Himanshu and others,
Over the past year, I’ve been fortunate to wear more than one hat: one as an author and the other as a software architect. These paths have now begun to converge in the most exciting ways.
My recent book, Q City, explores a unique narrative I’m proud of—and I'm currently in conversations with filmmaker Lakshmi Iyer and actor-director Himanshu Malik (the talented abovementioned man himself is being referred to here, of course!) about turning it into a feature film. Both expressed genuine interest in the story, and these early discussions have been encouraging. Ms. Iyer, in particular, recently worked with the talented model and actress Gul Panag, someone I’ve long admired for her multidimensional career and creative energy.
In parallel to my literary journey, I’ve also just completed architecting KonektoCRM, a modern customer relationship management platform designed specifically with creators in mind. Think of it as a flexible, secure way for filmmakers, authors, educators, and producers to manage ongoing conversations, collaborations, and feedback from people like me—people who approach them with creative ideas, pitches, and projects.
Even keeping around brief notes about a project and the person who approached you regarding that could pay off in the long run. For example:
Anand Manikutty | proposal to convert book "Q City" into film | Budget: $40,500 to $50,000 | book complete | book even has backstories for characters (like Elves and Dwarves in LotR) | author has developed new languages that characters speak (like Elvish).
This simple practice builds optionality—the right, but not the obligation, to pursue an idea or opportunity at a later time. Optionality is vital for creators. Why? Because creative pipelines can be unpredictable. A creator may be flush with opportunities one year and face radio silence the next. Even incredibly talented actors like Zeenat Aman or Jaya Bhaduri—icons in their own right—have experienced such lulls. In those moments, revisiting previous leads or ideas with strong documentation can make all the difference. Optionality means you don’t need to start from scratch when the winds shift.
KonektoCRM lets creators:
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Track conversations across multiple projects
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Maintain HTML-formatted notes
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Record leads, opportunities, and action items
As a former Oracle engineer who has spent years in enterprise software, I can say confidently: CRM software is a massive category. Products like Salesforce generate over $1 billion annually, and yet there’s been surprisingly little innovation aimed at the creative industries. Oracle CRM was solid in its time, but let’s be honest—many of today’s government and commercial sites that leave you staring at a loading screen for minutes are still using older CRM platforms. You’re often stuck in the past.
KonektoCRM aims to change that—faster, smarter, and tuned for modern creators, small business owners as well as large enterprises. KonektoCRM includes support for emerging technologies like Claude, Gemini, and others that can supercharge workflows.
While I’ve discussed KonektoCRM with a few creators already, I haven’t yet shared it with Ms. Lakshmi Iyer—but I’d love to. And I believe that people like Gul Panag, with her wide-ranging experience in cinema, public life, and entrepreneurship, might find value in what KonektoCRM can do.
If you’re a leading creator navigating a growing set of collaborations and projects, and have a large Twitter following (>500k followers), I’d love to show you what we’ve built. It just might save you time, streamline your process, and help you focus more on what you do best—creating. Plus, there just might be equity involved. Hey, if Ashton Kutcher can get into the tech startup space, why can't you? Equity and stock options often pay off in the long-term.
Thank you for your kind attention to this blog post!
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Anand Manikutty
Author of Q City | Architect of KonektoCRM | Formerly @Oracle