Venturing with Vishesh

Vishesh Duggar
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Interviews with founders, top executives, and thought leaders from around the globe. Sharing insights on entrepreneurship and scaling a company.

  1. #62 Synthetic Human as a Service | Krishna (Vasanth) Namasivayam

    APR 23

    #62 Synthetic Human as a Service | Krishna (Vasanth) Namasivayam

    My next guest, Krishna Namasivayam, is working on what he calls "Synthetic Human as a Service." After leading AI at Dropbox and Meta, he’s now building with the radical belief that we should simulate human behavior before we ship code, product, messaging, or anything really. In this episode, we break down his contrarian thinking on product, AI, hiring, and what it takes to launch in a greenfield market. Key Discussion Points: 🔥 How simulating human behavior can revolutionize product development 🤖 The surprising ways AI tools are empowering entrepreneurs to make better decisions 📊 Why understanding user needs is crucial for startups, especially in hard-to-reach markets 🚀 How to leverage synthetic humans to test and refine product ideas 👥 The importance of hiring experienced talent to drive startup growth 📈 Why misaligned incentives in tech companies can lead to products that miss the mark 0:00 - Introduction & Why This Podcast 0:45 - What Featurely Does (Human Behavior Simulation) 3:44 - Key Use Cases: Product & Marketing Workflows 5:55 - How Synthetic Users Interact With Products 7:25 - Dogfooding Featurely Internally 8:01 - Accuracy, Risks & Human Judgment in Simulation 9:19 - Founder Journey: From Big Tech to Startup 11:18 - Frugality & Hiring Through Reddit 13:21 - Hiring Lessons & Talent Strategy 16:14 - Why Most Products Fail (And Where Process Breaks) 21:20 - Team Structure Without a PM 26:15 - Ideal Startup Team Composition 26:46 - Go-To-Market Strategy for a New Category 28:29 - Reducing Time to Value for Users 30:34 - Testing Messaging & Growth Experiments 31:33 - Books, Advice & Founder Mindset 34:32 - Closing & Where to Find Featurely Important Links: You can reach Krishna (Vasanth) Namasivayam at https://www.linkedin.com/in/vasanthnamasivayam Vishesh, your host at https://vishesh.space Check out Featurely AI at https://featurely.ai P.S. If your hands hurt or you just hate using a keyboard or mouse, https://tryneo.dev

    36 min
  2. #61 The Business of Being Different | Build An Inclusive Culture | Sara-Louise Ackrill

    MAR 19

    #61 The Business of Being Different | Build An Inclusive Culture | Sara-Louise Ackrill

    Episode 61 with Sara-Louise Ackrill FRSA, Founding CEO at Wired Differently. My next guest is a therapist-turned-founder, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and author of The ND Lovers Club. She runs Wired Differently — a 32-person company where 85% of the team is neurodivergent. We talked about founders who are building from exile, why psychological safety isn't a luxury that disappears under pressure, and what managing a team of neurodivergent people actually looks like in practice — and a lot more. Sara-Louise Ackrill. Key Discussion Points: 🔥 Founders in exile: Creating businesses through fear and rejection 🤝 The importance of confronting past workplace experiences for healthier leadership 💡 How neurodiversity can impact entrepreneurship and innovation 📈 The benefits of bootstrapping a business compared to seeking venture capital 📊 Time management and energy mapping for neurodivergent entrepreneurs 👥 Managing a neurodivergent team: Understanding individual needs and spoon theory Timecodes: 0:00 - Introduction 1:00 - Understanding the Concept of "Founders in Exile" 4:00 - Strategies for Overcoming Founder Vulnerability 6:30 - Healing the "Exile Wound" While Running a Business 9:00 - The Benefits of Bootstrapping vs. VC Funding 12:00 - Building a Public Speaking Career from Scratch 15:00 - The Impact of Neurodivergence on Public Speaking 18:00 - Overview of Wired Differently and Its Services 21:00 - The Role of Virtual Assistants in Supporting Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs 25:00 - The Importance of Energy-Based Scheduling for Founders 30:00 - Managing Context Switching in Entrepreneurial Tasks 34:00 - Conducting an Energy Audit for Better Productivity 38:00 - The Role of Psychological Safety in the Workplace 41:00 - Adapting Management Styles for Neurodivergent Teams 46:00 - The Dangers of Culture Fit in Hiring Practices 50:00 - The Importance of Understanding Neurodiversity in Team Dynamics 54:00 - The ND Lovers Club: Exploring Relationships and Neurodiversity 57:00 - Final Thoughts on Effective Management and Team Building Important Links: You can reach Sara-Louise Ackrill FRSA at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-louise-ackrill Vishesh, your host at https://vishesh.space Check out Wired Differently at https://www.wireddifferently.co.uk/ And her book "The ND Lovers Club" at https://www.amazon.in/ND-Lovers-Club-Neurodivergent-Women-ebook/dp/B0DX8MM38F P.S. If you are writing on LinkedIn https://tryjerry.com 🎙️ Subscribe for more episodes! #Episode61 #VenturingWithVishesh #Startups #Entrepreneurship #startups #entrepreneurship #venturingwithvishesh

