How a Broke College Student Co-founded a VC-Backed Edtech Startup

In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, Nectir co-founder and CEO Kavitta Ghai shares how she turned her frustration as a college student into a fast-growing, VC-backed edtech startup. Kavitta discusses the leap from student to founder, how she built an AI-powered tool for classrooms without a technical background, and the tactics that helped her and her co-founder land paying customers early. She also opens up about navigating the venture world as a first-generation founder and reframing risk as a competitive advantage. RUNTIME 59:59 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:57) “ One day we said, ‘what if we stopped complaining and we actually did something about it?’” (5:57) “ The idea for Nectir initially just sort of fell into my lap.” (10:29) “ I was a communication major. He was an environmental studies major. We had no technical background at all.” (12:50) “ To go from a broke college student to being a broke founder really doesn't feel like that big of a difference.” (14:12) How they landed Nectir’s first customer — UC Santa Barbara. (20:50) “ We have this philosophy that I call our ‘zones of genius.’” (23:46) Why customer discovery should “ every single person on the team for as long as you possibly can.” (27:03) “ When I go back and think about what we did best in that beginning period of time, it was starting with a very basic MVP.” (30:47) “ It was a huge surprise and it was terrifying when I realized, ‘oh shit, I'm the salesperson.’” (34:47) Kavitta shares her top recommendation for free founder advice — and one she had to pay for. (38:43) “ I actually came into building Nectir with zero understanding of what VC funding even was.” (43:38) “ You have to be willing to ask for what you want and it's the only way to get it.” (47:24) “ Right this second is the best possible time to start your company.” (51:50) “ It's not the thought of me sitting on a yacht one day that motivates me.” (53:09) Nectir’s pilot program with the California Community College system. (56:49) The one question Kavitta would have to ask a CEO before she’d take a job at their startup. LINKS Nectir Kavitta Ghai kavitta.com How to Crash the Silicon Valley Party California Community Colleges Launches Groundbreaking Pilot with Nectir AI Paul Graham essays What is FERPA?, U.S. Dept. of Education Entrada Ventures SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/   📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/   Thanks for listening!   – Walter.