Atharva Padhye

co-founder @getcruxai - the ai creative strategist

[Himank Jain @Himank_jain1]

Just came back to SF after spending last 5 months in India.

It took us way more time than we anticipated to hire right engineers on the team.

We spoke to 200+ candidates and screened 2000+ profiles to hire 3 engineers.

The role of engineers has shifted completely from what it used to be 6 months ago. The blocker is no longer who can write fast and clean code. Umm no, that's still important but It's shifting more towards who can understand the user needs - talk to users, understand what to build next, ships really fast, test, and iterate.

That's five different roles merged into one.

PM + Designer + Frontend + Backend + Infra = Product Engineer

That's what we have been looking for.

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Over the last 45 days, we have added 3 engineers:

Akshay Poriya
He was lead software engineer at Moengage and built core capabilities which supports petabyte scale data-warehouses and streaming systems to improve their reliability. Known for his intensity and cycling adventures from Kashmir to Leh. He graduated from NIT Kurushretra in 2020.

Pranav Anurag
He was platform engineer at Media net for last 8 years and has worked on their ad infrastructure which powers one of the largest contextual ad networks. Known for his fierce communication and passion for rock music. He graduated from IIT Roorkee in 2018.

Abhay Chauhan
He was building the agentic AI workflows at Abacus AI and scaled ML systems powering personalisation for millions of users at Google One. Known for his speed and being frugal. He graduate from IITB with CS major in 2019.

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To complete our vision of fully building agentic system which can generate 1000s of on-brand ads across multiple ads channel for some of the largest brands in the world, we need couple of more hands in our Bangalore office.

We are hiring for two more engineers for our agentic content generation module. It would be plus if you have good taste for design / videos or creator.

a. Product Engineer (PM, Design, Frontend, Backend, Agents) 
b. AI Engineer (UX, Backend, Models Orchestration, lots of Infra)

Our offer: Upto 1.2Cr + 1% Equity.
--

You can apply at getcrux . ai / careers or dm me or Prabhat Singh

@getcruxai

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

https://t.co/ndkSxRQMHD

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

We're offering upto $225K and 0.75% equity for a founding creative strategist.

We're growing fast, have signed multiple 6-fig deals, and GetCrux ads have spent $15M+ with a team of <10

This is the right fit if you have:

-3y+ exp in creative strategy on Meta/TikTok
-built AI workflows for yourself
-love working with growth/creative teams

Location: Remote but US based

$15K referral bonus.

Link to apply below.

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

brainrot ftw✌️

[Coinbase 🛡️ @coinbase]

An overview of our Q4 and full year 2025 financial results.

With something extra to keep you focused.

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

@paraschopra @keepitcloaked is building this

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

Looking for a creative agency for Meta/TikTok ads.

Our customers want to ramp up volume 5-10X this year using @getcruxai and need more hands on deck

Criteria:
- based in the US
- well versed with AI ads
- can handle 1k+ ads /mo.
- owns creative strategy + execution

Please DM.

[Himank Jain @Himank_jain1]

2025 started with lot of uncertainty and little conviction in our direction.

After multiple pivots over the past few years, we were thinking hard on where to head next. There were more questions than answers, and plenty of noise.

So, we did the only thing we knew how to do.
We kept heads down, kept building, and selling.

Slowly, something became clear.
There was real pull from the market for creative insights and generation.

We slowed down to deeply understand what customers actually wanted, what workflows existed today, and what was getting unlocked for them.

In fact, we became an extension of the creative strategy teams at some of the fastest-growing consumer apps.

That proximity gave us firsthand insight into how creative decisions are made - and how AI could meaningfully improve them.

Looking back, 2025 was less about acceleration and more about finding the right direction.

Along the way, we unlocked some important milestones from signing multiple 6-fig contracts to deciding to make the move to US.

With every iteration and pivot, we have improved how we do go-to market, onboard customers and build the product.

And for the first time, it feels like we are onto something.

We’re heading into 2026 with clarity, momentum, and excitement.

It’s going to be 10× bigger. 🚀

[Himank Jain @Himank_jain1]

I have asked @almostpaddy to burn $100K, literally!!

We have been quite frugal with spending money.

After selling our previous product, we ended the last year profitably and still have our entire seed money unused.

For our new product - AI Creative Strategist, we have been reaching out to people on their LinkedIn DMs and validating the hypothesis.

Response has been great so far but all paying clients came through cold outbound 1:1.

Our inbound engine is broken and need serious stitching.

So, we have decided to spend $$ and run experiments.

- Influencer marketing
- Marketing focused newsletter
- Conferences and events
- Case study and testimonials
- Improving GEO/SEO

What are the some of the marketing tactics you have tried to generate more inbounds from mid-market/enterprises?

P.S. @almostpaddy seems to have it under control! :)

[Y Combinator @ycombinator]

GetCrux (@getcruxai) is the AI Creative Strategist to launch winning ads.

Most growth teams don't have an answer to what works, why it works, and what to make next. With GetCrux, AI watches your ads, finds patterns, and creates on-brand creatives.

https://t.co/EIpLYK965S

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

@Himank_jain1 @grok Lessgooo

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

@tavishi_jatrele @yash_dandavate Thanks @tavishi_jatrele

Yes we do find patterns but mostly on the ads side and less so for organic virality. But ig the logic is more or less the same :)

[Himank Jain @Himank_jain1]

Surprisingly 90%+ of @DoorDash ads are focused on acquiring the delivery partners aka Dasher!

Read our deep down on Doordash Creative Strategy 👇

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

Read more on our Decoding Creative Strategy series.

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

Doordash is a masterclass in performance creatives.

Here's how:

[Atharva Padhye @almostpaddy]

3. "Summer is Scary Expensive" Campaign

Hitting the bulls eye with parents for the angle "kids are going to ambush them with non-stop requests over the summer"

Simple. Easy to Understand.

[Himank Jain @Himank_jain1]

Super thrilled to announce our partnership with @keepitcloaked - the # 1 privacy app in the US!

This one is special.

Because when we reached out to the team, they were trying to solve a really hard problem:

"Scale 2X on Meta while reducing CAC by 10%"

Entirely with AI-generated creatives!