    1h 8m
  3. #60 Redefining AI Ethics | Current AI Blindspots | The A3 Model Explained | Vendan Kumararajah

    FEB 13

    #60 Redefining AI Ethics | Current AI Blindspots | The A3 Model Explained | Vendan Kumararajah

    Today's guest watched digital transformation projects fail for years. Not because the tech was broken — the governance was. The values had drifted. And nobody noticed until it was too late. So he did something unusual. He went back 2,000 years to Tamil philosophy — specifically a tradition called Saiva Siddhanta — and built a framework that treats ethics not as a compliance checkbox, but as the actual operating system. Vendan Kumararajah is a transformation architect, cybernetician, and the creator of something called the A3 Model. His new book "Navigating Complexity and System Challenges" makes a bold claim: that we can design AI systems that don't just follow ethical rules, but actually enact ethical intelligence in real time. So today we're going to unpack what the A3 Model actually is. And pressure-test it against real founder scenarios. Key Discussion Points: 🔥 You can't have a dynamic system with a static rule-based. 🤖 Static rules cannot evolve in a dynamic environment because there is distortion at every stage. 🚨 Distortion is when the journey starts for a system. 👥 Ethics, distortion, and agency as a self-regulating, self-evolving structure. 📊 The ethical coherence is a red line because it shows the harm limits. 💡 What looks like success may be actually a time bomb waiting to explode. 🚨 The A3 model starts warning every time, regardless of what the KPIs are showing. Important Links: You can reach Vendan Kumararajah at https://www.linkedin.com/in/vendan-kumararajah-1049634 Checkout his book, Navigating Complexity and System Challenges: Foundations for the A3 Model at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1919249303?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE Vishesh, your host at https://vishesh.space P.S. If you are writing on LinkedIn https://tryjerry.com

    34 min
  4. #59 Unlocking the Potential of AI in Heavy Industries | Sama Carlos Samame

    FEB 4

    #59 Unlocking the Potential of AI in Heavy Industries | Sama Carlos Samame

    This episode is about what happens when you win — and still feel lost. My guest Sama went from hospital clown to cybersecurity founder to a successful exit. And on this episode we get into the stuff nobody talks about after an acquisition — the identity crisis, the scars, the 'now what.' We also unpack his clown mindset framework — this idea that failure is success — why he's now building AI to keep miners alive in Peru, and the two startups that failed before the one that worked. If you're a founder questioning your path, this one's going to hit. Key Discussion Points: 🔥 How to identify and mitigate risks when applying AI in unexpected industries 🤖 The surprising ways AI can improve safety in heavy industries like mining 💡 What it takes to implement AI in complex industries 🚀 How to navigate the challenges of applying AI in industries with limited digital infrastructure 💻 The importance of understanding the unique needs and pain points of each industry when applying AI Timecodes: 0:00 - Introduction 0:15 - Overview of Misty AI and Its Mission 1:52 - The Importance of Safety in Mining 6:28 - Identifying Buyer Personas in Heavy Industry 11:30 - The Co-Founder Dating Phase: Finding the Right Partner 14:52 - Insights from Clowning: Lessons for Founders 24:36 - Embracing Failure: Lessons from Clowning 26:38 - Previous Startups: Experiences and Learnings 28:56 - Transitioning from Investor to Co-Founder 31:51 - Reflections on the Exit from Boxee HQ 37:58 - Understanding the Gap Between Startups and Enterprises 40:47 - Strategies for First-Time Founders in Enterprise Sales 42:20 - Advice for New Entrepreneurs: Enjoy the Journey 43:07 - Balancing Family Life with Startup Challenges 45:54 - Final Thoughts for Founders in Heavy Industry 47:10 - How to Connect with Sama and Misty AI Important Links: You can reach 🚁 Sama Carlos Samame at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samame Vishesh, your host at https://vishesh.space Checkout MISTI AI at https://mistiai.com P.S. If you are writing on LinkedIn https://tryjerry.com

    50 min
  5. #58 Cutting 512B Cloud Waste | Fundraising in Q1 2026 | Challenges for Desi Founders in Europe | Vikram Das

    JAN 23

    #58 Cutting 512B Cloud Waste | Fundraising in Q1 2026 | Challenges for Desi Founders in Europe | Vikram Das

