Startup Project

The Startup Project, hosted by Nataraj.

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Latest Episodes

How to be an AI first company, Enterprise AI adoption, Future of Developers, Cost of AI, Unlocking value from Enterprise Data with AI & more with Ben Kus | CTO of Box

How to be an AI first company, Enterprise AI adoption, Future of Developers, Cost of AI, Unlocking value from Enterprise Data with AI & more with Ben Kus | CTO of Box

In this episode of Startup Project, Nataraj interviews Ben Kus, CTO of Box, about the critical role of unstructured data in the AI revolution. They discuss the cost structures of adopting and building with AI, and how AI is transforming enterprise businesses. Ben shares Box's unique perspective, managing over an exabyte of data for 120,000 enterprise customers. Learn how AI can understand, automate, and enhance the value of your unstructured data, turning untapped potential into practical benefits. 

What you’ll learn:

  •  Understand what unstructured data is and why it's so critical for AI applications in business.
  • Discover Box's strategic approach to integrating with other platforms and providing AI solutions on top of your data.
  • Learn about the pivotal moment when Box realized the potential of generative AI and how they retrofitted their platform to be AI-first.
  • Explore early AI use cases launched at Box, including chatting with documents and data extraction, and how enterprises are adopting these features.
  • Understand the cost implications of leveraging AI and how Box balances offering AI for free with managing expenses.
  • Dive into Box's perspective on pricing based on usage versus outcomes, and their current subscription model.
  • Learn about Box's approach to AI agents, their definition, and how they are being implemented to solve complex problems.
  • Discover the concept of "context engineering" and its importance in building AI agents that understand user needs.
  • Understand how AI is impacting productivity within Box and the broader enterprise landscape.
  • Find out about the AI models Box is working with and how they ensure security and trustworthiness for enterprise customers.


About the Guest and Host:

Ben Kus: Chief Technology Officer at Box, previously VP of Product at Box and co-founder of Subspace.

Connect with Guest:

→ LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/benkus .

→ Website: https://box.com/


Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/

→ Twitter: https://x.com/natarajsindam

→ Substack: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠


In this episode, we cover:

  • (00:01) Introduction
  • (00:35) What is unstructured data and why is Box in the center of AI?
  • (04:05) Box's strategy on building new AI tools and features.
  • (06:55) The moment Box realized AI was a big shift.
  • (11:08) Earliest AI use cases launched at Box.
  • (15:17) The cost of leveraging AI and its impact on profitability.
  • (19:24) Pricing based on usage vs. outcomes.
  • (22:47) Abuse prevention and handling unlimited storage.
  • (24:16) AI products targeted for specific knowledge worker persona.
  • (28:18) Being an AI-first company.
  • (30:55) Defining and implementing AI agents within Box.
  • (36:38) Form factors for agents in an enterprise product sense.
  • (39:59) Productivity improvements with AI.
  • (44:07) Progression in junior developers.
  • (46:17) Document parsing and extraction.
  • (49:16) AI models Box is working with.
  • (52:10) Startup ideas in the AI era.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review/comment on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

#unstructureddata #ai #artificialintelligence #enterprisetech #cto #box #datamanagement #machinelearning #generativeai #businesstransformation #ainnovation #techleadership #cloudcomputing #datascience #podcast #startupproject #natarajsindam #digitaltransformation #enterprisesolutions #aifirst


Automating Startup Formation, Scaling Fund Products, Applying AI Across Venture Tools | AngelList CTO Goutham Buchi

Automating Startup Formation, Scaling Fund Products, Applying AI Across Venture Tools | AngelList CTO Goutham Buchi

About the Episode:

This episode dives into AngelList's core products and how they strengthen the startup ecosystem. Goutham explains how AngelList sits at the center of founders, GPs, and LPs, providing tools and infrastructure to fuel innovation. He discusses the impact of AI on AngelList's operations, from streamlining fund deployment to providing deeper insights for investors. Goutham also shares his thoughts on the current AI hype cycle and how it's blurring the lines between traditional roles in tech companies. The conversation explores AngelList's adoption of crypto, including USDC funding and the potential for tokenization to create liquidity in private markets. Goutham also touches upon the future of AngelList and the exciting AI-powered products on the horizon.


