Chandradeep Pokhariya, an AI researcher at Brown University, and ex-IIIT-H MS, talks about his journey from a sleepy small town in Uttarakhand, to finding his way into the Ivy Leagues while overcoming challenges such as lack of access to the internet, infrastructure, and even language barriers.

Join us, in this first of a two-part conversation, with hosts Abbhinav (123 of AI) and Debayan (Microsoft)!

CHAN REVEALS:

• What it was like growing up in a remote village near the Nepal border, in a close-knit community
• The cultural shock he experienced when he first went to Kota for exam preparation and witnessed urban life.
• How he had to climb a hill to download videos for his studying AI and deep learning.
• His journey during undergrad at GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, where he pursued a bachelor's degree in industrial and production engineering
• His experiences in working in startups, the work culture, and the long hours he put in to stand up to peers from IITs, Stanford and MIT
• The language barrier he experienced when he moved to Bangalore
• Key problem statements he has worked on in 3D - Warping, Key-point detection, 3D Hand Modeling, and Object Detection.
• Trade-offs between working at a big company versus a startup and the importance of mental health

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Prior to starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

123 of AI’s official website: https://www.123ofai.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat

Sonakshi Nathani talks about pivots, premium pricing, rebranding, conflict management, the role of her co-founder, facing discrimination as a female founder, differences between Indian and US markets, and launching multiple products, in this fascinating second part of our 2-part conversation, with Abbhinav (founder, 123 of AI) and co-host Debayan (from Microsoft).

SONAKSHI REVEALS:

• The origin story of BIK and rebranding
• How they pivoted from an online store builder called Bikai to an AI-powered conversational commerce platform.
• How a sales-led model was not sustainable for them, leading to the decision to target larger enterprises with higher-value contracts.
• Challenges and learnings as a founder: Sonakshi shares her experiences as a founder, including the importance of adaptability, having a co-founder, managing a team, dealing with conflicts, and the challenges of being a woman in tech. She emphasizes the value of harmony, trust, and unity within the team.
• How she faced discrimination as a female founder
• The differences between the Indian and US markets in terms of technology adoption and value perception.
• The launch of ManifestAI

BEST MOMENTS:

• "Pivots are part of the journey. You have to evolve"
• "We went through a lot of ups and downs during that transition - people interpreted it very differently in media, so we went through those phases, but internally we were very strong. We were very happy we saw us moving in the right direction because there was this harmony, there was this unity." - On the value of harmony and unity within the team.
• “We'll only operate in quality, we'll only operate in premium so we started charging a Lac a month and mostly, also very upfront quality." - On the decision to position BIK.AI as a premium product and target high-value customers.
• “Definitely, I cannot control what you think, but I can control who my customers can be. And with what you're saying today, I choose to reject you as a customer." - On standing firm on her values and not compromising for customers who undermine her company.
• "You have to be a good communicator that is a little bit more fundamental as opposed to being an extrovert. Communication is what is key. Can you convey whatever you want in the most effective way?" - On the importance of effective communication as a founder, rather than just being an extrovert.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Prior to starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

123 of AI’s official website: https://www.123ofai.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat

Let’s delve into Sonakshi's entrepreneurial journey from Microsoft to her own company, BIK, highlighting the importance of understanding the target audience, developing products based on customer feedback, maintaining an entrepreneurial mindset, and learning from successful founders, while also emphasising the need for a safety net when starting a business.

In this first of 2-part conversation, Abbhinav (123 of AI) and co-host Debayan (Microsoft) are in conversation with Sonakshi Nathani, founder of BIK, ex-Microsoft, ex-IIITH.

SONAKSHI REVEALS:

• Her family background in business - owning a shop and how her grandfather's entrepreneurial spirit inspired her from a young age
• Her journey of joining Microsoft after college - getting into the same race as her batchmates.
• Her decision to quit, and finding a problem of interest to build a company.
• The importance of having a safety net, whether financial or familial, when starting a business.
• Insights into how they identified their target audience, developed their product (Bikai), and determined pricing based on customer feedback.
• Her conversations with customers - the importance of understanding the customer's pain points and speaking their language.
• The role of mindset, passion, and perseverance in entrepreneurship, as well as the value of learning from successful founders' stories and constantly challenging oneself.

