
The Best Ideas Still come from Talking to Humans
From Elements by Chemistry by Chemistry
November 17, 2025 · 27 min · Season 1 · Episode 2
About this episode
Kristina Shen interviews Ashwin Sreenivas about the role of conversational AI in enhancing customer engagement and the importance of understanding user needs.
In this episode, Kristina Shen (Managing Partner, Chemistry) interviews Ashwin Sreenivas (CTO & Co-founder, Decagon) about how conversational AI can enhance customer engagement and simplify support operations for businesses. Ashwin recounts the origins of Decagon and the co-founder chemistry that made it possible. The conversation explores how great teams navigate the idea maze with speed, conviction, and a sharp focus on building something customers truly need—and will pay for. And in a world increasingly shaped by AI, Ashwin makes a compelling case for the most timeless principle of all: spend real time with the real people who will use your product. Links chemistry vc More Events Elements: A Chemistry Speaker Series Elements is produced by Chemistry VC in partnership with Pod People .
People in this episode
Host: Kristina Shen
Guest: Ashwin Sreenivas
Topics covered
- conversational AI
- customer engagement
- support operations
- co-founder chemistry
- building products
- AI impact
- user interaction
Keywords
- conversational AI
- customer support
- Decagon
- product development
- user feedback
- AI
- entrepreneurship
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Decagon, Chemistry, Chemistry VC, Pod People
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