About the Guest and Host:

Goutham Buchi: CTO of AngelList, former Senior Director of Engineering at Coinbase, co-founder and CEO of Mysicamore.

→ LinkedIn:  ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/gouthambuchi/⁠


Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.

→ LinkedIn:   ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam  

→ Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠


Timestamps:

00:02 - Introduction and Guest Introduction

01:06 - Goutham’s Background and Journey

02:21 - AngelList's Core Products and Business Drivers

05:18 - Democratizing Access to Early Stage Venture

06:43 - How AngelList Differs from Coinbase

09:27 - The Role of Regulation in Crypto and AngelList

11:19 - Goutham's Thoughts on Gen AI and the AI Hype Cycle

14:09 - AI: From Research Problem to Engineering Problem

17:56 - The Blurring of Roles with AI

22:28 - Blockers to AI Adoption

24:50 - How AngelList is Using AI in its Products

29:52 - Crypto Integration at AngelList

33:26 - Competition: Banking Rails vs. Regulation

35:58 - Creating Liquidity for GPs on the Platform

39:46 - Future of AI at AngelList

44:14 - Skills for Product Managers in the Age of AI

49:11 - Exploring AI Tools

50:21 - Product Hunt


Subscribe to Startup Project for more engaging conversations with leading entrepreneurs!

→ Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠


#StartupProject #AngelList #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Startups #VentureCapital #Investing #Crypto #Coinbase #ProductHunt #Technology #Innovation #Funding #GouthamBuchi #NatarajSindam"}]














How Publishers are Navigating Advertising, AI's Impact on Search Traffic, Biased Incentives of Ad Industry, Future of Publishing | Jared Siegal Founder of Aditude Inc | #104

How Publishers are Navigating Advertising, AI's Impact on Search Traffic, Biased Incentives of Ad Industry, Future of Publishing | Jared Siegal Founder of Aditude Inc | #104

About the episode:

Join Nataraj as he explores the world of online advertising with Jared Siegal, founder and CEO of Aditude. Discover how programmatic advertising empowers publishers to scale their revenue and the evolving landscape of online monetization. They discuss the roles of different players in the ad industry, the impact of AI on search traffic, and the future of publishing. Gain insights into how Aditude is leveling the playing field for publishers in a Google-dominated world. If you are a publisher, this episode can provide actionable strategies to maximize your ad revenue and maintain control over your content.

What you’ll learn

  • Understand the basics of programmatic advertising and how it works in real-time.
  • Identify the key players in the ad tech ecosystem, including publishers, ad servers, and exchanges.
  • Discover how header bidding and real-time auctions have transformed online advertising.
  • Learn about the impact of AI on search engine traffic and content strategies for publishers.
  • Explore strategies for publishers to diversify revenue and maintain control in a changing landscape.
  • Evaluate the pros and cons of SaaS pricing models versus commission-based models in ad tech.
  • Recognize the challenges and opportunities for publishers in a Google-dominated ad market.
  • Understand how Aditude helps publishers compete and maximize ad revenue.


About the Guest and Host:

Guest Name: Jared Siegal is the Founder and CEO of Aditude, a programmatic advertising solution that empowers publishers to scale their revenue.

Connect with Guest:

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-siegal-tude

→ Website: https://www.aditude.com/

Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/

→ Twitter: https://x.com/natarajsindam

→ Substack: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠


In this episode, we cover

(00:00) Introduction to Jared Siegal and Aditude

(00:51) How Jared got into the ad business

(03:34) Growing revenue and traffic at Answers.com

(04:21) Understanding Google Ad Manager (GAM) and real-time bidding

(07:30) Lay of the land in the ad industry: players and roles

(09:30) Aditude's role in connecting advertisers to publishers

(12:20) How brands place bids and the role of ad exchanges

(13:33) Why choose Aditude over Google for ad management?

(14:35) Creating fair competition across ad platforms

(15:11) Aditude's SaaS pricing model and its advantages

(18:08) Ideal publisher size for using Aditude's services

(19:47) Google's acquisition of DoubleClick and monopoly concerns

(23:46) High-frequency trading analogy in ad tech

(26:20) Transition from consulting to a product company

(32:04) Customer acquisition strategies for Aditude

(33:27) Impact of AI and Chat GPT on publishers and traffic

(36:19) Is AI making the internet better or worse for publishers?

