How to Build & Scale AI Startups with Vivek Vaidya | Leaders in Tech
Vivek Vaidya
Co-Founder/CTO, Kana | Co-Founder, super{set}
This five-part series explores the journey of Vivek Vaidya, a serial entrepreneur and tech leader with over 25 years of experience in enterprise software, data, analytics, and AI. Vivek, who holds MS degrees from IIT Delhi and the University of Denver, has served as the CTO of Salesforce Marketing Cloud and was the co-founder of Krux and CTO of Rapt. Today, he is a General Partner at Superset, a company builder studio where he funds, builds, and scales the next generation of AI startups.
Beyond the Incubator—The "Builder" Mindset
In the startup world, terms like "incubator" are common, but Vivek Vaidya differentiates his work at Superset as "Company Building". While incubators might provide space and occasional advice, a builder gets into the trenches. Vivek’s leadership is defined by hands-on support in product engineering, go-to-market strategies, and operations.
The Lesson: Leadership isn't just about oversight; it’s about active participation in the "build" from day zero.
Motivation: Don't just watch from the sidelines. True value is created when you are willing to shape the product and strategy with your own hands.
The Core Pillar—Founder-Market Fit
When selecting who to bring into the Superset ecosystem, Vivek looks for more than just a good idea; he looks for Founder-Market Fit. This means having deep domain expertise and a clear reason why you are the right person to solve a specific problem.
The Filter: Vivek uses "jam sessions"—whiteboarding ideas to test a founder's "clock speed" and ability to think on their feet.
Motivation: Your experience is your greatest asset. Success comes when your passion meets your deep-seated knowledge of a particular industry.
The Currency of Success—Grit and Resilience
Entrepreneurship is often romanticized as "overnight success," but Vivek pulls back the curtain on the reality: it is a journey of elation and despair, sometimes within the same day. He emphasizes that building a company is an irrational decision that requires grit and the ability to handle adversity.
The "Keep It" Day: Vivek recalls his time at Krux, where he and his co-founder would ask if it was a "sell it day" or a "keep it day" based on the intensity of the struggle.
Motivation: Resilience is built in the "middle" of the story, not just the beginning or the end. Stay the course during the hard days to earn the successful ones.
The Art of the Pivot—Adapting to the Uncontrollable
Vivek’s career is a masterclass in adaptation. At his first company, Rapt, the .com bubble forced a "hard right turn" from high-tech manufacturing to display advertising. This pivot, combined with perfect timing before the 2008 financial crisis, led to their acquisition by Microsoft.
The X-Factor: Success is a combination of hard work, luck, and the courage to pounce on new opportunities when the original plan fails.
Motivation: You cannot control the market, but you can control how you react. Be brave enough to change direction when the world changes around you.
Leading Through People—The Ultimate Tech Challenge
Despite being a "math geek" and tech leader, Vivek admits that building technology is easy; building companies is hard. The hardest part of leadership is achieving results through people, managing different personalities, and maintaining an "even keel" amidst the noise of the industry.
The Future: Vivek sees the next five years as a global expansion of the studio model, solving problems that were unimaginable just two years ago.
Motivation: Technology is the tool, but people are the engine. To build something durable, you must embrace the chaos, master the human element, and keep your eyes on the horizon.
Written by Jovilyn A. Dela Cruz
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“Building technology is easy... but building companies is hard because you know there’s so many things not in your control that you have to deal with, and people are number one on that list.”
