The Startup Podcast

Scaling with AI- How AI Will Transform Your Startup w/ Grammarly CEO Shishir Mehrotra

Feb 10, 2025

Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of the newly merged Coda and Grammarly, discusses the exciting future of AI-native productivity tools. With a background at Microsoft and YouTube, he shares insights on how AI can seamlessly integrate into workflows, transforming the role of founders in startups. The conversation covers the concept of AI agents versus traditional chatbots, the importance of automation, and practical applications like status reporting. Mehrotra emphasizes human ingenuity’s critical role in enhancing productivity in an AI-powered world.

42:09

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Episode guests

Shishir Mehrotra

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

AI is designed to function as an integrated assistant in workflows, enhancing productivity by providing real-time support and decision-making capabilities.

The merger of Coda and Grammarly demonstrates how AI can transform productivity applications, enabling seamless access to information from multiple data sources.

Deep dives

AI as a Collaborative Tool

AI should function as a supportive assistant integrated into the working environment rather than a separate entity. This concept, highlighted through the example of Grammarly, emphasizes that AI can reduce the gap between individual insights and the tasks they aim to complete. When AI is readily accessible in the workflow, it eliminates the need to seek help externally, improving productivity and decision-making in real time. The aim is to have AI operate seamlessly alongside users, enhancing their work without interrupting their cognitive flow.

Intro

2min

Embracing AI Native Productivity in Startups

2min

Evolving Productivity with AI Collaboration

19min

Unlocking Productivity: The Role of AI in Workflow Automation

3min

AI Integration in the Workplace

14min

The Power of Human Ingenuity in the Age of AI

2min

Have you ever wished for an intelligent assistant that could seamlessly integrate into your workflow, anticipating your needs and enhancing your productivity? What if AI could transform not just how we write, but how we work across all applications?

In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein is joined by Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of the newly merged Coda and Grammarly, to explore the exciting world of AI-native productivity and its potential to revolutionize the way we work.

In this episode, you will:

Discover the vision behind the Coda and Grammarly merger and how it aims to create AI-native productivity tools
Learn about the concept of AI agents and how they differ from traditional chatbots
Understand how AI is changing the role of founders and the skills needed in early-stage startups
Explore practical applications of AI in business workflows, such as automated status reporting
Gain insights into the future of AI assistants and their potential to enhance human productivity
Understand the importance of human ingenuity in an AI-powered world
Learn how AI tools can help founders transition from "doers" to "deciders" earlier in their startup journey

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