Dhruv founded Factmata based on the research he did at UCL on automated fact-checking. The original vision was to combat misinformation online, using AI to distinguish true statements from misinformation, disinformation and mistakes. Supported by a grant from Google and investment from Seedcamp, Dhruv and his team built technology that quickly led to several pilots with customers, but few of them ultimately converted.
In our conversation today, Dhruv recalls the trials and tribulations of building Factmata, constantly fundraising while executing several pivots trying to find a solid PMF, before hiring another CEO with a mandate to sell the business.
Building a startup is hard. It’s especially hard as a single founder who must both run the business and raise the necessary funding. Yet, Dhruv built the business, found the right CEO to take over from him and sell the business. Today, Dhruv is an Applied AI Product Manager at Uber.
In our conversation today we discuss what it was like for him to go on this journey from an idea to a CEO transition to an exit, before moving to a career in the corporate world.
Timestamps
(Clickable on YouTube)
00:00 Introduction
01:35 Factmata's Early Days
05:14 Equity for Early Team Members
10:45 Fundraising for a Pivot
20:15 Fundraising as a Solo Founder
24:21 Delegating to the Team
30:41 Constant Fundraising
36:59 Finding a Replacement CEO
38:56 The Second Attempt to Hire a CEO
44:05 Next Steps After Factmata
46:16 Preparing for Acquisition
52:54 Post-Exit Reflections and Career Transition
01:02:42 Final Reflections
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