While leading eChai SF, I get to meet founders who are working on the problems that almost every team talks about. One of the most common frustrations I hear is the quiet tax of coordination. A new customer request means updating Salesforce, pinging a manager on Slack, drafting a quote in HubSpot and sending it out by email. Each step is straightforward, but together they drain time from the real work of building relationships and closing deals.
That is the gap Nirman Dave has been chasing. His first company, Obviously AI, focused on making predictions simple enough to run directly from a spreadsheet. The idea found traction, more than 82,000 models were created, the company raised from Sequoia Scouts, B Capital and Facebook’s startup fund, and Nirman earned a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30. Yet he kept noticing the same limit. Predictions were useful, but they did not reduce the repetitive work that dominated the day.
In 2025, the company rebranded as Zams, named after an astrophysics term that marks the moment a star stabilizes. For Nirman, it symbolized AI reaching a stage where it becomes dependable infrastructure. Zams builds AI agents that carry out workflows across more than 100 business tools. If a customer asks for a quote, the agent can log it in Salesforce, alert the manager in Slack, prepare the document and send it back.
Customers already report strong outcomes. One linked Zams to $10 million in ARR without adding staff. Another cleared a 208-day backlog. Sierra Pacific says it saved 4,160 hours of work, and Husk Energy mentions $775,000 in revenue unlocked. These are company-reported numbers, but they suggest teams are trusting Zams with processes tied directly to revenue, not just side projects.
The broader landscape makes this more interesting. Businesses have long relied on tools like Zapier to connect apps, RPA systems to automate back-office tasks, and now copilots from Microsoft and Salesforce to surface insights. What Zams is aiming for is a layer that doesn’t just connect or suggest but quietly executes, the type of work teams today still handle manually.
From the eChai SF lens, what excites me is the question this raises. Will companies begin to treat AI agents as part of the team, trusted to carry out workflows end to end? If that shift happens, it could change how businesses scale, allowing growth without headcount rising at the same pace. That is why Zams is a story I’ll be following closely.
The hardest thing about advice isn’t hearing it. It’s making sense of it. Founders are surrounded by it. From investors, mentors, peers, podcasts, Twitter threads, the supply never ends. Most of it sounds smart, but in the moment you don’t know where to place it.
Then one day you run into the wall yourself. You push for a big launch and later think, “So this is what they meant about not scaling before product-market fit.” You bring in an investor and realize, “This is why they said choose money that matches your pace.” You spend months chasing competitor features and admit, “This is why they said focus on what only you can do.” At the time, you brushed it off. Only later does the advice finally make sense.
So, how do you make sense of advice in the present? Part of it depends on the stage you are at. What feels urgent at Series A may not matter at pre-seed. Part of it depends on your context. Advice shaped by someone else’s journey may not map to yours. And part of it depends on timing. Not every insight needs action now. Some are simply waiting for their season. Maybe that is the real founder skill: not in collecting advice, but in knowing where to place it.
As Ekta Shah, Co-Founder of Biziverse, says: “Why reinvent the wheel? Founders actually enjoy helping other founders.” Her words are a reminder of why these exchanges matter. At the same time, advice is always born in a specific context. What worked for one founder may not map perfectly onto another. Which is why empathy matters, not only in receiving advice but in giving it too.
On Mondays, there’s a small group of close friends I meet without fail. We sit together, catch up on whatever is on our minds, and let the conversations flow. Sometimes it’s about work, sometimes about family, and often about nothing in particular. It’s easy, unplanned, and always something I look forward to.
On Wednesdays, there’s another group of founder friends I play cricket with. The matches have their share of competition, but what makes them special are the jokes, the laughter, and the joy of simply being on the field together week after week.
Some weeks fly, some weeks drag, but these two moments always find their place. They don’t ask for much, yet they bring a quiet rhythm to the week, the kind that makes everything else feel more alive.