(38:04) How Google and Facebook sustain ad revenue despite traffic shifts

(40:35) Move from search to answer and its impact on traffic sources

(42:15) Challenges for new content creators in the current landscape

(44:08) Trends in publishing: consolidation and mixed media

(44:58) Bright spots in publishing: gaming and influencers

(47:01) The influencer economy and its limitations

(49:00) Generating content with AI and its potential pitfalls

(50:09) Publishers leaving big houses and starting their own substacks

(52:29) Common misconceptions about running a company

(54:19) Aditude's next milestones and future plans


Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review/comment on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.


#adtech #programmaticadvertising #publishermonetization #onlineadvertising #digitalmarketing #headerbidding #realtimebidding #googleadmanager #advertising #adtechindustry #aditude #jaredsiegal #natarajsindam #startupproject #podcast #business #entrepreneurship #saas #artificialintelligence #AI


AI Startup Cleaning Up a $1.6 Trillion Crisis, Building a Hardware + AI Startup, Scaling Edge AI, Digitize Waster & Reduce Landfill | Ambarish Mitra Co-Founder of Greyparrot AI | #103

AI Startup Cleaning Up a $1.6 Trillion Crisis, Building a Hardware + AI Startup, Scaling Edge AI, Digitize Waster & Reduce Landfill | Ambarish Mitra Co-Founder of Greyparrot AI | #103

Join Nataraj as he interviews Rish, the co-founder and CEO of Greyparrot, a company leveraging AI to revolutionize the recycling industry. Rish shares his journey from augmented reality to AI-powered waste management, detailing the challenges and opportunities in this space. Discover how Greyparrot's innovative technology brings transparency and efficiency to recycling, impacting the circular economy and creating a more sustainable future. Learn how AI can transform waste into a valuable resource.


What you’ll learn

  • Understand how AI-powered waste analytics are bringing transparency and efficiency to the recycling industry.
  • Discover the challenges and opportunities in building AI solutions for large-scale waste management.
  • Learn how Greyparrot is using computer vision to analyze and sort waste more effectively than traditional methods.
  • Explore the impact of AI technologies on promoting and advancing the circular economy on a global scale.
  • Gain insights into the architectural and structural issues specific to deploying AI in the waste management sector.
  • Discover how strategic partnerships can help scale a business in the waste management and recycling industry.
  • Understand the roles of manufacturers, governments, waste management, and consumers in creating a circular economy.

About the Guest and Host:

Rish: Co-founder and CEO of Greyparrot, using AI-powered waste analytics to revolutionize the recycling industry.

Connect with Rish:

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambarishmitra/

→ Website: https://www.greyparrot.ai/

Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/

→ Substack: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠


In this episode, we cover

(00:00) Introduction and Guest Introduction

(00:49) The Origin Story of Greyparrot and its mission

(02:23) From Visual Search to Waste Intelligence: The Pivotal Moment

(04:58) Defining Greyparrot as a Material Asset Recovery Company

(05:15) How Greyparrot's Analyzers Optimize Waste Sorting at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs)

(07:44) Integrating AI Brains into Mechanical Waste Management Plants

(09:28) Architectural Challenges of Deploying AI in Waste Management

(12:46) Building a Scalable AI Solution for Diverse Waste Management Plants

(15:39) Deep Dive into Processing Images and Data Locally with On-Camera Computing

(20:02) Brands leveraging waste data for packaging R&D and sustainability

(21:52) Customer Acquisition strategies

(28:07) Scale of business

(30:01) Contrasting Waste Management in Developed vs. Developing Economies

(35:13) China's role in global waste management

(37:03) Diverting waste streams

(39:57) The key components responsible for circular economy


Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review/comment on YouTube Apple Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.


