The stories on this page are inspired by real events — real arguments, real breakthroughs, real moments of doubt and wonder.
But memory is imperfect, voices are interpreted, and details are sometimes changed to protect people or simply because that's how stories work.
Think of each story as part real, part retelling — the way you'd tell a friend about something that happened, not the way you'd write a court deposition.
If anything here caused discomfort or harm to anyone — we're sorry. That was never the intent.
The intent was to capture something true before it faded.
first person · unfiltered · their own words
Everyone on this team has an AI story. A first moment. A failure. A thing that made them a convert. These are theirs — told the way they'd tell it to a friend.
published
A friend asked Niraj why we move faster. Niraj asked Sree. The answer wasn't a method — it was two people who see the same thing through opposite eyes, and a habit of testing the bold idea quietly before saying it loudly.
A decade-old problem. A promise of a life-size lobby cutout. And the deliberate decision to build only the first piece — because accuracy compounds, and trust has to be earned.
His version of The Loud Fight begins long before the fight. Pondicherry, two engineers, two days, and a project called Voice IQ. Crawl before you walk — while having fun.
The part seldom paid attention to. A cancelled workshop, a vulnerable admission, two brands at different speeds, and a private message from The Dreamer answered from an airport.
Three weeks of 4:30pm calls, a tit-for-tat that made James wonder if the team was toxic — until he saw the coffee afterwards — and a first booking that landed on a birthday.
Simple systems survive longer. A field note on durable engineering, AI hype, endurance training, and why "boring" is a leadership choice, not an aesthetic one.
Lunchtime. A heated, stunning shouting match between him and Venky in the middle of dark mode. Then Sri opened a door. On the other side was just one word — acceptable. The voice that set off The Whisperer's three-part reply above.
When AI collapses the cost of implementation, the bottleneck shifts from technical execution to domain understanding — and a new kind of contributor fills the gap.
February 2025. Three engineers, an Airbnb, 1.5 days, and a model that changed breed mid-gallop. The decision not to go to Hyderabad mattered as much as the decision to send them.
He was the first in the cohort to embrace vibe coding. Now a full-blown AI PM who lives and breathes Claude, Anish built this system to stop losing context after long pairing sessions.
How LLMs are killing traditional product discovery. From a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset, and the rise of the high-agency Builder.
He was the one arguing that AI was hype. That evening, going back and reflecting, he realised he hadn't listened to the question. What happened next changed everything.
He said it out loud before he'd planned it. Our CEO was in the room. 100% AI-generated code. End of September. No taking it back.
The Chrome plugin wasn't enough to convince his sharp engineering friends. So they stopped arguing and started building. Three weekends. Three variations. Two converts.
Composition, compose tools, and Jeeves with tool access. A valet who had to clear his throat in a WhatsApp group before he was believed.
The story of Molty the AI valet, reimagined as a 6-panel retro comic strip. Swipe through the narrative.
Have your own AI story? First moment, failure, or the thing that made you a convert.
The right people have joined us at the right time.
I believe there is a divine force that guides us.
It almost feels like there is an energy wanting us to win
in this complex, ever-changing landscape.
An unexplainable force.
And many of you — listed here, not listed,
past and future — have come into my life
through that synchronicity.
I believe that.