The Journey of AI: Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Success - ⁠Shehryar Akhtar | Horizon Search 28

Shehryar Akhtar, also known as Sherry, is the founder and CEO of Pronto, a tech startup specializing in video creation for small businesses. With over 15 years of experience in the tech industry, Sherry initially started with his company, Cloutel, which provided AI-focused tech solutions for Fortune 500 clients. However, his desire to build something of his own led to the creation of Pronto during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collaborating with two other founders, Ash Shehryar and Will Feldman, they aimed to provide affordable and quick video creation services for small businesses. Sherry now leads Pronto as the CEO, fulfilling his dream of bringing his own product to the market.

Timestamps

• [00:02:34] AI disruption, job security concerns, evolving technology.
• [00:07:26] Game-changing generative AI creates efficient videos.
• [00:11:39] Learn from mistakes - key to success.
• [00:15:29] Challenges included: learning curve, small business focus.
• [00:18:38] AI enables efficiency, but human touch is unique.
• [00:24:11] AI technology speeds up processes, saves costs, and creates new jobs.
• [00:27:31] Language models will disrupt AI; ethics important.
• [00:30:18] AI can change the world, but with risks.
• [00:33:10] Social media: amazing but causing disruption.

Key Quote

• The Importance of Making Mistakes: "There is no successful entrepreneur on the planet who was only successful he or she was built on failure. The problem with the people is, and it's a fantasy, you look at Facebook, you look at Apple, you just see successes. You look at Elon Musk; you see successes. There are a lot of failures before those successes. And what set them apart, apart from luck, is their resilience to learn and to excel with those mistakes, right?" — 00:11:39-00:12:16

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