#StartupProject #GreyParrot #AI #WasteManagement #Recycling #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #Innovation #DeepLearning #ComputerVision #MaterialRecovery #Tech #Environment #Podcast #Entrepreneurship #Startup #RecyclingTech #WasteAnalytics #AIforGood #GreenTech



How Statsig Founder Vijaye Raji Built a $1.1B Product Development Platform | CEO & Co-Founder of Statsig | Startup Project #102

How Statsig Founder Vijaye Raji Built a $1.1B Product Development Platform | CEO & Co-Founder of Statsig | Startup Project #102

Join Nataraj as he sits down with Vijaye Raji, founder and CEO of Statsig, a platform revolutionizing product development with data-driven decision-making. Formerly a VP at Facebook and head of Facebook Seattle, Vijaye shares his journey from big tech to startup founder.

About the Episode:

This conversation explores Vijaye's transition from leading entertainment at Facebook to building Statsig, a developer platform empowering data-driven decisions.  He dives into his experience at Microsoft and Facebook, highlighting the challenges and motivations that led him to entrepreneurship. Vijaye discusses Statsig's value proposition, differentiating it from existing point solutions by consolidating feature flagging, analytics, and experimentation into one platform.  The discussion extends to the future of experimentation in an AI-first world.  He emphasizes the importance of product intuition alongside experimentation and shares Statsig's approach to culture, talent acquisition, and growth.

About the Guest and Host:

Vijaye Raji: Founder and CEO of Statsig, former VP at Facebook, and head of Facebook Seattle. Connect with Vijay:

→ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijaye/

→ Website: https://www.statsig.com/

Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.

→ LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam

→ Twitter: https://x.com/natarajsindam

→ Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠

→ Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://thestartupproject.io⁠⁠⁠


Timestamps:

00:01 - Introduction and Guest Introduction

00:48 - Vijay's Background and Transition from Big Tech

01:11 - Leaving Facebook and the Motivation for Startups

02:05 - Early Career at Microsoft and Facebook's Startup Phase

04:21 - Diverse Roles and Experiences at Facebook

05:38 - Problems and Scale as Head of Entertainment at Facebook

07:41 - Business Side of Entertainment: Licensing and Content Acquisition

08:30 - From Facebook to Statsig: Idea Evaluation

10:27 - Getting the First Customers: Avoiding Common Mistakes

13:19 - Blind Spots in Transitioning from Big Tech to Startups

14:38 - Go-to-Market Intuition and Building Conviction

17:03 - Statsig's Value Proposition and Differentiation

19:28 - Explanation of Feature Flagging

20:47 - Trends in Experimentation and Product Validation

23:00 - Ideal Customer Profile for Statsig

24:38 - Experimentation vs. Gut Feeling: Balancing Data and Intuition

28:20 - Statsig's Growth: Customers, Users, and Scale

29:44 - Positioning Statsig: Developer Tool vs. Product Development Platform

31:08 - Marketing Efforts and ROI

32:24 - Culture: In-Person Work Environment

34:41 - Attracting Talent: Statsig's Approach

40:04 - Fundraising: Strategy and Benefits

41:35 - AI: Integration with LLMs and Product Extensions

44:26 - ML vs. LLMs: Democratization of Access

46:44 - Favorite Failure and Learning from Mistakes

49:31 - Current Consumption (Books, Podcasts, etc.)

50:11 - Lessons Learned as a Founder

51:16 - Big Company Perks Missed and Not Missed

Subscribe to Startup Project for more engaging conversations with leading entrepreneurs!

→ Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠

#StartupProject #Statsig #ProductDevelopment #Experimentation #FeatureFlagging #ProductAnalytics #DataDriven #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #SaaS #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #YouTube #Tech #Innovation


How Chronosphere Solved Observability in Containerized Environments to Build $1.6B Company | Uber spin-out, 5x Cheap & Impact of AI in Observability | CEO Martin Mao | Startup Project #101

How Chronosphere Solved Observability in Containerized Environments to Build $1.6B Company | Uber spin-out, 5x Cheap & Impact of AI in Observability | CEO Martin Mao | Startup Project #101

Martin Mao is the co-founder and CEO of Chronosphere, an observability platform built for the modern containerized world. Prior to Chronosphere, Martin led the observability team at Uber, tackling the unique challenges of large-scale distributed systems. With a background as a technical lead at AWS, Martin brings unique experience in building scalable and reliable infrastructure. In this episode, he shares the story behind Chronosphere, its approach to cost-efficient observability, and the future of monitoring in the age of AI.

