From PhD to CEO: Sahil Agarwal of Enkrypt AI Shares Essential Lessons for Aspiring Founders

In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, host Walter Thompson interviews Sahil Agarwal, CEO and co-founder of Encrypt AI. Sahil shares his journey from academia to leading an international AI company, discussing the importance of storytelling, confidence, and addressing biases within AI models.

He also delves into challenges faced by immigrant entrepreneurs and the balance between leadership and employee well-being. Sahil provides insights into navigating enterprise AI security, fundraising strategies, and the intrinsic demands of running a startup. Tune in to uncover strategies for launching a company and overcoming industry hurdles.

Runtime: 33:04

(1:46) Sahil describes Enkrypt AI use cases that “ensure equitable and safe use of AI for everyone.”

(3:36) How his background in applied mathematics led to a career in enterprise security.

(6:45) “You work until two in the morning whether that's PhD or a startup, and you wake up and you start again.”

(8:34) “It took us some time talking to prospects and talking to people in the space to really hone in on the problem.”

(11:42) Sahil’s path to obtaining the green card that would let him launch his own company.

(15:31) “There has to be some sort of confidence that we have to project in front of investors and in front of enterprises or prospects.”

(17:19) “You're accountable to everyone else in your company. That's my principle of leadership.”

(20:26) How Sahil and co-founder Prashanth Harshangi approach work-life balance.

(24:27) Setting expectations with investors and leading Enkrypt AI’s GTM strategy.

(29:18) His advice for anyone pitching a seed-stage AI startup: “don't pitch a technology, pitch a story.”

(31:17) The one question Sahil would ask an early-stage CEO if he were interviewing for a job.

LINKS

• Enkrypt AI
• Sahil Agarwal, co-founder and CEO
• Prashanth Harshangi
• Enkrypt AI Raises $2.35 Million To Take On The Chatbots Going Rogue

SUBSCRIBE

• LinkedIn
• Substack

Thanks for listening!

– Walter.