362: Fuel AI/ML Cohort 2023 Part 2

Summary On this special episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Caleb Talley, Grace Gill, Darian Harris, Tom Douglass, and Louis Diesel head north to the Ledger in Bentonville, where they sit down with four of the participants in Fuel’s AI and machine learning 2023 cohort. Fuel is specifically designed for seed and growth-stage technology companies ready to scale and become enterprise-ready. Members of the cohort receive mentorship and education from leaders in their vertical, as well as coaching and connections from Fuel’s enterprise partners. Caleb, Grace, Darian, and Tom sat down with Kannan Udarayajan of Siemba, Mike Romeri of Analytics2Go, Humphrey Chen of CLIPr, and Somya Munjal of Youthful Savings to discuss their entrepreneurial journeys and their experiences with Fuel thus far.    Show Notes (0:38) Introducing Part 2 (1:24) Kannan Udayarajan and Siemba (10:59) Mike Romeri and A2Go (18:04) Humphrey Chen and CLIPr (34:04) Somya Munjal and Youthful Savings (43:47) Closing Thoughts   Links Fuel  Caleb Talley Grace Gill Darian Harris Tom Douglass Louis Diesel Kannan Udayarajan Siemba Mike Romeri Analytics2Go Humphrey Chen CLIPr Youthful Savings           Quotes “Just being under the umbrella of Fuel gives enormous credibility to whatever you’re building and showcasing. By being part of the Fuel cohort, we have been able to get so many introductions in the Bentonville area, but I’m also seeing that the fact we are part of the Fuel program is resonating in other markets as well.” - Kannan Udayarajan, (7:27) “Certainly, everyone knows Walmart is here [in Bentonville], and there’s a level of sophistication with Walmart, but I think the entire ecosystem is a very high-performing ecosystem. And I think there’s sort of a community of interest here where people are trying to optimize the performance of the entire ecosystem, and it brings a lot of sophistication and a certain set of skillsets that are cooperative and innovative, and people know how to get things done.” - Mike Romeri, (15:13) “This is like one of those things where Northwest Arkansas hadn’t been on my to-do list, but now that I’m here, I feel like I’ve been marketing the whole region, and so now more people are planning on coming and checking it out.” - Humphrey Chen, (29:31)“I just think there’s so many great people here [in Bentonville] and it’s an abundant place, but everybody has this same salt of the earth attitude, and you can just get so much more done.” - Somya Munjal, (37:23)