Here’s how two Indian entrepreneurs are helping make enterprises more nimble with AI

In the fast-paced and competitive landscape of modern business, the pursuit of efficiency and productivity has become paramount. Organisations face the challenge of meeting ever-increasing demands while ensuring optimal resource utilisation. To tackle this uphill battle, businesses have sought ways to automate mundane and time-consuming tasks that eat into valuable time and manpower.

Traditionally, three prevailing approaches have been employed: outsourcing to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) providers, building internal tooling to automate processes, and implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA). These approaches have provided relief by reducing manual labour and improving operational efficiency.

However, they also come with inherent limitations that hinder their effectiveness in addressing the evolving needs of businesses. For example, building internal tooling requires significant investments in time, expertise, and resources, along with ongoing maintenance challenges. While RPA excels at extremely well-defined, unchanging tasks and environments, it struggles with minor updates, necessitating manual intervention.

Fulcrum, a company co-founded by Arjun Mangla and Sambhav Anand, two Indians residing in the US, is dedicated to addressing these issues by harnessing the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).

The backstory 

Co-founders Mangla and Anand first met at Columbia University in the US. Mangla was a TA for a course Anand was enrolled in and the duo immediately bonded over their shared passion for technology and their drive to build something impactful.

At a very young age, Mangla had witnessed the potential of technology; his entrepreneurial spirit was inspired by his parents' perseverance. This led him to pursue computer science at Columbia University, where he immersed himself in research, teaching, and various software and product roles in tech companies. 

Anand's entrepreneurial spirit was ignited in adversity when the run of his college startup, which had initially emerged as a last-minute entry for a university-hosted entrepreneurial pitch competition, came to an abrupt end due to regulatory uncertainties. “The experience, as painful as it was, taught me valuable lessons about resilience and adaptability, lessons that I could use for my next venture. At the end of this experience I knew entrepreneurship was for me,” he says. 

Anand decided to gain some experience at fast-growing tech companies such as Oscar Health and Affirm. Meanwhile, as a business analyst at McKinsey, Mangla had gained valuable experience in designing and launching enterprise SaaS products, understanding the mindset of investors, and working on go-to-market strategies for enterprise tech companies. 

Soon their paths converged, and they felt it was the right time to quit their full-time jobs and dive headlong into entrepreneurship.

Mangla expresses confidence in the complementary skillsets, combined strengths, and diverse experiences of himself and Anand. Together, they are well equipped to confront challenges directly. Their venture, Fulcrum, aims to consolidate their individual knowledge and expertise into a software product that delivers valuable advantages to enterprises.

The journey for the founders has been a blend of challenges and rewards. The initial phase of pinpointing their startup idea was just the tip of the iceberg. Together, they overcame numerous obstacles, including navigating entrepreneurship in a different country and striking a balance between their demanding full-time jobs and the conviction to build something new.

Fulcrum is now backed by early-stage investors in the Bay Area- the South Park Commons Fund.

What’s ahead?

Mangla and Anand are focused on delivering for their early partners. Their aim is to empower large enterprises to focus valuable time, energy, and resources on critical decision-making, relieving them of the burden of monotonous workflows.

The founders remain steadfast in their commitment to deliver the value they have promised to partners, clients, and enterprises at scale.