From 0 to AI Startup & $100K in ARR in 1 Year: How Speed Beats Perfect Planning

From 0 to $100K ARR in 12 Months: Scaling with Speed, AI, and Smart Hiring

What does it take to go from an idea to a thriving business in just one year? Uday Chakravarthi, CEO of Clinch AGI and former Head of Product at Atlassian, shares his journey of ruthless prioritization, lean execution, and AI-driven decision-making that propelled his startup to success.

In this episode in collaboration with Executives Unplugged, host Keith Cowing dives into:
✅ How to build and scale a team across time zones while maintaining speed
✅ The power of weekly sprints, async communication, and customer-driven product development
✅ Why the right advisory board and investors can accelerate your growth
✅ Lessons from real startup challenges—including an AI billing nightmare costing $500 every 15 minutes!

If you’re a founder, CEO, or startup operator looking to move fast, make smarter decisions, and maximize growth, this episode is packed with hard-earned insights you won’t want to miss.

🎧 Listen now and supercharge your startup journey!

Key topics include:

• The zero-to-one journey: How Uday refined his idea, assembled a core team, and got first customers quickly.
• Time-zone challenges: Strategies for async communication, “bat phone” emergencies, and using Loom/WhatsApp for round-the-clock collaboration.
• Surrounding yourself with expertise: Building advisory boards, the difference between “cheerleader” advisors and hands-on experts, and how to get real-time coaching on your sales calls.
• Fast execution: Why shipping weekly sprints and labeling “deal-breaker” features help close deals and energize the team.
• Real-world examples: How a coding error led to thousands of dollars in AI API charges—and why having rapid response processes in place was critical.