#11 - Nicholas Khami: The Real Magic of Building a YC-Backed Startup (It’s Not the Tech)

Nick quit his job to build Trieve.1 year later, he joined YC with $3.5M raised.Here's the story:Trieve is an AI search platform powering 30k+ experiences.But it isn't just a search bar.It's building the future of online retail: replicating the human retail associate experience online using AI.Imagine a personal retail shopper that you can talk to.• Voice Input? Yes.• Image Search? Upload a pic, find similar items.• Even Image Generation? See what you'd look like wearing those shoes by uploading your photo. Wild.I asked Nick the #1 mistake founders make.What he said goes against most advice you'll hear.“If it's not worth doing manually? It's likely not a worthwhile business.”I sat down with Nick to explore:- Building an AI infrastructure startup- The surprising reality of founder strategy- and the #1 mistake building for developersCheck it out!