Ep 28: How Do You Find Product-Market-Fit? With Rajesh Iyengar

Ep 28: How Do You Find Product-Market-Fit? With Rajesh Iyengar

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In this episode, I interview Rajesh Iyengar. With 20 years in technology working at various startups, Rajesh shares how his deep knowledge and connections in the manufacturing industry allowed him to just ask them “What’s are your problems?” This lead to him finding a product that customers would buy, and hence Lincode.ai was formed. Its initial product uses vision intelligence (computer vision and artificial intelligence) to improve the quality assurance processes for manufacturing companies.

Raj shares how even an introverted technical person can transform themselves to go on and build a startup; by learning to engage and socialize with others and even do a podcast interview!

There is an age-old question, “are entrepreneurs made or born?” From selling firecrackers as a kid to building customer computers, and building custom software Raj has had a long-time interest in business. As a serial entrepreneur, we cover his early businesses and the sale of his first business in 2011; and his second sale in 2017. Raj is back at it and we discuss how he started Lincode and his journey so far.

Words of wisdom:

• How do you find a co-founder? Look to people you have worked with; otherwise you need to socialize and spend time with others. This includes LunchClub, MeetUps, and engaging in technical forums like StackOverflow, LinkedIn groups, and attending & pitching at pitch events.
• Build a product company with many customers; Avoid building a service business with a few big clients. 
• Make sure you own all the intellectualproperty (IP). Develop your patent strategy so you can prevent competition.
• Learn how the investment community works, then build out your investor plan.
• Build a great advisory board with people that can help.
• Ensure you have a good chief marketing officer.

About the Guest:

With many years in the startup world, Rajesh Iyengar is now focused on Lincode.ai, helping manufacturers solve their number one problem: quality. Lincode transforms manufacturers into smart factories. Their first product automates quality control inspections using vision intelligence. Rajesh has served as a board member, advisor and investor for various startups; he’s an inventor with a patent-pending Secure OS for IIoT; and certified white-hat hacker and expert on man in the middle attack prevention & DDoS on IoT devices.

For 20+year Rajesh has been involved in many aspects of applying emerging technology to solve business problems; so, it’s no wonder he loves innovations and fixing nagging challenges.

Website: lincode.ai

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeshkiyengar/

About the Host:

Philip Topham is The Savvy Founder. Philip has an inquisitive mind and passion for ideas. He’s impatient to see tomorrow’s future today. He focuses on helping technical founders unlock their pragmatic dreamer and develop their business skills and social capital. With more than 25 years across start-ups and corporate roles, Philip has been everything from janitor to the Founder and Chief Everything Officer.

Words of Wisdom:

• Ideas are worthless; revenues are priceless; surround yourself with smart people.
• Life is a journey –mole hills or mountains? it’s your choice.

Ask Philip a question -https://askthesavvyfounder.youcanbook.me

Linkedin –https://www.linkedin.com/in/philiptopham

Website –https://philiptopham.com

Free resources: 10 Most Fixable Pitch Deck Mistakes @ https://www.thesavvyfounder.com

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