About

Divyanka Pillai

The lived experience

Divyanka Pillai, founder of The Margin Advisory

Divyanka Pillai · Founder, The Margin Advisory · Kirkland, Washington

I spent a decade at Microsoft in roles that required exactly the combination of analytical rigour and strategic clarity that I now bring to this work. I led cross-functional product strategy, managed and mentored product teams, and worked directly with senior leadership on decisions with significant organisational and financial stakes.

I was good at it. I was also, for a significant part of that time, privately carrying the same question my clients carry: whether the path I was on was actually the one I had chosen.

I left in January 2025. Not impulsively. I worked through exactly the kind of analysis I now do with clients. I know what that process requires because I have done it myself, with real stakes, in a situation where the external picture looked fine and the internal picture did not match it.

That is not a coaching credential. It is something more specific: the lived experience of making a hard decision well, combined with the analytical background to help someone else do the same.

Background

Before founding The Margin Advisory, Divyanka Pillai served as Principal Product Manager Lead at Microsoft, where she led strategy across the M365 platform, driving cross-functional work across product, engineering, partnerships, and UX. Prior to that role, she worked as a strategic advisor in Microsoft's Office of the EVP on Business Development, and in product planning on Microsoft Surface.

Earlier in her career, she worked in worldwide sales operations, building training and go-to-market programs for seller organisations across thirteen global regions.

She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Southern California, and a BE in Computer Science from the Birla Institute of Technology. She is based in the Seattle area.

Why this practice

The people I work with are not struggling in the conventional sense. They are succeeding by every measure that their industries, their organisations, and often their families use to define success. The struggle is quieter and harder to name: a growing sense that the life being built does not quite match the person building it.

I built this practice because that problem deserves serious, rigorous attention. Not generic career advice. Not therapeutic reflection exercises. Not the kind of advisory work that asks good questions but leaves the analytical work undone. Most people who do this kind of work offer one or the other. The Margin Advisory is built to hold both at the same time.

That is what The Margin Advisory is built to do.

What this engagement is not

This is not therapy. The work is bounded, decision-focused, and analytical. Not open-ended psychological exploration. If you are in acute distress or experiencing a mental health crisis, please seek a licensed therapist.

This is not career coaching. There is no resume help, interview preparation, or LinkedIn optimisation. The work is strategic, not tactical.

This is not financial advice. We will look at your financial picture directly and honestly, but I am not a licensed financial planner. The financial work here is a thinking tool, not investment guidance or tax advice.

This is not legal advice. For clients navigating immigration constraints, I can speak from lived experience and map the landscape clearly. I cannot give legal counsel. For your specific visa situation, consult a qualified immigration attorney.

Confidentiality

Everything discussed in our engagement is confidential. I do not share client information, situations, or outcomes with third parties. If I reference client experiences in my writing or elsewhere, I do so in aggregate and without identifying detail, and only with explicit prior agreement.

If this sounds like your situation, let's talk

The discovery call is 30 minutes. I will ask you a few questions to understand your situation and I will tell you honestly whether I think I can help. There is no pitch. If it is not a fit, I will say so.

30 minutes · Free · No obligation