Startups, AI, and Radical Honesty - Sasha Pasulka - Elka AI

The AI Aha Moment: Sasha was re-energized to found again after ChatGPT launched publicly in late 2022. She saw an opportunity to solve marketing problems that hadn’t been addressable before due to the language limitations of software.

Solving a Real Problem from Experience: The product idea came from Sasha’s time at Tableau, where hours of valuable customer video content went unused because it was too hard to search. Elka aimed to automate finding and surfacing those insights for sales teams.

Alpha and Beta Lessons: The team built fast and launched a beta early to help with fundraising, but users got frustrated with AI inconsistencies. Sasha onboarded every beta customer herself, but admits they may have opened access too soon.

The Limits of Non-Deterministic Tech: Building on an LLM proved unpredictable. Despite numerous safeguards, the AI struggled with tasks like basic math and clip durations—issues Sasha says may have improved if they had more time to wait out tech advances.

The Fundraising Wall: While Sasha successfully raised an angel round, later fundraising stalled. She reflects on her discomfort with the performative aspects of pitching and how authenticity may have hurt her in a system designed for bold salesmanship.

Support and Disappointment: From angel investors to past coworkers, Sasha describes the surprising people who showed up to help—and the ones who didn’t. She credits her team, co-founder, and a few critical mentors with getting them as far as they did.

Learning, Letting Go, and Looking Ahead: Sasha closes with advice to bring on a co-founder who can fundraise and a reminder to stop being intimidated by others’ confidence. She shares how the journey helped her understand her strengths and what she’ll do differently next time.

Startups, AI, and Radical Honesty - Sasha Pasulka - Elka AI - Episode #46