The Best Ideas Still come from Talking to Humans

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

More episodes of Elements by Chemistry

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Elements by Chemistry podcast page.