Best Place To Build

Prajwal, Co-Founder, Clueso | "Being a dev is like being a wizard who can solve a problem” | Ep. 14

Step into the world of Prajwal, the 24-year-old CTO of Clueso, whose journey from IIT Madras to Y Combinator showcases the incredible possibilities in India's startup ecosystem. This episode is packed with candid stories, hilarious moments, and invaluable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs. 🚀 THE JOURNEY: From exploring quantum computing research to founding a SaaS startup that's transforming how companies create product content, Prajwal's story is a testament to the power of exploration and adaptability. Learn how three friends turned their college startup experiments into a YC-backed company, and why sometimes "not knowing better" can be your biggest advantage. 🎯 UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS: - The legendary 2:30 AM YC interview from an IIT office space - The "we'll build something else" answer that actually worked - How their first startup "Kitaab" had to be renamed after discovering copyright laws exist - The Pink Panther-inspired detective branding that makes Clueso unique - Bad movie nights and startup work-life balance 💡 KEY INSIGHTS: - Why entrepreneurship at IIT Madras is actually a "safe bet" - The power of finding co-founders who complement your skills - How to pivot successfully and find product-market fit - Building with AI before it became mainstream - Creating a distinctive brand in the SaaS space - The importance of customer obsession Chapters: 00:00:00 Introduction and Background 00:01:19 What is Clueso? 00:02:36 SaaS Product Marketing and Customer Education Use Cases 00:05:08 Prajwal's IIT Madras Journey 00:07:17 Quantum Computing Research at IIT Madras 00:12:30 COVID-19 Impact on Campus and Remote Learning Transition 00:13:56 PDF Study Tools Startup: Desklamp Origin Story 00:16:52 Growing Desklamp at IIT Madras and Beyond it 00:19:37 Career Decision Point 00:21:18 Choosing Entrepreneurship Over Traditional Paths 00:22:09 Co-Founder Dynamics: Complementary Skills in SaaS Building 00:26:24 Y Combinator Application Strategy 00:32:15 Student SaaS Monetization Challenges: Why EdTech Startups Pivot 00:36:14 Finding Product-Market Fit During Startup Pivot 00:38:05 SaaS Documentation Pain Points: How Internal Challenges Created Clueso 00:40:21 B2B SaaS Branding Strategy & Logo Design Process 00:42:10 Feature Adoption Challenges in SaaS Products 00:43:53 YC Funding and Multilingual SaaS Solutions 00:44:37 Global SaaS Expansion Challenges and Opportunities 00:47:10 AI Implementation in Product Education Tools 00:48:23 AI-Powered Translation and Speech Technologies 00:48:50 From IITM Research to 13x SaaS Growth 00:50:19 Customer-First SaaS Development Strategy 00:51:41 Future of Automated Product Marketing 00:52:56 Building a Successful Startup Team at IIT Madras 00:54:48 Startup Work-Life Balance and Office Culture 00:57:52 Founder Relaxation and Personal Interests 00:59:41 Building a Distinctive SaaS Brand Identity 01:02:01 IIT Madras Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Benefits 01:04:14 Nirman Pre-incubation Program and Startup Support 01:07:20 Co-founder Dynamics References: Clueso- https://www.clueso.io/ CFI- https://cfi.iitm.ac.in/ Y-Combinator- https://www.ycombinator.com/ YRF (Young Research Fellow)- https://yrf.iitm.ac.in/about/index.html Nirmaan- https://nirmaan.iitm.ac.in/ To know more about what makes IIT Madras- the Best Place to Build- hit https://www.bestplacetobuild.com/

Feb 21, 20251h 9mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

From IIT Madras research to YC pivot and AI SaaS growth

Clueso helps SaaS product marketing and customer success teams turn rough inputs (screen recordings, slides) into polished product videos and documentation, including AI-scripted, editable voiceovers that stay in sync with video edits.
Prajwal traces his path at IIT Madras: exploring research (quantum computing) through the Young Research Fellow program, then building Desklamp during COVID to improve collaborative studying in PDFs.
Desklamp reached ~30K users, but YC pushed the team to confront monetization realities in student/consumer markets, leading to a difficult but ultimately clarifying pivot toward a B2B SaaS pain point they felt firsthand: customer education and documentation workflows.
The conversation also highlights founder-market fit, co-founder complementarity, branding as a differentiator, and IITM’s Nirmaan pre-incubation ecosystem as a catalyst—ending with Clueso’s AI-first roadmap toward “autopilot” product marketing and education.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Clueso’s core value is “professional output from rough input.”

The product is designed so teams can upload raw recordings/slides and receive branded, edited videos with effects and a replaceable AI voice track—reducing production friction while keeping user control for final tweaks.

Customer education and feature adoption are business-critical, not “nice-to-have.”

They position product videos/docs as a solution to the common gap where users only adopt a small fraction of features; better content improves onboarding, retention, and the ROI of shipping features.

Consumer traction can mask weak monetization fundamentals.

Desklamp’s growth to ~30K users felt huge, but YC helped them see that student/consumer willingness to pay is structurally hard—especially when discretionary spend competes with non-software priorities.

YC’s application form is a clarity tool even if you don’t apply.

Prajwal recommends filling it seriously because it forces founders to articulate differentiation, market reality, traction, and why-now—preventing “narratives” from replacing evidence.

A strong founder answer can be flexibility, not performative certainty.

In the YC interview, when asked what they’d do if the productivity product failed, they said they’d build something else—signaling adaptability and identity as problem-solvers rather than attachment to one idea.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

“We’re building the world’s best video editor, and we’re also making sure you never have to use it.”

— Prajwal

“Accepting that you, as entrepreneurs, are not exactly what you’re building at that moment.”

— Prajwal

“Being able to write software and build products is honestly like being a wizard in a muggle’s world.”

— Prajwal (quoting a YC partner)

“There’s a history of a graveyard of products in the productivity space… So what will you guys do if it doesn’t work?”

— Y Combinator interviewers (recounted by Prajwal)

“Pick something you guys actually resonate with.”

— YC advice (recounted by Prajwal)

Clueso product: AI video + docs generationCustomer education, product marketing, feature adoptionIIT Madras research path and YRF programQuantum computing (theoretical vs physical layers)Desklamp (PDF + notes collaboration) origin and growthY Combinator application and interview dynamicsPivoting from consumer/EdTech to B2B SaaSMonetization challenges in student productsFounder-market fit and customer-obsessionBranding: naming, logo, and standing out in SaaSGlobal SaaS needs: multilingual content, expansionAI stack: speech-to-text, LLM scripting, text-to-speech, visionIITM ecosystem: Nirmaan, professors, peer group, AWS creditsWork culture: high intensity, office rituals, relaxation

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