Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped an AI Chatbot Startup with a Paycheck

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.  It took CoRover CEO Ankush Sabharwal and his co-founders two years to launch their first customer, The Indian Railways. During this time, the founders held on to their jobs, diligently fulfilling their responsibilities while also pursuing their dreams. Sramana Mitra: Let’s go to the very beginning

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Bootstrapping an AI Chatbot Startup with a Paycheck: Ankush Sabharwal, CEO of CoRover (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: Your friend gave you some money and gave the money back. What other financing has happened? Ankush Sabharwal: My two friends who joined as co-founders gave me money. We took angel funding just before IRCTC went live. Then we got funds from Canbank VC. Now we will be announcing a fund raise. Sramana

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Bootstrapping an AI Chatbot Startup with a Paycheck: Ankush Sabharwal, CEO of CoRover (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: How much money did you make this way – from advertising? Ankush Sabharwal: It’s more money than we would have made through subscription. Sramana Mitra: Really? Ankush Sabharwal: There are four million users on the website and more in the app every day. Sramana Mitra: Traffic volume was very large. You just created

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Bootstrapping an AI Chatbot Startup with a Paycheck: Ankush Sabharwal, CEO of CoRover (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: You were working at Ultisource when you negotiated with Indian Railways? Ankush Sabharwal: Yes. In the appraisal cycle when I was about to quit the company, I got the highest rating. I was Group Manager that time. When you’re the manager’s manager, you hardly get the highest rating in appraisals.

Bootstrapping an AI Chatbot Startup with a Paycheck: Ankush Sabharwal, CEO of CoRover (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Going back to 2016, there were these platform providers but there were also these other startups that had full applications. Where was the gap? What is the justification of starting CoRover at that point? Ankush Sabharwal: There were two sets of companies. One was the platform companies and the other is the implementation

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Bootstrapping an AI Chatbot Startup with a Paycheck: Ankush Sabharwal, CEO of CoRover (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: What was the concept? What were you going to do? How did you come up with that concept? Ankush Sabharwal: The product suites that these banks have are the same. They have savings accounts, checking accounts, and current accounts. I have not seen very innovative products from banks. The functional products are the

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Bootstrapping an AI Chatbot Startup with a Paycheck: Ankush Sabharwal, CEO of CoRover (Part 1)

It took Ankush and his cofounders two years to launch their first customer, The Indian Railways. During this time, the founders held on to their jobs, diligently fulfilling their responsibilities while also pursuing their dreams. Sramana Mitra: Let’s go to the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and

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