BEST MOMENTS:

"If a normal person like him can do it, then why can’t I” - Sonakshi on gaining confidence from hearing successful founders' stories.

“The only you know I think metric which can guide you if you are doing right or not is are you getting good sleep" - Sonakshi's unconventional metric for success in the early days.

"You have to fool your mind and this is not just one time job. You have to do that every day as an entrepreneur because every day is a challenge." - Sonakshi on the mindset required for entrepreneurship.

"You have to just speak with them, understand thought processes and execute." Sonakshi on the importance of understanding customers' thought processes and acting on their feedback.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Prior to starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

123 of AI’s official website: https://www.123ofai.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat

This is the second of a 2-part conversation where Abbhinav (123 of AI) and co-host Debayan (Microsoft) are in conversation with Aanshul Sadaria, SWE III at Google, Institute Gold Medalist at IIIT-H, First Inventor at Adobe, Speaker at 50+ events and a Mentor to 1000+ students!

The conversation delves around Aanshul’s journey at Google, his experience with building a personal brand on social media, his interest in stock trading, and the role of mentorship in his life, offering insights into personal and professional growth, the dynamics of social media influence, and the pursuit of a well-rounded life.

AANSHUL REVEALS:

• Why he transitioned in between teams at Google - from enterprise search to google search
• His daily routine, which involves posting content on LinkedIn during peak hours (around 9:30 AM) and managing his trading activities throughout the day.
• The profound impact his college professor, PK Sir, and his late father had on his personal and professional growth. He describes how PK Sir's energy and guidance influenced his attitude, while his father's unwavering support and life lessons shaped his values and approach to life.
• His interest in stock trading and his initiative, Engineer Trade HQ, where he shares insights and facts about trading.
• Why and How to build a personal brand on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.
• Various aspects of content creation, engagement tactics, social media algorithms
• The challenges and rewards of being an influencer.
• His father’s influence on his life, even after he is no longer in this world.

BEST MOMENTS:

"He told me a very beautiful thing - he himself got promotion rejected three times in a row. This happened 15-16 years back, and if you look at it I am in the same place others who got promoted in the first cycle people are in. So, it didn’t have as much of any impact anyway”

"He never stopped me from doing anything He always knew that there might be a good reason why I was doing it. In fact, he just knew that I was a gold medalist; that's it. So, that's the type of person he was; he gave me my space. He loved me for whoever I was, whatever I did."

"He rubbed off one personality onto me and my father rubbed off the other and both of them cumulatively. I think whatever good I have is because of those two people. My professors who have been very close to me and my friends whose photos are behind me on the wall - Those people are few of the most important people in my life.”

“LinkedIn is for professional network, and Twitter is for shit-posting”

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Prior to starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

123 of AI’s official website: https://www.123ofai.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat

Aanshul Sadaria, SWE III at Google, Institute Gold Medalist at IIIT-H, First Inventor at Adobe, Speaker at 50+ events and a Mentor to 1000+ students talks to Abbhinav (123 of AI) and co-host Debayan (Microsoft), in this first of 2 part series!

The conversation delves around Aanshul’s journey - his initial struggles to achieving the batch gold medal, from failing at interviews to his current position at Google, his data analytics projects around Twitter Sentiment Analysis for elections as well as Traffic Challan Portals, dealing with imposter syndrome, and his growth mindset for dealing with challenges.

CELEBRATION: We just hit an all-time high rank of the No. 7 in Technology on the Apple Podcasts Charts!

