Most importantly, I’ve learnt that your idea needs to sound slightly unhinged because if it’s not several others would’ve already done it.
Nishkarsh Srivastava
At just 22, Nishkarsh Srivastava is a tech prodigy with Findr, aiming to change how we work. Unlike traditional assistants, Findr uses your apps and workplace knowledge to help with tasks beyond basic reminders.
It sifts through apps like Gmail and Slack to find the exact information you need, making work smoother without the hassle of switching windows or searching folders.
Inspired by seeing inefficiencies firsthand in Silicon Valley, Nishkarsh created Findr to boost productivity by improving how we find and use information at work. In 2024, Nishkarsh’s achievements were highlighted by securing the runner-up spot at EO’s 2024 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards earning him a $25,000 prize to further develop Findr and push the boundaries of AI technology.
The birth of Findr
Nishkarsh reflected on his experience working in a product role at a Silicon Valley-based company founded by Stanford researchers. “The work was really inspiring, team was spread across the globe, and we were growing quickly. The most annoying thing on a daily basis was finding links, documents, and collecting information to act as a single source of truth for the entire organisation. “Often, decisions were slowed down and I was lost looking for some document I knew existed somewhere. That’s when a thought occurred to me – we have google for surfing the internet but nothing surf across tons of folders and files in our workplaces. The irony was we spend more time looking and reading documents created by our teams than we spend on the internet while working.”
He recalled the pivotal moment when the idea struck him: the necessity for an assistant capable of centralizing scattered information. “I realised we needed an assistant that could help us centralise scattered information, answer work questions, and expertly write documents based on the knowledge locked inside our apps. “We established our mission,” Nishkarsh continued, “to create a ‘ChatGPT for workplaces,’ envisioning this solution even before ChatGPT itself was introduced.”
Building Findr
Nishkarsh discussed the early stages of their company’s journey. “At the outset, we chose to focus on targeting companies, starting small and scaling gradually. Our initial strategy involved identifying our user base, and we gained early traction by launching on platforms like ProductHunt. Both times, we emerged as a top product and secured the #1 position in the AI category.” He emphasized their approach of launching early and iteratively, “ In hindsight, we may have launched slightly earlier than ideal, but this decision ultimately proved beneficial for us.”
The 22-year old founder highlighted their commitment to leveraging data to drive decision-making. “We constantly look at the data we collect to understand who our users are and how can we serve them better”
Discussing about his company’s approach to privacy and innovation, he said: “Our competitors store personal information. We don’t. Our proprietary technology allows us to create a super safe and privacy friendly AI assistant that can function without downloading your sensitive workplace information. We only use APIs provided by work apps like gmail, teams, salesforce, etc.”. He also highlighted their commitment to continuous innovation. “We’re constantly innovating on our product to stay ahead of the competition. We do this by being actively involved in new projects launched by other engineers on github. You actually get to learn a lot just understanding other people’s work, approach, and code. There is a lot of innovation to leverage just by appreciating others work.”
The MVP advantage
“I distinctly remember a three-month period during which I heard ‘no’ at least five times every day, continuously, as I pursued this idea.”
Nishkarsh Srivastava
Nishkarsh recounted the initial challenges they faced in gaining acceptance from customers and investors. “Initially, it was very difficult to convince our customers and investors that we could build our own AI search engine out of India and compete with companies that have raised millions of dollars to solve this problem. It was a classic story of hearing many rejections before we got our first ‘yes’. I distinctly remember this 3-month period where continuously for every day for 3 months I was hearing no at least 5 times a day for pursuing this idea. He reflected on a pivotal moment after launching the product. “”Once we launched, however, the reception was overwhelmingly positive. People embraced the concept and the idea resonated widely. Most importantly, I’ve learnt that your idea needs to sound slightly unhinged because if it’s not several others would’ve already done it and you need to have an extraordinary amount of faith in your idea and yourself.
“When I began, I was advised by a mentor about the importance of starting with the smallest possible version of my idea, known as an ‘MVP’ (Minimum Viable Product). “I was lucky enough to have an awesome person who taught me what an ‘mvp’ actually meant. Before building a full-fledged AI assistant for work, Findr was a very simple chrome extension that could only search your bookmarks, history, and open tabs. It took me 3 months to build that version, get feedback, and understand the problem more thoroughly. Now we’re on a mission to build a fully AI powered work assistant that can find information, answer questions, and write documents for you using your workplace knowledge. However, if we had started out with this we wouldn’t have made it this far.”
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