What you'll learn:

  • The specific observability challenges that arise when transitioning to containerized environments and microservices architectures, including increased data volume and new problem sources.

  • How Chronosphere addresses the issue of wasteful data storage by providing features that identify and optimize useful data, ensuring customers only pay for valuable insights.

  • Chronosphere's strategy for competing with observability solutions offered by major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, focusing on specialized end-to-end product.

  • The innovative ways in which Chronosphere's products, including their observability platform and telemetry pipeline, improve the process of detecting and resolving problems.

  • How Chronosphere is leveraging AI and knowledge graphs to normalize unstructured data, enhance its analytics engine, and provide more effective insights to customers.

  • Why targeting early adopters and tech-forward companies is beneficial for product innovation, providing valuable feedback for further improvements and new features.

    How observability requirements are changing with the rise of AI and LLM-based applications, and the unique data collection and evaluation criteria needed for GPUs.

  • Takeaways:

    • Chronosphere originated from the observability challenges faced at Uber, where existing solutions couldn't handle the scale and complexity of a containerized environment.
    • Cost efficiency is a major differentiator for Chronosphere, offering significantly better cost-benefit ratios compared to other solutions, making it attractive for companies operating at scale.

    • The company's telemetry pipeline product can be used with existing observability solutions like Splunk and Elastic to reduce costs without requiring a full platform migration.

    • Chronosphere's architecture is purposely single-tenanted to minimize coupled infrastructures, ensuring reliability and continuous monitoring even when core components go down.

    • AI-driven insights for observability may not benefit from LLMs that are trained on private business data, which can be diverse and may cause models to overfit to a specific case.

    • Many tech-forward companies are using the platform to monitor model training which involves GPU clusters and a new evaluation criterion that is unlike general CPU workload.

    • The company found a huge potential by scrubbing the diverse data and building knowledge graphs to be used as a source of useful information when problems are recognized.

    Subscribe to Startup Project for more engaging conversations with leading entrepreneurs!

    → Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠


    #StartupProject #Chronosphere #Observability #Containers #Microservices #Uber #AWS #Monitoring #CloudNative #CostOptimization #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #LLM #MLOps #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #YouTube #Tech #Innovation


    The Unfiltered Playbook to Make Early‑Stage Startups Get Media Traction & Demystifying Public Relations for Tech Founders | Emilie Gerber Founder of Six Eastern PR | Startup Project #100

    The Unfiltered Playbook to Make Early‑Stage Startups Get Media Traction & Demystifying Public Relations for Tech Founders | Emilie Gerber Founder of Six Eastern PR | Startup Project #100

    Join host Nataraj as he speaks with Emilie Gerber, founder and principal of SixEastern, a PR firm specializing in startups and tech companies. Emilie shares her expertise on crafting effective PR strategies for early-stage startups and navigating the evolving media landscape.

    About the Episode:

    This episode demystifies the world of PR for tech founders. Emily differentiates PR from marketing, emphasizing the importance of earned media and credibility. She provides actionable advice on when to engage a PR firm, the types of media to target, and how to manage expectations. The conversation explores alternative strategies beyond traditional tech publications, including podcasts and new media platforms. Emily highlights the increasing importance of founders building their social profiles and telling authentic stories. She shares real-world examples of successful PR campaigns and offers valuable insights into navigating crisis communications.

    About the Guest and Host:

    Emilie Gerber: Founder and Principal of SixEastern, a PR firm for startups and tech companies. Previously at Uber and Box. Connect with Emily: → Website: https://www.sixeastern.com/

    Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.

    → LinkedIn:   /natarajsindam  

    → Twitter: https://x.com/natarajsindam

    → Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠

    → Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://thestartupproject.io⁠⁠⁠

    Timestamps:

