Ankit Gordhandas, a staff engineer at Zapier, shares his journey from being a biomedical engineer to a startup founder and his current role at Zapier. He discusses how Zapier embraced AI and the impact it has had on the company. Ankit also talks about the pivot at his previous startup, Intersect Labs, and the decision to join Zapier. He explains the focus on AI at Zapier and the projects they are working on. Ankit discusses user demand for AI and how Zapier is meeting those demands. He shares his thoughts on measuring success in AI projects and how he continues to scratch his entrepreneurial itch at Zapier. Finally, Ankit offers lessons for founders based on his experiences.

Takeaways

• Ankit's journey from being a biomedical engineer to a startup founder and his transition to working at Zapier.
• The pivot at Intersect Labs and the decision to join Zapier.
• How Zapier embraced AI and encouraged every employee to use AI to make their workday lives easier and deliver a better experience to users.
• Zapier's focus on AI and the projects they are working on, including chatbots and workflow automation.

Chapters

00:00 Embracing AI at Zapier

06:34 Ankit's Journey from Biomedical Engineer to Founder

13:13 Joining Zapier and the Pivot at Intersect Labs

18:26 Transitioning to Zapier and the Focus on AI

21:13 Zapier's Code Red and the Adoption of AI

24:30 User Demand for AI at Zapier

26:20 Measuring Success in AI Projects

27:44 Scratching the Entrepreneurial Itch 

30:00 Lessons for Founders