While AI represents the biggest platform shift in decades, it hasn't eliminated the fundamental risks of product development—it has transformed them.
Rakesh Raju is the Founder of Codewalla, a New York City-based product studio partnering with founders to bring their product vision to life. In this Startup Grind special event, Rakesh will deliver an essential talk that addresses the critical product challenges facing founders in today's AI-driven landscape.
This session will guide you through the 5 critical shifts every founder must make to build successfully in the AI era. You'll gain practical insights into leveraging AI effectively while maintaining focus on the product fundamentals that drive real success.
What You'll Learn
Success Factors: What actually increases your odds of product success in the current market
Core Principles: The product fundamentals that remain essential and those that have evolved in the AI era
Strategic AI Integration: Where AI creates genuine leverage versus where it introduces new risks 👈
Common Pitfalls: How to avoid the early-stage traps that derail most teams
Real-World Insights: Patterns and lessons drawn from B2B startup builds across New York City
You'll walk away with a practical framework for using AI strategically without compromising on fundamentals, plus a clear roadmap for building smarter, not just faster.
Featured Speaker
Rakesh Raju brings exceptional depth to this discussion as the founder of Codewalla, an NYC-based AI-native product studio that helps B2B startups and lean enterprise teams accelerate their builds through modular systems and strategic AI integration.
With a distinguished background as a seasoned CTO at major companies including Disney, Microsoft, and RealNetworks, Rakesh has guided numerous NYC startups through the complete journey from initial concept to traction, scaling, and successful exit.
His expertise spans software architecture, emerging technologies (AI, VR, agentic systems), and product-market fit strategy, backed by two decades of hands-on leadership experience across both startup and enterprise environments. As a former "Scientist of the Year" and active early-stage investor, Rakesh is recognized for delivering clear, actionable guidance to founders facing high-stakes product decisions.
Who Should Attend
Early-stage founders navigating product development in the AI landscape
Product teams exploring or implementing AI solutions
Builders and entrepreneurs looking to increase their odds of creating successful products
Anyone seeking practical guidance on balancing AI innovation with proven product fundamentals
Is your MVP live but not clicking? If you've launched an MVP, but are struggling to gain traction, click here for a free, no-nonsense MVP audit by Codewalla designed to turn it into a product users love (and return to).
Agenda
5:30 PM: Founder Networking w/ Food & Drinks
6:30 PM: Product 101 with Rakesh Raju
7:30 PM: Discussion + Q&A
8:00 PM: Meet the Speaker + More Networking
Speaker
Rakesh Raju - Codewalla (Founder and CEO)
Rakesh Raju is the founder of Codewalla, an NYC-based AI-native product studio helping B2B startups and lean enterprise teams build faster through modular systems and strategic, AI-integrated execution.
A seasoned CTO with experience at Disney, Microsoft, and RealNetworks, he’s helped numerous NYC startups go from idea to traction, to scale, and exit. Rakesh brings deep expertise in soft…
Hosted By
Joshua Ness, Director, Startup Grind
Joshua Ness is the Manging Director at Startup Grind NYC and is a Director of Emerging Technologies with IEEE. He works with enterprise, startups, and academic teams to drive innovation. He also works to educate, inspire, and connect the dots for businesses interested in moving forward with emerging technology.
Tova Feldheim, Cofounder
I am a strategic advisor and marketing expert with 20+ years in B2B SaaS, brand building, and customer discovery. Specializing in aligning human behavior with technology to build products that resonate and marketing that converts. I've worked with enterprise clients and early-stage startups alike to refine messaging, strengthen go-to-market efforts, and accelerate growth
Paul GUILLARD, Chief of Staff / BizOps / Project Manager / BD
I moved to NYC in April 24. I am currently coaching and advising early-stage founders on ideation, Business Model x Ideal Customer Profile x MVP, GTM and Fundraising.
Received my authorization to work in Nov so now also looking for a full time job as BizOps / Chief of Staff / Strategic Project Management for B2B SMB or Series A+
Before that, an Engineering Degree and 2 years of SMBs consulting in France, 10 years in APAC doing Strategic Project Management, Sales and BD; and 4 years in Spain for an MBA at IESE (consistently ranked Top10 in the world by FT) and working on some startups.
Prianka Ball,
Currently working in data at a early stage startup. Ex founder and looking for my next startup building adventure.
Daniel Silver, Owner
Creative, Thoughtful and Results-Driven Product Marketing Strategist Focused on Building, Launching and Optimizing New and Existing Products Across Their Life Cycle.
Rebecca Liang,
Ex-founder | Ex-VC | 5 yrs @ Startup Grind Shanghai
Community over Competition
Shanghai → Hong Kong → Singapore → New York
Global Partner
Google Cloud (https://cloud.google.com/resources/content/future-of-ai-report?utm_source=events-with-google&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=FY25-Q1-NORTHAM-SMB31054-website-dl-AIThoughtLeader-52420&utm_content=startup-grind&utm_term=-&hl=en)
Golds
Redrob, Inc (https://bit.ly/redrob-sg-nyc-2025)
Redrob is a platform that provides early-stage startups access to world-class talent, streamlining the hiring process with tools like Talent Search GPT, Skill Test AI, and General Counsel GPT. Redrob Talent Search GPT employs AI agents to find and recruit exceptional candidates from the global talent pool. As an Employer of Record (EOR), Redrob enables seamless onboarding and management of international talent without the need for local entities—saving startups time, cost, and compliance risk.
Codewalla (https://www.codewalla.com/startup-grind-offer)
Codewalla is a small product development studio dedicated to helping startup founders launch products quickly. As founders ourselves, we understand the challenges of traditional development: high costs, long timelines, and risks. We are a CTO-led studio of developers, designers, and project managers dedicated to building exceptional products. With expertise in startups, SaaS, fintech, and more, we bring creativity and experience to every project.
Partner
The Yard (https://theyard.com/)
The Yard is a coworking space at the intersection of innovation, creativity, design, & play -- with locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Philly, and DC -- with a variety of shared and private workspace options.
Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in more than 600 cities and 125+ countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. For more information visit StartupGrind.com or follow us on twitter @StartupGrind.
Complete your event RSVP here: https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-new-york-city-presents-product-development-101-what-founders-need-to-build-right-in-the-ai-era/.