    00:02 - Introduction and Guest Introduction

    00:45 - Emily's Background and PR for Tech Startups

    01:17 - PR vs. Marketing: Understanding the Difference

    03:13 - When to Engage a PR Firm: Seed vs. Series A

    05:40 - The Unique Landscape of AI Startup PR

    06:19 - Top Tier PR Firms and Their Specializations

    08:39 - Setting Expectations and Measuring PR Success

    09:18 - Pitching Podcasts vs. Traditional Media

    14:21 - The Problem with Automated PR Pitches

    16:42 - Storytelling for Series A to Series C Startups

    17:44 - Crafting the Founder's Message for Podcasts

    21:08 - The Trend of Founders Going Direct on Social Media

    24:15 - Why Elon Musk's Strategies Don't Work for Everyone

    25:26 - Concrete Examples of Successful PR Campaigns

    29:21 - Why Traditional Media Still Matters for Startups

    31:12 - Pitching to New Media Platforms

    32:00 - Organic vs. Strategic PR: Behind-the-Scenes Tactics

    34:12 - SEO for AI Search Engines and the Future of PR

    37:18 - PR Plus Marketing: Integrating Services

    38:47 - Emily's Current Media Consumption: TBPN

    42:39 - Mentors and Their Influence

    44:38 - Lessons Learned in PR

    45:40 - Crisis Communications at Uber

    48:16 - Ignored Sectors in Startup PR: Enterprise Software

    Subscribe to Startup Project for more engaging conversations with leading entrepreneurs!


    → Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠

    #StartupProject #PR #PublicRelations #Startups #Tech #Media #Marketing #Communications #Founders #Entrepreneurship #TechCrunch #WallStreetJournal #Podcast #YouTube #AI #SixEastern

    Award-Winning Industrial Designer on How to Design Great Hardware Products at Scale? | Todd Bracher Founder of Betterlab | Startup Project #99

    Award-Winning Industrial Designer on How to Design Great Hardware Products at Scale? | Todd Bracher Founder of Betterlab | Startup Project #99

    Join host Nataraj as he sits down with Todd Bracher, founder of BetterLab, an industrial design firm partnering with scientists and innovators to create game-changing products. Previously Executive Creative Director and Design Partner at Human Scale, Todd has also collaborated with iconic brands like Issey Miyake, Herman Miller, and 3M. A two-time International Designer of the Year and recognized by Wallpaper Magazine as a Top 100 Global Design Influencer, Todd shares his insights on the intersection of design, science, and technology.

    About the Episode:

    This episode explores the world of industrial design through the lens of Todd Bracher's extensive experience.  The conversation delves into building a successful design firm and the critical importance of human-centered design. Todd recounts his journey from art school to becoming a leading industrial designer, emphasizing the role of manufacturing, materials, and understanding market needs. He highlights the shift towards sustainability in design, including the use of recycled materials and circularity principles. The discussion covers BetterLab's innovative projects, such as glasses designed to combat myopia using full-spectrum light and a UVC light-based hand sanitizer called Lightwash. Todd also shares his perspective on digital design, the influence of Japanese design principles, and his role as a design advisor with Antler, a pre-seed stage firm. He touches upon products he admires, including the Leica M camera, and the importance of integrating design early in the product development process.

    About the Guest and Host:

    Todd Bracher: Founder of BetterLab, an industrial design firm. Former Executive Creative Director and Design Partner at Human Scale.  Connect with Todd: 

    → Website: https://betterlab.com/

    Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor. 

    → LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/

    → Twitter: https://x.com/natarajsindam

    → Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠

    → Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://thestartupproject.io⁠⁠⁠


    Timestamps:

    00:01 - Introduction and Guest Introduction

    00:55 - Todd's Background and Entry into Design

    01:45 - The Definition of Industrial Design

    03:22 - Early Influences and Drawing

    04:27 - Examples of Industrial Design Projects

    06:06 - Admired Technology Products (Beyond Apple)

    09:14 - Trends in Industrial Design: Sustainability vs. Consumable Products

    12:02 - Todd's Take on IKEA's Design and Business Model

    14:37 - Admired Brands: VITSO and Dieter Rams

    15:54 - Sustainability and Longevity in Well-Designed Products

    17:05 - The Business of Running a Design Firm: BetterLab

    19:39 - Products from BetterLab: Myopia-Correcting Glasses

    24:48 - Sustainability Project: UVC Light Hand Sanitizer (Lightwash)

    28:44 - Working with Antler: Advising Early-Stage Startups

    30:08 - Day-to-Day Products Todd Uses and Admits

    31:53 - Modern Design Aesthetics and Globalization

    36:01 - Todd's Take on Digital Design

    37:46 - Trend Back into Hardware

    40:01 - What Makes Japanese Design Unique

    42:00 - Design Hubs in the US

    44:13 - Current Consumption (Books, Podcasts, etc.)