AANSHUL REVEALS:

• How he went from an over-achiever in schools to struggling when he landed in college
• Importance of prioritising research projects - which made his resume stand out and build interesting experiences
• The process of collecting and organizing Twitter data related to political figures, analyzing tweet activity and sentiment to infer potential alliances and competition between parties during elections.
• The existence of bots spreading misinformation on Twitter
• How they studied traffic violations and user behaviour change in relation to policing and big data aggregation, to understand the probability of repeat offences and extend the concept of criminal recidivism to traffic violations.
• The challenges faced in scraping data and collaborating with government agencies
• How they found loopholes in the traffic challan portal - revealing all your vehicle information with simple attacks.
• His project at Adobe involving image segmentation in vector images, deep learning, and patent publication.
• The unexpected opportunity to interview with Google
• The importance of a supportive team and environment in helping individuals overcome imposter syndrome

BEST MOMENTS:

"I was like - this doesn't make sense. I was happy for him, and, eventually, I was also happy for myself too (after some time)." - Anshul on his initial reaction to not getting the PPO at Adobe.

"The atmosphere of the office, the people in the team and the environment they create around you when you are joining a new team or a new company; that is important for how you can handle imposter syndrome." - Anshul on the importance of a supportive team environment.

"Some people call it arrogance, Some people call it attitude. Some people call it hard work as well. I don't know whatever it is, it has worked for me till now." - Anshul on his growth mindset and desire to continually learn and improve.

"I was tired so I went to sleep. I didn't wake up for my Uber interview and I was a teaching assistant as well." - Anshul on missing an interview due to exhaustion.

"It was kind of humbling experience for me and my family" - Anshul on the emotional reactions of his family when he received the Google offer.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Prior to starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

123 of AI’s official website: https://www.123ofai.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat

In the second of 2-part conversation, Abbhinav (123 of AI) and co-host Debayan (Microsoft), are in conversation with Keerti Purswani, founder of Educosys, LinkedIn Top Voice, YouTube Educator, Ex-Atlassian, Ex-Intuit Software Engineer.

The conversation revolves around Keerti’s take on paid courses v/s free content, the challenges of a YouTube educator, dealing with negative comments on her videos, her new business venture (The Literate Store), growing on YouTube+LinkedIn to a 300k+ subscriber base, risk-taking, financial independence, and her family life.

KEERTI REVEALS:

• How she was initially hesitant about offering free full-time educational content on YouTube, since it was not lucrative.
• The demand for paid courses due to structured learning, mentorship, community and guidance provided by educators
• Highlights the undervaluation of teachers' (including professors at IITs/NITs) efforts and advocates for fair compensation based on expertise and effort invested.
• Discusses concerns about monetization through YouTube and its insufficiency to cover living expenses.
• Many individuals are forced to work in areas they don't enjoy, while she has chosen a path that allows for exploration.
• Details on her System Design Courses
• Involvement in the “LinkedIn Creator Program” for content creation support and trending topic suggestions.
• Networking opportunities with other creators through events conducted by companies like UnAcademy, Graphy, Scalar.
• LinkedIn Top Voice Program - Criteria and Selection
• How her confidence to take risks to her financial independence, achieved through disciplined savings from the beginning of her career.
• LinkedIn and YouTube content creation journey!
• Insights into her marriage journey

BEST MOMENTS:

“Why should I not be paid... Why should I be underpaid?”

“I have chosen a path where I can explore any tech I like... being able to experiment more as a teacher rather than being chained to a job”

“Low level system design is something that is nowadays expected from freshers... You should know low system design eventually.”

“Efforts are made through personal audience on platforms like LinkedIn... Also involved in the LinkedIn creator program for support.”

“Recognition from programs like 'LinkedIn Top Voice' provides social validation but does not offer direct advantages beyond association with a reputable brand.”

“Once I Start earning... I am never going ask anyone for money.’

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Prior to starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

123 of AI’s official website: https://www.123ofai.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat

In this first of 2-part conversation, Abbhinav (123 of AI) and co-host Debayan (Microsoft) are in conversation with Keerti Purswani, founder of Educosys, LinkedIn Top Voice, YouTube Educator, Ex-Atlassian, Ex-Intuit Software Engineer.

The conversation revolves around Keerti’s journey - from being a North Indian at NIT Calicut, the discrimination she faced in her college and corporate life as a woman, the key moments of her career - from working at a startup to Atlassian to transitioning to an educator, and finally around content creation, and her personal life.

