Lecture Notes: Origin Story of an AI Company

Introduction

• Group of students from IIT Madras with expertise in computer vision and machine learning.
• Passionate about solving real-world problems using their skills.

Initial Projects

• Collaborated with professors and took on projects for:
  • Southern Railways
  • ITC
  • MRF
• Gained confidence to start their own AI company.

Decision Point

• Choice between:
  • Continuing enterprise problems.
  • Building a consumer app (which would require raising funds).
• Opted for a consumer app for potential mass market reach.
• Successfully raised over $1 million in seed funding.

Early Product Development

• First idea: Photo sharing app with smart categorization.
• Faced competition: Google Photos launched an update soon after.
• Iterated through 10 different ideas over a two-year period:
  • Struggled to gain traction for consumer apps.
  • Engaged in gimmicks to increase app installs and user retention.
  • Limited budget and investor pressure.

Turning Point

• December 2016: Team reflection on future commitment.
• Explored meaningful problem statements relevant to:
  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Rural employment
• Honesty with investors about the need for a strategic shift.

Investor Insights and Advice

• Investors emphasized:
  • Startups may not be suited for fundamental problems due to time requirements.
• Advice from Sridhara, founder of Zoho:
  • Intent to solve problems must be combined with time, effort, and sustainability.
• Suggested goal: generate $500,000 in the first year.

Achievements

• Team committed fully to the new target:
  • Achieved $500,000 in the first year.
  • Doubled revenue in the subsequent year.

Current Status and Purpose

• Each new team member brings energy and shared purpose.
• Transitioned from survival mode to working on fundamental problems.
• Focus areas include:
  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Rural employment
• Team remains driven by the collective goal beyond individual efforts.

Conclusion

• Years of hard work are starting to yield results in areas they are passionate about.