    45:39 - Mentors and Influences: Charles Darwin

    46:55 - Lessons Learned: The Importance of Business Acumen

    Subscribe to Startup Project for more engaging conversations with leading entrepreneurs!

    → Email updates: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠


    #StartupProject #IndustrialDesign #DesignThinking #BetterLab #ToddBracher #Sustainability #ProductDesign #Innovation #HumanCenteredDesign #TechDesign #Manufacturing #Materials #DesignTrends #Myopia #UVCLight #Antler #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #YouTube #Tech #Innovation


    Warp Dev The AI Terminal Changing Software Development | Zach Lloyd CEO & Co-Founder of Warp Dev | Startup Project #98

    Warp Dev The AI Terminal Changing Software Development | Zach Lloyd CEO & Co-Founder of Warp Dev | Startup Project #98

    Join host Nataraj as he sits down with Zach Lloyd, the founder and CEO of Warp, a company developing an intelligent terminal aimed at modernizing the command line experience for developers. Zach, a former principal engineer at Google, having worked on Google Sheets and Docs, and co-founder and CTO of Selfmade, shares his insights on the future of software development, the evolution of the terminal, and AI's role in building new products.

    In this episode, they discuss:

    • How Warp leverages AI to improve developer productivity
    • The challenges of building an AI-powered developer tool
    • The future of coding and the evolution of the terminal
    • Bridging the gap between traditional terminals and modern IDEs
    • The current AI hype cycle and its impact on the developer community


    Guest:
    Zach Lloyd

    • Founder and CEO of Warp
    • Former Principal Engineer at Google
    • Co-founder & CTO of Selfmade
    • Website: https://www.warp.dev/


    Host:
    Nataraj


    Timestamps:
    00:01 - Introduction and Guest Introduction
    00:55 - What is Warp?
    02:59 - How Developers Use Warp
    04:56 - Warp's Compatibility with Existing Developer Tools
    05:21 - Warp's Intelligence and Features
    06:31 - Integrating Existing Developer Nuances into Warp
    07:24 - Warp's AI-Powered Enhancements
    10:06 - The Future of IDEs and Terminals
    13:50 - The Evolution of Abstraction in Software Development
    16:37 - The AI Hype Cycle and Developer Productivity
    18:07 - Developer Feedback and Adoption of Warp
    20:30 - Go-to-Market Strategy and Customer Acquisition
    21:33 - Leveraging LLMs in Warp
    23:28 - The Role of AI Agents in Software Development
    25:49 - Cost and Sustainability of AI-Powered Tools
    27:17 - Warp's Pricing Model and Margins
    30:04 - Open-Source Models and Profitability
    32:43 - Key Metrics for Warp's Success
    34:45 - Go-to-Market Motion and Acquiring Customers
    37:40 - Using AI in Building Warp
    39:15 - The Impact of AI on Developer Demand
    41:00 - The Current State of AI and Developer Productivity
    43:31 - The Importance of Context and Knowledge in AI
    44:31 - What Zach is Consuming
    45:40 - Zach's Mentors
    46:25 - Lessons Learned as a Founder


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    https://startupproject.substack.com/


    Tags:
    #StartupProject #Warp #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Terminal #DeveloperTools #Coding #Productivity #SoftwareDevelopment #DevOps #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #YouTube #Tech #Innovation

    Bio of Startup Project

    The Startup Project, hosted by Nataraj, is a podcast that delves into the world of startups, exploring the ideas, investments, and strategies that drive global entrepreneurial ventures. With a focus on providing valuable insights and staying up to date with the latest trends, The Startup Project is a go-to resource for startup enthusiasts and aspiring entrepreneurs.

    Each episode of the podcast offers a deep dive into the stories behind successful startups, shedding light on the innovative ideas that have disrupted industries and transformed the business landscape. Nataraj engages with founders, investors, and industry experts to uncover the key factors that contribute to startup success, sharing their experiences, challenges, and strategies.

    From discussing investment trends and fundraising strategies to exploring the latest technologies and market opportunities, The Startup Project provides a comprehensive perspective on the startup ecosystem.

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