In this episode, of How I'm Building This, Prateek interviews Nanda Kishore from Aitomatic who shares his extensive journey in the tech and AI industry, detailing his experiences from his early days in India to founding Aitomatic. He discusses the importance of adaptability, the lessons learned from both successes and failures, and the critical qualities to look for when hiring in a startup environment. Nanda also delves into the founding story of Itomatic, the pain points they aim to solve in the industrial sector, and the strategies they employ for market engagement and customer education. He emphasizes the necessity of hands-on involvement for founders and debunks common myths surrounding startup leadership.

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Takeaways:

• Founders should run lean until product-market fit is found.
• Adaptability is crucial for startup success.
• Hiring franchise players is essential for early-stage companies.
• The cost of failure in industrial AI can be very high.
• Educating the market is key to successful product adoption.
• Hands-on involvement from founders is necessary for understanding the business.
• Building awareness through brand-oriented marketing is effective.
• The biggest BS advice is about surrounding yourself with professional managers.
• Understanding customer pain points is critical for product development.

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Sound Bites:

• "Don't be wedded to your idea."
• "The cost of failure is very high."

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In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Introduction to Nanda Kishore and His Journey

05:53 Hiring Strategies and Qualities to Look For

12:11 Understanding the Pain Points in Industrial AI

17:54 Building Awareness and Customer Engagement

24:03 Debunking Common Startup Myths

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Where to find Nanda:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nkishore

Aitomatic: www.aitomatic.com

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Where to find Prateek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateekmathur

Activated Scale: https://www.activatedscale.com

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For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email prateek@activatedscale.com