Abhishek Kankani - Getting into YC, $11.6M seed funding, building Dyte, a dev-friendly video SDK!
👉🏼 About the Guest:
Abhishek Kankani is the founder of Dyte (YC W21), building the future of real-time communication. He is on the Forbes 30 Under 30 and has been featured on GQ, Cup Noodles To Career, and Sequoia! Listen to his founder and career journey here.
Abhishek Kankani is the founder of Dyte (YC W21), building the future of real-time communication. He is on the Forbes 30 Under 30 and has been featured on GQ, Cup Noodles To Career, and Sequoia! Listen to his founder and career journey here.
👉🏼 About the Host:
Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.
Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.
👉🏼 Description:
Listen in as Sharath and Abhishek discuss founding Dyte (YC W21) during the pandemic, communication in a remote world, and building conviction in yourself as a newbie founder.
Dyte (YC W21) is building the future of real-time communication. Integrate programmable, and easily customizable live video and voice into your web, mobile, and desktop applications with just a few lines of code.
Timestamps:
Listen in as Sharath and Abhishek discuss founding Dyte (YC W21) during the pandemic, communication in a remote world, and building conviction in yourself as a newbie founder.
Dyte (YC W21) is building the future of real-time communication. Integrate programmable, and easily customizable live video and voice into your web, mobile, and desktop applications with just a few lines of code.
Timestamps:
- 00:00: Episode Highlight
- 2:10: Introduction to Abhishek, founder at Dyte (YC W21)
- 3:14: Dyte's backstory: founding, first customers, cofounders
- 7:46: Creating Dyte: Drive and conviction as first-time founders
- 15:02: Quitting full-time jobs for Dyte - pre-YC!
- 18:50: Dyte's first MVP and finding the very first customer
- 21:54: Dyte's journey: Zero -> YC -> One
- 25:53: How to apply for YC pre-PMF
- 35:08: Learnings from YC
- 41:25: Dyte's mission and pivots from YC
- 44:10: Prioritizing long-term product vision vs immediate customer needs
- 48:15: Different methods of reaching PMF
- 1:00:03: $12M in funding: Goals, targets, methods
- 1:05:43: Ryan Hoover as a board member
- 1:08:10: Handling competition in a crowded market
- 1:12:58: Next steps and a pivot at Dyte
- 1:14:47: Using Dyte as a non-technical builder
- 1:16:37: Closing thoughts for founders
- 1:19:24: Outro
👉🏼 Where to find Abhishek Kankani:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KankaniAbhishek
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhishekkankani
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abhishekkankani/
- Dyte (YC W21): https://dyte.io/
👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
- Website: https://5harath.com/
- Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/