Essays and thoughts on tech, product, AI, and startups by Rishi Talwar.
Ten companies where founder grit meets domain expertise. A CEO who pivoted to sales after his CTO quit and closed $10k in revenue. A research scientist whose AI safety platform reduced undesired responses by 70% in high-risk conversations. A sales coaching agent that delivered $1M in incremental ARR in three months.
AI rebuilding supply chains, vertical accounting for farms, and tools changing how developers work — plus origin stories that reveal a lot about founder grit.
Wrapping up 2025 with one last batch — voice AI replacing typing, learning from experts, tools helping families find childcare, and more.
Ten startups spanning AI agents, customer research, and tools that eliminate workflow friction — from agentic law firms to voice AI platforms crossing $15M ARR.
Ten startups addressing new workflows and making organizations rethink how they work — from AI-native procurement to unified APIs and autonomous data analysts.
After years of following SaaStr from afar, I'm finally attending my first SaaStr Annual — here's what I'm most looking forward to.
Ten companies solving big problems in AI, product development, and customer experience that I'm watching closely — from modern CRMs to agentic IDEs.
A conversation with Box CEO Aaron Levie at Startupday 2012 sparked thoughts on why enterprise software is one of the most exciting opportunities for builders right now.
Five things I learned about the co-founder relationship while building QuickRake — from accountability and challenge to discovering new things about yourself.
How a last-minute side project for a DJ gig — built in four days and three sleepless nights — turned into a real product idea worth pursuing.
Seven lessons from building FratApps — a web app to help fraternities manage tasks — and what the experience taught me about startups, passion, and persistence.