Best Place To BuildPrajwal, Co-Founder, Clueso | "Being a dev is like being a wizard who can solve a problem” | Ep. 14
CHAPTERS
- 1:19 – 2:58
Clueso explained: AI-powered product videos and documentation for SaaS teams
Prajwal explains what Clueso does and who it’s for: product marketing and customer success teams that need polished videos and docs fast. The core workflow starts from raw inputs (screen recordings or slides) and uses AI to produce brand-aligned, professional output with minimal manual editing.
- •Turns rough recordings/slides into polished, branded product videos
- •Adds visual effects automatically (zooms, callouts, blurs, text, branding)
- •Replaces original audio with AI-generated voiceover with editable scripts
- •Targets fast content creation without requiring video-production expertise
- •Designed for both small teams and expert marketing teams with painful workflows
- 2:58 – 5:07
Use cases and vision: customer education, product marketing, and ‘never use the editor’ automation
The conversation expands from what Clueso is to why it matters in SaaS: onboarding, education, feature launches, and adoption. Prajwal shares the product philosophy—build the best editor, but aim for users to never need to open it—moving toward autopilot content generation.
- •Primary use cases: customer education and product marketing content
- •Helps engineer-led teams communicate before marketing hires scale up
- •Internal motto: world’s best editor that you never have to use
- •Customization exists, but the goal is 90–95% AI-complete output
- •Long-term vision: automated content creation and distribution
- 5:07 – 7:17
IIT Madras journey: exploring opportunities beyond classes
Prajwal rewinds to his IIT Madras entry and what he wanted from college: exploration rather than fixed outcomes. He describes the campus framing of ‘many paths’—research, startups, cultural clubs—and how that mindset influenced his later choices.
- •Entered IITM with exploration-first mindset rather than a fixed end goal
- •Orientation emphasized multiple tracks: research, startups, culture, sports
- •Campus environment encourages trying many interests early
- •Personal background: strong academics, hostel life, clubs
- •Early curiosity in deep tech alongside builder instincts
- 7:17 – 9:11
Getting into research: cold-emailing labs and the basics of student research
He explains how students can start research at IITM by identifying labs and reaching out directly to professors. The discussion highlights starting early for exposure even without immediate major contributions.
- •Use online lab listings to find aligned professors and topics
- •Cold-emailing and showing up to labs works if interest is genuine
- •Early years focus on exposure and learning research process
- •Professors are generally supportive of motivated students
- •Research track was a serious post-graduation consideration for him
- 9:11 – 11:07
Quantum computing 101 and Prajwal’s theoretical focus
Prajwal gives an accessible explanation of quantum computing using a nature-as-computation analogy (soap bubble optimization). He clarifies the split between physical qubit implementations and theoretical/algorithmic work, where he spent his time.
- •Quantum computing idea: model problems as quantum systems and ‘let nature compute’
- •Analogy: soap bubbles naturally optimize surface area vs hard classical optimization
- •Field is multidisciplinary: CS + EE + physics
- •He worked on the algorithmic/theoretical side, not hardware realization
- •Contract between hardware qubits and what theory can do with n qubits
- 11:07 – 12:30
Young Research Fellow (YRF): making research creditable and structured
The YRF scheme is described as a program to push more students into research by awarding credits and teaching the mechanics of publishing. Prajwal notes YRF enabled deeper third-year ownership of a project and improved research literacy.
- •YRF converts research into credit-bearing work to reduce priority conflicts
- •Covers paper writing, publishing, poster design, and literature review skills
- •Designed to motivate and structure student research participation
- •Helps students go deeper and contribute meaningfully by later years
- •Aligned with his third-year research progression
- 12:30 – 14:01
Pandemic disruption: campus shutdown and remote learning—and new bandwidth to build
Prajwal recalls the sudden campus closure and the rapid shift to remote classes. He notes that the remote period unexpectedly created more time and focus for building a startup with friends.
- •Campus shut before the national lockdown; students rushed home
- •Remote learning ramped up via Teams and video conferencing
- •Uncertainty period followed by adaptation to online college life
- •Remote setup freed time/bandwidth for building software
- •Pandemic became a catalyst for starting the startup track seriously
- 14:01 – 16:58
Desklamp origin: rebuilding the ‘library collaboration’ experience online
The first startup, Desklamp, is introduced as a tool born from remote-study friction. Prajwal explains the core product: a PDF-reader + collaborative notes system optimized for textbooks, diagrams, equations, and cross-referencing.
- •Started by friends wanting a productive shared project during lockdown
- •Problem: remote studying/collaboration was worse than library workflows
- •Product: PDF reader combined with Google-Docs-like collaborative notebook
- •Clip diagrams/sections, highlight, annotate, and cross-reference back to PDFs
- •Optimized for deep study, especially scientific texts with diagrams/equations
- 16:58 – 19:19
Growing Desklamp: early feedback loops, professor support, and multi-campus spread
They iterated quickly by giving early versions to friends and professors, receiving unusually detailed feedback. Growth accelerated within IITM and then expanded to other IITs via academic secretary mailing lists, reaching thousands of users.
- •Shipped early features and collected continuous user feedback
- •Professors were key early adopters and gave detailed critique
- •Real insight: notes feature resonated more than expected vs clipping alone
- •Campus word-of-mouth led to strong adoption inside IITM
- •Expansion via email outreach to other IITs brought broader sign-ups
- 19:19 – 26:55
Fourth-year crossroads: choosing entrepreneurship, co-founder strengths, and identity beyond grades
With internship experience and placement/apping pressures around him, Prajwal explains why he chose the startup full-time. The deciding factor was co-founder complementarity (engineering, customer obsession, design) and the desire for a broader creative/ownership-driven career.
