Nick Gospodinov talks Supply Chain: Indiana Jones, Communication, and AI

#supplychain #procurement #logistics #automation #coordination #ai In this Supply Chain Pioneers episode, Ulf speaks with Nick Gospodinov, founder and CEO of Mandel AI, about his journey from starting to code at age 10 in Bulgaria to founding companies and building Mandel AI. Nick explains how Mandel acts as an AI supply chain coordinator by extracting key data from unstructured channels like email and Slack into systems of record, validating documents across RFQs, POs, confirmations, and invoices, and monitoring execution via agent functionality that follows SOPs and escalates issues. He shares lessons from early pivots after Y Combinator, why supply chains can fail over a single missed email, how agents can handle edge cases like tariff surcharges, and updates on Mandel’s $3.9M funding round. Nick also discusses building with Bulgarian engineering talent, scaling considerations, AI adoption challenges, and how martial arts shaped his persistence. 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:35 Meet Nick Gospodinov 01:20 Early Coding Origins 03:06 First Startup Spark 04:55 Pivot to Supply Chain 07:31 What Mandel AI Does 10:08 Funding and Market Momentum 11:17 Supply Chain Reality Check 14:44 Building from Bulgaria 19:07 AI Future and Adoption 25:09 Martial Arts Mindset 27:36 Closing and Where to Listen