    Episode 58 with Vikram Das, Co-Founder & CEO at Yasu.I'm joined by Vikram Das, the Co-Founder & CEO of Yasu. Vikram spent two decades in the industry with stints at Cognizant, and AWS. He went from closing 50 million dollar cloud deals for AWS to walking into a room of 70 strangers in Amsterdam to find a Dutch co-founder he'd known for weeks, and they recently raised a little over 1 Million dollars to solve the exact problem he helped create! In this episode we talk about what does it take to build an AI Cloud Engineer, finding co-founder love and losing it, Challenges of being immigrant founder in Europe, Some of his learnings from their fundraising journey through all the bubble talk and more!Key Discussion Points:🔥 Fundraising is something that every founder is concerned about. Is it a necessary evil, or can you find alternative ways to secure funding?🤯 What are the unique challenges faced by Indian-origin founders in Europe, particularly in tech, and how can they overcome them?🚀 How can founders balance their mental health while navigating the startup journey, and what role does mindfulness play in this process?📈 What are the cultural differences between startup environments in Europe and India, and how can founders adapt to these differences?💡 Why is distribution the only key that is going to be, and how can founders prioritize it in their fundraising strategies?Timecodes:0:00 - Introduction2:15 - Discussing the Importance of Fundraising5:30 - Insights on Fundraising in the European Context8:45 - The Challenges of Fundraising for Founders12:00 - Navigating the Cloud Complexity in Startups15:20 - The Role of AI in Cloud Engineering18:30 - Team Building and Early Hiring Strategies21:00 - The Experience of Indian Founders in Europe24:15 - Balancing Startup Life with Personal Well-being27:30 - The Impact of Mental Health on Founders30:00 - The 996 Work Culture in European Startups33:15 - Exploring the Future of AI in Business36:00 - Building a Podcast as a Distribution Engine39:30 - The Journey of Transitioning from Corporate to Startup42:00 - Creating Content in a Saturated Market45:15 - The Importance of Authenticity in Content Creation48:30 - Final Thoughts and Future Plans51:00 - Closing Remarks and Next StepsImportant Links:You can reach Vikram Das at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dasvikramVishesh, your host at https://vishesh.spaceCheckout Yasu at https://yasu.cloudP.S. If you are writing on LinkedIn https://tryjerry.com🎙️ Subscribe for more episodes!#Episode58 #VenturingWithVishesh #Startups #Entrepreneurship #startups #entrepreneurship #venturingwithvishesh

    52 min
  6. #57 Scaling a Marketplace Faster Than Competition | Ryan Kalisky

    JAN 16

    #57 Scaling a Marketplace Faster Than Competition | Ryan Kalisky

    I'm joined by Ryan Kalisky, Co-Founder and CEO of WareMatch, a platform connecting suppliers and 3PL vendors globally. As a 26-year-old McGill finance grad, Ryan is trying to disrupt an unglamorous $1 plus trillion logistics industry. We explore the honest reality of early-stage marketplace building, the hacks they’ve used so far, and more. I am always excited to talk to marketplace founders, and listening to how WareMatch is building a 3PL marketplace should be gold for any founder building a marketplace! Key Discussion Points: 🔥 How a finance degree led to a career in warehousing and logistics 💡 The surprising opportunity that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic 🤝 Building a network of medical supply companies and leveraging it for other opportunities 📈 The gap in the 3PL quoting market and how WareMatch is addressing it 🚀 The importance of building a strong team and outsourcing to the right people 💻 The challenges of building software in an industry with complex regulations and certifications 📊 How to create a user-friendly software solution that meets the needs of 3PL companies Timecodes: 0:00 - Introduction 1:30 - Transition from Finance to Warehousing 4:00 - The Impact of COVID on Supply Chains 6:15 - Starting a Medical Supply Business 9:00 - Building a Network in the Medical Supply Space 11:30 - Identifying Gaps in the 3PL Market 14:00 - The Concept of a Matchmaking Platform for Warehouses 16:30 - The Importance of Team Dynamics in Startups 19:00 - Finding the Right Technical Co-Founder 21:30 - Challenges in the 3PL Industry 24:00 - Overview of Third-Party Logistics (3PL) 26:15 - The Bidding System for 3PLs 28:00 - Marketing Solutions for Warehouses 30:30 - Competing with Established Companies in the 3PL Space 33:00 - Lessons Learned as a First-Time Founder 35:30 - The Importance of User Feedback 38:00 - Strategies for Building a Marketplace 40:30 - Managing Team Dynamics and Personal Challenges 42:00 - Conclusion and Future Plans 43:30 - Where to Find More Information on WareMatch Important Links: You can reach Ryan Kalisky at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-kalisky-25bba21490625 Vishesh, your host at https://vishesh.space Checkout WareMatch at https://www.warematch.com/ P.S. If you are writing on LinkedIn https://tryjerry.com 🎙️ Subscribe for more episodes! #Episode57 #VenturingWithVishesh #Startups #entrepreneurship #venturingwithvishesh