One of the most encouraging shifts in startup ecosystems is how workspaces are being opened for the community. Incubators, accelerators, and co-working hubs put in huge effort to host programs, manage logistics, and bring people together. Alongside them, a new culture is growing where founders open their own offices for meetups, workshops, and peer learning.
It is a simple but powerful act. A meeting room becomes a learning space. A cafeteria turns into a place for new connections. A whiteboard that carries product plans also sparks ideas from other founders. Sometimes it is ten people sitting in a circle. Sometimes it is fifty buzzing with conversations. What matters is the intent to share what you already have so that others can grow.
At eChai, we have experienced this many times. Whether it is incubators creating programs or founders opening their offices, it always takes effort, planning, and team support. I feel grateful to everyone who makes space for the community. Each open office and shared venue is part of a paying-it-forward culture that strengthens the ecosystem.
This is how culture grows. One founder opens their doors, another follows, and soon it becomes the norm. More spaces open up, more conversations begin, and the community keeps getting stronger.
Who are the founders in your city who have opened their offices for you?
When we think of turning points, our minds jump to the big ones. Quitting a job. Raising a round. Signing that dream client. These moments feel heavy and dramatic. They look obvious in hindsight. But most companies are not defined by headline choices. They are shaped by smaller ones. The ones that do not feel heavy at the time, yet carry their true weight later.
Founders live inside these calls every day. Choosing to document decisions after meetings instead of relying on memory builds a culture of clarity. Delaying launch by a week to fix small bugs earns trust that shortcuts would have broken. Personally replying to the first customer complaints turns frustration into loyalty and unlocks insights for the roadmap. Saying no to a client feature request that distracts from the product vision preserves long-term coherence. Paying salaries on time even when it means skipping your own sets a silent foundation of trust that compounds far beyond that moment.
The same pattern plays out again and again. Turning down an investor who does not align with the mission prevents future pressure to chase the wrong path. Being transparent with the team during a cash crunch creates ownership instead of hidden panic. Training an early hire into leadership rather than recruiting from outside strengthens the culture from within. Keeping daily rituals, even when they feel repetitive, anchors discipline when chaos arrives. Answering an unexpected call or email often leads to the first big customer. None of these choices look like turning points in the moment, yet each carries weight that compounds into direction, culture, and growth.
Small choices do not just add up. They compound. A skipped note here or a quiet compromise there and the culture drifts. A single act of discipline or patience, repeated, becomes a habit that carries the company through storms. That is the weight of small decisions. They may not feel heavy in the moment. But over time, they decide who we become.
"At DevX.Work, we’ve greatly benefited from our association with eChai. Their events and networking forums have connected us with high-potential startups, ecosystem leaders, and innovation-driven professionals — many of whom have become valuable partners, collaborators, and even clients. What stands out most is the openness and accessibility of the community — whether you're an early-stage founder or an experienced entrepreneur, eChai provides a welcoming space to learn, collaborate, and grow. It's more than just a network — it's a catalyst for real, collaborative growth. We’re proud to be part of the eChai community. Highly recommended for any organization aiming to grow within the startup space."
Umesh Uttamchandani
Co-Founder, DevX
"We found eChai to be a force multiplier throughout our startup journey. Through it, we connected with folks from DevX, Allevents, Plutomen, and more - many of whom became friends of IndiaBizForSale.com and even part of our clientele."
Bhavin S Bhagat
Co-founder of Indiabizforsale and IBGrid, TiE Ahmedabad President
"eChai has been a game-changer for Hungrito, providing us with invaluable connections, insights, and opportunities that have significantly fueled our growth. eChai has introduced us to a global network of entrepreneurs and experts, fueling our growth and opening doors to new opportunities from Ahmedabad to Dubai. The community has become like a second family to us, providing support, guidance, and valuable insights as startup entrepreneurs."
Sahil Shah
Founder- Hungrito & Netsavvies. Digital Marketing Evangelist
eChai Partner Brands
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner - working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.
