What if your voice could replace your keyboard—and be smarter than Siri ever dreamed of? Meet Tanay Kothari, the CEO and co-founder of Wispr Flow, a voice-first AI company redefining how we interact with technology. From teaching himself to code at age nine to building and selling a company fresh out of Stanford, Tanay’s journey is a masterclass in entrepreneurial obsession, resilience, and product-driven thinking.
In this episode, Tanay shares how his childhood dream of building Jarvis (yes, Iron Man’s assistant) led him to develop one of the most exciting voice AI tools today. We dive into the difference between good engineering and great design, why most voice assistants fail, and what it really takes to lead teams and raise capital in Silicon Valley. If you're into startups, AI, or just love hearing from product-obsessed founders, this one's a must-listen.
✨ Listeners of Forward Obsessed can sign up for 1 FREE month of Flow:
https://ref.flowvoice.ai/pete
🔎 Find Out More About Tanay Kothari and Wispr Flow:
https://x.com/tankots
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tankots/
https://ref.wisprflow.ai/fopod
https://www.linkedin.com/company/wisprflow
https://x.com/WisprFlow
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction to Tanay Kothari
04:17 - Entrepreneurial Roots: Tanay’s Parents and Early Hustles
08:00 - Simples Inc: A 12-Year-Old Builds His First Company
10:10 - Going Viral with Convert.cc and Google’s Cease & Desist
18:39 - Journey to Stanford and Embracing Silicon Valley
25:06 - Learning to Lead: From Engineer to Team Manager
33:22 - The Hardest Part of Scaling: Managing People
38:12 - Deep Values Alignment: Early Co-Founder Conversations
45:36 - What Makes Wispr Flow Different from Every Other Voice Tool
50:45 - How Wispr Flow Fixes Transcription Accuracy
54:57 - Product Hunt Success: Tips for a Top Launch
59:47 - The Future of Voice Interfaces and Contextual AI
🔗 Other Links & Resources:
The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062367544
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465050654
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553208845
DISC Leadership Framework: https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc
🔴 Support & Connect
Forward Obsessed Website: www.forwardobsessed.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forwardobsessed/
TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/forwardobsessed/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/forward-obsessed/
#ai #entrepreneurship #founderstory
