Startup Grind is the world’s largest community of startups, founders, innovators and creators. We help startups get the education and opportunities they need to build, grow, and scale their companies.
Join us for an essential talk that addresses the critical product challenges facing founders in today's AI-driven landscape. This session will guide you through the 5 critical shifts every founder must make to build successfully in the AI era.
Rakesh Raju is the Founder of Codewalla, a New York City-based product studio partnering with founders to bring their product vision to life. In this Startup Grind special event, Rakesh will deliver an essential talk that addresses the critical product challenges facing founders in today's AI-driven landscape.
You'll gain practical insights into leveraging AI effectively while maintaining focus on the product fundamentals that drive real success.
What You'll Learn:
- Success Factors: What actually increases your odds of product success in the current market
- Core Principles: The product fundamentals that remain essential and those that have evolved in the AI era
- Strategic AI Integration: Where AI creates genuine leverage versus where it introduces new risks 👈
- Common Pitfalls: How to avoid the early-stage traps that derail most teams
- Real-World Insights: Patterns and lessons drawn from B2B startup builds across New York City
You'll walk away with a practical framework for using AI strategically without compromising on fundamentals, plus a clear roadmap for building smarter, not just faster.
Who Should Attend:
- Early-stage founders navigating product development in the AI landscape
- Product teams exploring or implementing AI solutions
- Builders and entrepreneurs looking to increase their odds of creating successful products
- Anyone seeking practical guidance on balancing AI innovation with proven product fundamentals
Is your MVP live but not clicking? If you've launched an MVP, but are struggling to gain traction, click here for a free, no-nonsense MVP audit by Codewalla designed to turn it into a product users love (and return to).
Speaker:Rakesh Raju, Founder and CEO, Codewalla ($2.71M ARR): Rakesh Raju is the founder of Codewalla, an NYC-based AI-native product studio helping B2B startups and lean enterprise teams build faster through modular systems and strategic, AI-integrated execution.
A seasoned CTO with experience at Disney, Microsoft, and RealNetworks, he’s helped numerous NYC startups go from idea to traction, to scale, and exit. Rakesh brings deep expertise in software architecture, emerging tech (AI, VR, agentic systems), and product-market fit strategy—along with two decades of hands-on leadership across startup and enterprise builds.
He’s a former “Scientist of the Year” and an active early-stage investor, known for delivering clear, practical guidance to founders navigating high-stakes product decisions.
Product 101: What Founders Need to Build Right in the AI Era
Speaker
Rakesh R.
Founder and CEO
$2.7M ARR
Codewalla
Tue, Jul 08, 05:30 PM - 09:00 PM (EDT)
To be shared on approval (New York)
50 attendees
Startup Grind is the world’s largest community of startups, founders, innovators and creators. We help startups get the education and opportunities they need to build, grow, and scale their companies.
Join us for an essential talk that addresses the critical product challenges facing founders in today's AI-driven landscape. This session will guide you through the 5 critical shifts every founder must make to build successfully in the AI era.
Rakesh Raju is the Founder of Codewalla, a New York City-based product studio partnering with founders to bring their product vision to life. In this Startup Grind special event, Rakesh will deliver an essential talk that addresses the critical product challenges facing founders in today's AI-driven landscape.
You'll gain practical insights into leveraging AI effectively while maintaining focus on the product fundamentals that drive real success.
What You'll Learn:
You'll walk away with a practical framework for using AI strategically without compromising on fundamentals, plus a clear roadmap for building smarter, not just faster.
Who Should Attend:
Is your MVP live but not clicking? If you've launched an MVP, but are struggling to gain traction, click here for a free, no-nonsense MVP audit by Codewalla designed to turn it into a product users love (and return to).
Rakesh Raju, Founder and CEO, Codewalla ($2.71M ARR): Rakesh Raju is the founder of Codewalla, an NYC-based AI-native product studio helping B2B startups and lean enterprise teams build faster through modular systems and strategic, AI-integrated execution.
A seasoned CTO with experience at Disney, Microsoft, and RealNetworks, he’s helped numerous NYC startups go from idea to traction, to scale, and exit. Rakesh brings deep expertise in software architecture, emerging tech (AI, VR, agentic systems), and product-market fit strategy—along with two decades of hands-on leadership across startup and enterprise builds.
He’s a former “Scientist of the Year” and an active early-stage investor, known for delivering clear, practical guidance to founders navigating high-stakes product decisions.
Host