Humans of AI: Presented by WRITER Special Episode: How a Broke College Student Co-founded a VC-Backed Edtech Startup
Nov 26, 2025
Kavitta Ghai, co-founder and CEO of Nectir, shares her journey from student frustrations to launching an AI-powered edtech startup while at UC Santa Barbara. She reveals how her experience with Slack inspired a classroom communication tool and how her no-code approach allowed her to prototype without a technical background. Kavitta discusses the advantages of starting young, transforming a simple MVP into a business, and building relationships over features. She also emphasizes the importance of resilience, customer discovery, and navigating the venture capital landscape as a first-generation founder.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
College Frustration Sparked A Startup
- Kavitta built Nectar from her frustration with college classrooms and neurodivergent needs.
- She turned paying $40,000 for an uncomfortable experience into a company that fixes classroom tech gaps.
A Class Slack Experiment Changed Everything
- A grad student used Slack to create an active class community that transformed learning.
- That experiment became the template that inspired Nectar's Slack-for-classes idea.
Validate With Duct-Tape MVPs
- Do validate an idea using open-source and no-code duct-tape MVPs if you lack technical skills.
- Test user behavior first before investing in full engineering resources.