    46 min
  7. #56 How you can reduce marketing cost by 10x | Lessons from an early exit | Saher Shodhan

    JAN 8

    #56 How you can reduce marketing cost by 10x | Lessons from an early exit | Saher Shodhan

    I'm joined by Saher Shodhan, founder of Thera Travel, a startup that's disrupting the healthcare industry by providing patients with access to affordable and high-quality medical care abroad. With a background in marketing and growth, Saher has leveraged AI tools to drive growth and reduce marketing costs by 10x. In this conversation, we dive deep into the challenges of building a successful startup, the role of AI in healthcare, and how Thera Travel is making a difference in people's lives.Key Discussion Points:🔥 What sparked the idea for Thera Travel and how Saher identified a problem in the healthcare system🚀 How Saher used AI tools to reduce marketing costs by 10x and drive growth🤖 The role of AI in healthcare and how Thera Travel is disrupting the industry💡 The importance of understanding government data and using it to drive business decisions📈 How Saher built a successful startup from scratch, from idea to exit in four yearsTimecodes:0:00 - Introduction0:36 - The Spark Behind TheraTravel4:45 - The Journey of a Solo Founder7:06 - Using AI for Marketing and Content Creation16:09 - The Truth Behind Startup Valuations19:51 - Navigating the Challenges of AI in Business22:10 - Lessons from the Traktion Journey24:12 - Finding the Right Acquirer for Your Startup36:45 - Evolving Advertising Strategies in 202642:28 - Rethinking Team Size as a Success Metric43:18 - The Reality of Fundraising Celebrations44:52 - Learning from Failures in Startup Growth48:24 - Selling Growth Strategies to Startups51:11 - Analyzing Competitor Success in Marketing52:46 - Recommended Reading for Founders54:45 - Closing Remarks and Contact InformationImportant Links:You can reach Saher Shodhan at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahersVishesh, your host at https://vishesh.spaceCheckout Thera Travel at http://theratravel.co.uk/P.S. If you are writing on LinkedIn https://tryjerry.com🎙️ Subscribe for more episodes!#Episode56 #VenturingWithVishesh #Startups #Entrepreneurship

    57 min
  8. #55 AI in the Travel Industry | Debunking AI Myths | Scott Persinger

    12/05/2025

    #55 AI in the Travel Industry | Debunking AI Myths | Scott Persinger

    I'm joined by Scott Persinger, Co-founder and CTO of BizTrip AI, a company focused on utilizing AI technology to enhance corporate travel management. With a background in software development and a passion for innovation, Scott has led BizTrip AI from its inception to become a leader in the AI-powered travel industry. In this conversation, we dive deep into the challenges of integrating AI into legacy travel tech stacks and the strategic decision to target the B2B market. The travel industry is ripe for transformation with AI, but it's not just about implementing technology - it's about understanding the underlying challenges and creating solutions that truly serve the needs of users. Scott Persinger, Co-founder and CTO of BizTrip AI, shares his insights on debunking AI myths, building features that customers want, and the importance of cross-functional experience in understanding different roles within a company. Timecodes: 0:00 - Introduction 2:42 - Choosing B2B Over B2C in Travel AI 5:35 - Challenges of Integrating AI with Legacy Systems 9:08 - Scott's Engineering Background and Current Tech Stack 11:14 - The Evolution of AI Tools in Development 13:09 - Fine-Tuning AI Models for Specific Use Cases 14:38 - Misunderstanding AI's Capabilities in Software Development 20:34 - The Importance of Customer Insights in Product Development 26:32 - Future of AI in Travel Tech: Contextual Understanding 34:44 - The Importance of Historical Data in AI Recommendations 36:22 - Learning from Memorable Failures in Startups 39:33 - Evolving Leadership Styles in Tech Teams 42:07 - Advice for New Engineers: Networking Beyond Tech 47:25 - Lessons from Stripe 52:43 - Closing Remarks and Contact Information Important Links: You can reach Scott Persinger at https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottpersinger Vishesh, your host at https://vishesh.space Checkout BizTrip AI at https://biztrip.ai P.S. If you are writing on LinkedIn https://tryjerry.com

    55 min
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About

Interviews with founders, top executives, and thought leaders from around the globe. Sharing insights on entrepreneurship and scaling a company.

Information

  • Creator
    Vishesh Duggar
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Vishesh Duggar
  • Show Website
    Venturing with Vishesh