Listen Here

| |

Conversation
Highlights

 

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Anand Kulkarni, CEO of Crowdbotics, a rapid application development platform that’s raised $58 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

  • Early AI Adoption: Anand’s early belief in AI’s potential for software development positioned Crowdbotics as a pioneer, even before AI became mainstream in the tech community.
  • Responding to Market Skepticism: Crowdbotics faced early doubts about the feasibility of AI-driven software development, highlighting the challenge of introducing innovative solutions in a skeptical market.
  • Focus on Regulated Industries: Unexpectedly, Crowdbotics found its niche in regulated sectors like healthcare and government, underscoring the importance of being responsive to market needs in shaping product strategy.
  • CodeOps Movement: Anand discusses the emergence of CodeOps as a new category, reflecting Crowdbotics’ role in shaping industry trends and practices through innovation.
  • Systematic Fundraising Approach: Anand shares insights on the necessity of a methodical fundraising strategy, engaging with a wide range of investors to ensure long-term success.
  • Government Contracting Persistence: The journey to securing government contracts taught the team valuable lessons in perseverance and opened up a significant market for Crowdbotics.

 

Actionable
Takeaways

Embrace AI Early, But Strategically:

Anand’s engagement with AI from the outset of Crowdbotics, despite market skepticism, illustrates the value of investing in emerging technologies. Yet, his approach wasn’t just about jumping on a bandwagon; it was about foreseeing the strategic application of AI in software development. For tech founders, this underscores the importance of not only adopting new technologies early but doing so with a clear vision of how they can fundamentally transform your offering.

Navigate Market Skepticism with Persistence and Education:

Crowdbotics faced initial doubts about the feasibility of AI-driven software development. This skepticism from the market is a common challenge for pioneering tech solutions. The key takeaway here is the importance of persistence and the role of educating your market. Demonstrating the tangible benefits and reliability of your technology can slowly shift perceptions and open up opportunities.

Identify and Leverage Unexpected Market Opportunities:

Crowdbotics' pivot to serve regulated industries like healthcare and government was not planned from the outset but emerged from listening to the market. This adaptability highlights the importance of being open to and prepared for pivoting your focus based on where the demand is, even if it leads you into areas you hadn't initially considered.

Champion and Shape Emerging Categories:

Crowdbotics is at the forefront of defining and promoting the CodeOps category. This proactive approach to not just participating in but actively shaping an emerging category can position a company as a leader and go-to authority in new industry segments. For founders, this means looking beyond fitting into existing categories and considering how you might define new ones.

Systematize Fundraising as a Rigorous Process:

Anand's experience in fundraising highlights the necessity of treating it as a systematic process that requires dedication and a strategic approach. For founders, it’s crucial to understand that fundraising is not just about selling your vision but about engaging in a structured process that involves thorough preparation, a deep understanding of investor landscapes, and a commitment to engaging a wide array of potential investors.

Recommended Founder
Interviews

Meryem Arik

CEO & Co-Founder of Titan ML

Meryem Arik, CEO and Co-Founder of Titan ML: $2.8 Million Raised to Revolutionize LLM Deployment

Ravin Thambapillai

CEO and Co-Founder of Credal

Ravin Thambapillai, CEO and Co-Founder of Credal: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI Security

Anand Gopalan

CEO and Co-Founder of Vayu Robotics

Anand Gopalan, CEO & Co-Founder of Vayu Robotics: $12.7 Million Raised to Build the Next Wave of Robotics Solutions

Patricia Thaine

Co-Founder & CEO of Private AI

Patricia Thaine, Co-Founder & CEO of Private AI: Over $11 Million Raised to Help Organizations Anonymize PII to Achieve Regulatory Compliance

Jason Corso

Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of Voxel 51

Jason Corso, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of Voxel 51: $15.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Developer Tools for Machine Learning

Bob van Luijt

CEO and Co-Founder of Weaviate

Bob van Luijt, CEO and Co-Founder of Weaviate: Over $67 Million Raised to Power the Future of Vector Databases

Malte Pietsch

CTO & Co-Founder of Deepset

Malte Pietsch, CTO & Co-Founder of Deepset: $45 Million Raised to Build the Future of LLMs

Jonathan Dambrot

CEO and Founder of Cranium

Jonathan Dambrot, CEO and Founder at Cranium: $32 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI Security

Jeong-Suh Choi

CEO of Bobidi

Jeong-Suh Choi, CEO Bobidi: Nearly $6 Million raised to Deliver Better, More Inclusive AI Solutions for Developers

Phillip Liu

CEO of Trustero

Phillip Liu, CEO of Trustero: $8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compliance AI

Jorge Torres

CEO and Co-Founder of MindsDB

Jorge Torres, CEO and Co-Founder of MindsDB: $50 Million Raised to Enable Developers to Integrate Machine Learning into Applications

Ryan Sevey

CEO of Mantium

Ryan Sevey, CEO of Mantium: $12 Million Raised to Help Teams Deploy and Monitor their AI Process Automations

Jonathan Schneider

CEO and Co-Founder of Moderne

Jonathan Schneider, CEO & Co-Founder of Moderne: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Code Remediation

Alan Cowen

CEO and Founder of Hume AI

Alan Cowen, CEO and Founder of Hume AI: Over $17 Million Raised to Measure and Improve How Technology Affects Human Emotion

Ashley Montanaro

CEO and Co-Founder of Phasecraft

Ashley Montanaro, CEO & Co-Founder of Phasecraft: $22 Million Raised to Build the Future of Quantum Software

Johannes Peeters

Co-Founder & CEO of VoxelSensors

Johannes Peeters, Co-Founder & CEO of VoxelSensors: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Spatial Computing

Richard Potter

Co-Founder and CEO of Peak

Richard Potter, Co-Founder and CEO at Peak: $118 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Enabled Businesses

Harry Xu

CEO and Co-Founder of Breeze ML

Harry Xu, CEO and Co-Founder of Breeze ML: $4.6 Million Raised to Create the Future of AI Governance

Gabriel Bayomi Tinoco Kalejaiye

CEO and Co-Founder of Openlayer

Gabriel Bayomi, CEO and Co-Founder of Openlayer: $4.8 Million Raised to Power the Future of Machine Learning Testing

Douwe Kiela

CEO and Co-Founder of Contextual AI

Douwe Kiela, CEO and Co-Founder of Contextual AI: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Enterprise Language Models