Startup Project

Weekly updates about Series A & later startups in your inbox.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

@DecagonAI is building human-level AI support for customer-facing teams.

@natarajsindam sat down with @AshwinSreenivas on to talk about

1. scaling to $1.5B in 2 years
2. approach to finding PMF
3. evolution of voice agents

& a lot more.

Snippet here, full links in comments

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Record yourself speaking.⁣
Watch it back.⁣
Cringe.⁣
Repeat.⁣
⁣
Varun Puri says that's the single best way to improve communication — no shortcuts.⁣
⁣
Also: speak in threes, start with a hook, use alliteration.⁣
⁣
Full convo in the links on profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Varun Puri worked directly for Sergey Brin and realized something: even the most powerful people are just guessing.⁣
⁣
"The world is run by blind people leading the blind."⁣
⁣
Saying "I don't know" isn't weakness. It's honest.⁣
⁣
Full convo in profile links.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Building is easier than ever—so proving value is harder than ever.⁣
⁣
No moat from connections or access anymore. Just one question:⁣
⁣
Do customers use it? Every day?⁣
⁣
Varun Puri lays it out plainly. Links in profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

"LinkedIn is cringe—but it's our #1 lead source."⁣
⁣
Yoodli's Varun Puri admits he used to mock people who posted constantly. Now he's one of them.⁣
⁣
His take on why founder-led content beats company pages every time.⁣
⁣
Full convo in profile links.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Textbooks → AI that talks back, corrects you, and certifies you.⁣
⁣
Varun Puri calls it "experiential learning" — and thinks it goes way beyond sales training.⁣
⁣
Fascinating direction for how we actually learn things.⁣
⁣
Full convo in links on profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

AI roleplays are getting commoditized—Varun Puri knows it and doesn't care.⁣
⁣
The real bet is the full experiential learning stack: deep customization, enterprise integrations, compliance, UX.⁣
⁣
Prototypes are easy. Depth isn't.⁣
⁣
Full convo in profile links.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

AI handles 90% of execution.⁣
⁣
The real edge? Judgment.⁣
⁣
Knowing what's good vs. bad—that's the skill that actually matters post-AI.⁣
⁣
Varun Puri breaks it down.⁣
⁣
Full convo in the links on the profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Google asked Yoodli for a feature that didn't exist yet.⁣
⁣
Varun Puri said yes anyway, then built it.⁣
⁣
That one call turned into their entire enterprise product.⁣
⁣
Full conversation in the links on profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

When AI gives everyone the right answer instantly, what's left?⁣
⁣
Varun Puri says it's how you communicate—your authenticity, vulnerability, relatability.⁣
⁣
The most human skill becomes the rarest edge.⁣
⁣
Full conversation in profile links.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

You can vibe-code a feature. You can't vibe-code 100k free users.⁣
⁣
Distribution and scale are earned, not prompted.⁣
⁣
https://t.co/GQzbCs9Vfw

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Building an AI data center in the middle of nowhere?⁣
⁣
You might literally have to build a town around it.⁣
⁣
Stranded power, labor shortages, local protests — the bottlenecks are wild.⁣
⁣
Full convo in the links on profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

A Databricks/MosaicML demo showing CUDA code running straight on AMD MI250 was the lightbulb moment for TensorWave.⁣
⁣
That one proof sparked the entire Beyond CUDA movement.⁣
⁣
Full conversation in the links on profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

"If it works, we'll encourage them to use AMD."⁣
⁣
That one line was enough. TensorWave was formed the next day.⁣
⁣
Full story in the links on the profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Why should AI companies be stuck with whatever Jensen decides to sell them?⁣
⁣
Jeff Tatarchuk wants TensorWave to be the "AI utility company" — reliable AMD compute you don't have to babysit.⁣
⁣
Full conversation in the links on profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

$100M raised. Still eating ramen.⁣
⁣
Jeff Tatarchuk explains why AI infrastructure eats capital alive—cost of capital, credit ratings, power timing.⁣
⁣
The math is brutal.⁣
⁣
Full convo in the links on profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

What does success look like for AI infra?⁣
⁣
Jeff Tatarchuk's answer: when customers stop thinking about it entirely.⁣
⁣
Full conversation in the links on the profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

"You only need CUDA if you don't understand low-level GPU development."⁣
⁣
TensorWave's Jeff Tatarchuk on NVIDIA's margins, 150 neo clouds that can't all survive, and why the power grid is the real AI bottleneck.⁣
⁣
Full convo in links.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

150 neoclouds trying to survive when there aren't even 150 AI labs.⁣
⁣
Jeff Tatarchuk breaks down why "plug in GPUs and rent to OpenAI" isn't a business model.⁣
⁣
Full convo in the links on profile.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Gong's CPO Eilon Reshef: "Ignore the AI hype. AI won't replace PMs, but it should upgrade how you work."⁣
⁣
Use it as a thought partner for prototypes, docs, ideation. Real challenge? Nobody's cracked where AI truly fits in software.⁣
⁣
Full convo in bio.

[Startup Project @startupprojectt]

Speech-to-text in 2015: 30% word error rate⁣
⁣
Gong literally hid their transcripts behind 4 clicks because they were unreadable⁣
⁣
They had to build their own engine just to make it work⁣
⁣
Now we take accurate transcription for granted⁣
⁣
Full convo in profile