- •Had an Adobe internship (remote) and an offer, but job path became less attractive
- •Co-founder roles: engineering/product (Prajwal), customer-centricity (Neil), design/product craft (Akash)
- •Founders enjoyed the ‘flow state’ vs peers’ placement/apping stress
- •Internal conviction was harder than family conversations; family was supportive
- •Entrepreneurship allowed creativity (clubs, branding) beyond ‘just engineering’
- 26:55 – 32:10
Applying to Y Combinator: the form as a clarity tool and the 10-minute interview
Prajwal breaks down the YC application: a deceptively simple form that forces hard strategic thinking. He describes the late-night interview, rapid-fire questioning, and the pivotal question about what they’d do if the idea failed.
- •Applied in 2022 with limited clarity on how funding would change plans
- •YC form forces clear answers on product, traction, market insight, and edge
- •Interview format: 10 minutes, direct, no fluff, assumes pre-reading
- •Curveball question: ‘What will you do if it doesn’t work?’
- •Acceptance reinforced that YC bets on teams that can build and get users
- 32:10 – 37:52
Monetization reality check and ‘pivot hell’: why student EdTech often struggles
After YC, they separated their identity as entrepreneurs from the specific product. They tested monetization with US students, saw resistance to paying, and concluded consumer/student SaaS would be an uphill battle—leading into a painful but necessary pivot-search phase.
- •Key YC learning: founders are not the same as the current product idea
- •Defined metrics to validate/invalidate monetization quickly
- •Experiment: 25 US student interviews; target 4 paying $5/month—didn’t work
- •Insight: students have limited willingness-to-pay even if value is clear
- •Entered ‘pivot hell’; learned pivoting is common in YC cohorts
- 37:52 – 41:08
Clueso is born: documentation + product videos as a SaaS pain point, then rebrand from ‘Gigauser’
They traced a recurring pain from Desklamp: keeping documentation updated and producing launch videos was slow and expensive. After validating demand with customer success and marketing teams, they built Clueso’s first version, then renamed/rebranded to fit a friendlier buyer persona.
- •Internal trigger: constant user confusion + high support email volume
- •Documentation got outdated quickly due to fast product iteration
- •Launch video creation was high-effort but high-return (views and sign-ups)
- •Validation via YC and IITM networks with CS/CX and marketing teams
- •Renamed from ‘Gigauser’ to ‘Clueso’ after feedback about dev-tool vibes
- 41:08 – 43:53
Brand and adoption: detective-themed identity, feature adoption workflow, and customer Slack loops
Prajwal explains the detective theme behind the Clueso name/logo and why standing out matters in SaaS branding. They also discuss feature adoption as a major SaaS challenge and how Clueso operationalizes launches via consistent customer communication (including Slack).
- •Detective theme: ‘Clueso’ as a product guide; Pink Panther inspiration
- •Logo elements: mustache, monocle/magnifying glass; emphasis on distinctiveness
- •Feature adoption problem: users only use a small fraction of features
- •Clueso used internally—video creation becomes part of engineering checklist
- •Customer communication loop: Slack channels + launch broadcasts drive engagement
- 43:53 – 52:54
Funding, global SaaS realities, and AI turning point: multilingual content and an AI-first workflow
Post-YC, Clueso raises additional funding and leans into global SaaS needs, especially multilingual enablement. Prajwal describes how AI became central later (mid-2023 onward): first in scripting/storyboarding, then across speech, vision, translation, and automation—fueling rapid growth.
- •YC opens fundraising doors; raised additional capital and found aligned investors
- •Global SaaS challenge: multilingual content for regions beyond English
- •Emerging market wedge: teams selling globally but lacking content capability
- •AI adoption started later: scripting/storyboarding was an early breakthrough
- •Now uses STT, LLMs, TTS, vision, and improved LLM-based translation; reports 13x yearly growth
- 52:54 – 1:01:57
Team, culture, and sustainability: co-founder fit, long hours, office vibe, and personal recharge
The conversation shifts to what makes the founding team work: friendship-first, complementary strengths, and shared intensity. Prajwal discusses their demanding schedule, small rituals to celebrate wins, office culture, and how he relaxes (family time, pickleball, comics) while keeping brand personality.
- •Co-founder success factor: ‘friends first, co-founders second’ and roommate-level compatibility
- •Startup pace: long work weeks; rituals like a ‘win bell’ to celebrate shipping/closing
- •Office environment inspired by IITM greenery; building calm in HSR startup energy
- •Relaxation: family time, errands, pickleball, and consuming nerd culture/comics
- •Brand personality strategy: be distinctive like Canva while still enterprise-credible
- 1:01:57 – 1:09:21
Why IIT Madras is ‘the best place to build’: Nirmaan, peers, credits, and institutional support
Prajwal closes by detailing IITM’s entrepreneurship ecosystem—especially Nirmaan as a pre-incubation cell—providing space, credits, AWS support, and a motivating peer cohort. He argues IITM makes entrepreneurship feel ‘safe to try’ and removes friction so builders can focus on product.
- •IITM narrative reduces perceived risk: ‘try it—it’s not make-or-break’
- •Nirmaan offers workspace, small funding, and practical support like AWS credits
- •Peer group effect: motivated founders across batches and programs
- •Faculty support: flexibility, project credits, and encouragement for building
- •Ecosystem helps students focus on what matters and commit fully to building