KEERTI REVEALS:

• Her career transition: from an average student to a good software engineer, and finally to successful educator.
• Cultural Adaptation: Feeling like an outsider among predominantly South Indian peers.
• Coping with language barriers, social interactions, and being the only North Indian in her group.
• Balancing passion for teaching and coding with financial stability, and the influence of family expectations on career choices.
• Limitations for female college students: Limited festival celebrations and curfews, different from the boys.
• Gender-based discrimination in corporate life: How a female employee faced discrimination when working late hours
• Women often face pressure to prove themselves more than men, leading to a need for increased effort and resilience.
• The dynamic of women earning more can lead them to take greater career risks compared to men.
• Instances where men face job loss before marriage challenge traditional gender roles regarding financial stability.
• Career Growth: Transitioning to a startup provided valuable learning experiences, leading to increased confidence and career growth.
• The decision to transition from corporate roles to teaching was driven by dissatisfaction with job roles offered by big companies.
• Managing personal commitments during significant life events, such as marriage, required temporary adjustments in career focus.
• LinkedIn and YouTube content creation journey!

BEST MOMENTS:

“If painting paid my bills, I would have probably become a full-time painter”

“I am used to being different everywhere”

“I don't know a single person who has not struggled or who has not faced any sort of trauma... I don't know a single person!”

“Women can take more risk... just because they have this dynamic that's interesting.”

“It is essential...to stop normalising discriminatory practices within social circles.”

“I worked extremely hard... but then I realized... it is not just hard work; you also have to be smart.” ”I love being uncertain... when I know what will happen in the next 6-7 months, I start getting bored”

“I have always stood up and I have never been so scared of speaking up my mind.”

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

123 of AI’s official website: ⁠https://www.123ofai.com⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat⁠

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Prior to starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

This is the second part, of our discussion with Kritika Prakash, ex-Google, currently pursuing her Ph.D., at the University of Chicago.

Abbhinav (123 of AI) and co-host Debayan (Microsoft), go into detail with Kritika, on the need for regulation in technology, particularly privacy policies, the use of reinforcement learning strategies in healthcare program engagement, practical outcomes of her work at Google, the therapeutic role of art, an open-source tool for generative AI privacy, and coping with impostor syndrome.

KRITIKA REVEALS:

• AI for Social Good: Collaboration between tech companies like Google and NGOs to improve maternal and child healthcare programs using machine learning techniques.
• Challenges in objective evaluation of AI for social good: Related to measuring direct impact on well-being from engagement-based results.
• Challenges in ensuring fairness in AI due to system biases and limited resources. For example, a system for identifying individuals most in need for healthcare interventions.
• Her projects at Google:
• Boldness: Choosing boldness in pursuing goals without worrying about judgment leads to personal growth and comfort in one's skin.
• Work-life balance: Balancing academic pursuits with a sense of adventure and joy is essential for overall well-being.
• Women often experience underconfidence due to societal conditioning, adding an extra layer to impostor syndrome. Setting personal standards to avoid disrespectful interactions and focusing on doing good work helps combat impostor syndrome.
• Regulation in AI: The nascent nature of technology requires catching up in regulation, especially in the context of privacy and machine learning.
• GDPR's impact on privacy protection and the significance of rights such as the right to be forgotten.
• Self-reliance and Gender Bias: Identifying safe individuals becomes crucial, leading women to limit interactions based on respect and value. The need for extra skills in identifying safe people adds a burden, diverting focus from work enjoyment.
• Art as a Meditative Process: Engaging in creative activities as a therapeutic outlet
• Impact of generative AI on intellectual property rights of artists and creators
• Her reflection on experiencing impostor syndrome

BEST MOMENTS:

“Privacy will always be important no matter where the machine learning field is headed.”

“The nascent nature of technology requires catching up in regulation, especially concerning privacy implications related to machine learning.”

“Identifying individuals most likely to benefit from a program poses challenges due to limited resources.”

“Collaborative efforts between tech companies like Google have shown improved engagement levels among pregnant women through reinforcement-learning strategies.”

“I completely lose track of time... art has been a meditative process for me.”

“Success cannot be defined by any metric.”

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals to upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Before starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, and ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

123 of AI’s website: https://www.123ofai.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat