On this episode of ChaiNet, we speak with Tanay Gaur, co-founder of boutique Shopify agency Windborne Solutions and founder of GlidingGear, a premium D2C leather accessories brand.

What’s rare? He lives in two worlds at once, advising e-commerce brands while risking his own capital to run his business. This dual lens gives him a unique filter for what drives real revenue vs. what’s just marketing hype.

We dive deep into the raw truths of today’s AI-driven commerce landscape:

✅ Why popular agency growth tactics often fail when you’re the one spending money.✅ Which AI tools actually move revenue and which are just shiny objects?✅ How to talk to Shark Tank-level founders about what they really need.✅ Where D2C is heading: from AI-generated visuals to chatbots that close sales.

If you’re building, scaling, or advising ecommerce brands, this is an unfiltered look at what works when real money is on the line.

Listen to the full episode with Tanay Gaur on ChaiNet.

On this episode of ChaiNet, Kapil Khanna, co-founder of On-Chair Marketing and Wizon Media, reveals why most D2C brands fail by scaling ads too early and ignoring what actually matters.

We discussed:

* Why he pivoted from selling glucometers on Amazon to building marketing agencies

* The ROAS trap: why this popular metric actually hurts growth

* Funnel leaks that make brands lose money before checkout

* Seven deadly mistakes, like weak unit economics and no repeat customer strategy

* When organic posting wastes time vs when to focus on paid ads

* How quick commerce changes everything for D2C survival

Kapil shares the contrarian truth fix your foundation before spending on ads. Perfect for D2C founders, marketers, and ecommerce builders.

Listen to Kapil Khanna on ChaiNet.

On this episode of ChaiNet, Rachna Sarup, founder of B77 Lifestyle, shares her journey from 25 years as a garment exporter to revolutionizing sustainable fashion. She reveals how the industry produces massive carbon emissions and sends most garments straight to landfills.

We discussed:

* The exact moment she realized business as usual was destroying the planet

* Making fabric from Himalayan wild grass and organic roses

* 3D body mapping tech that dramatically cuts returns

* Gen Z paradox: claiming they’ll pay more for sustainability, yet fast fashion thrives

* AI’s role in fashion and Big Tech’s growing emissions

Rachna proves sustainable fashion can look good and do good. Perfect for engineers, founders, and conscious consumers.

Listen to the full episode with Rachna on ChaiNet.

On this episode of ChaiNet, Priyanshu Soni, founder of Agylex Global and Director of Sprinx, shares how he built a multi-million dollar international staffing business in an era where AI was supposed to kill HR.

He breaks down why he bet on recruitment when others were running scared, what human recruiters can do that AI cannot, and how to use AI as a tool while still prioritizing cultural fit and human potential.If you are in talent, leadership, or navigating AI disruption in any industry, this episode is a masterclass in adapting, future-proofing your career, and betting on human judgment.

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In this episode of ChaiNet, we sat down with Noel Mathew, founder of Skie Labs and creator of Shopscan. After years of witnessing performance issues destroy stores at scale at Fynd, Noel built an AI tool to identify hidden conversion killers that cause stores to quietly bleed revenue due to slow loads and broken experiences.

We discussed the reality check of how many potential sales are lost to poor infrastructure, and why store owners often focus on the wrong things.

Key topics covered included: ✅ The paradox of spending heavily on ads while the store’s foundation hemorrhages conversions. ✅ Why faster stores convert significantly better, and exactly what breaks first when yours is slow.✅ Insights gained from using AI to audit millions of live production pages. ✅ An analysis of Shopify’s new native AI tools for reporting and fixing issues.✅ Actionable advice for store owners on what to check immediately to stop losing sales.

This podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking for practical insights on solving expensive hidden challenges.

In this episode of ChaiNet, we speak with Hitesh Matlani, who oversees the performance of over 166 Shopify stores. We explore the urgent question for every merchant and agency: what happens when AI tools become standard inside every e-commerce platform, and does this make human expertise obsolete?

Hitesh explains that the value of an agency is shifting from technical implementation to strategic curation and emotional intelligence. He breaks down which AI features actually drive sales, which often fail in practice, and why a merchant’s strategy now matters more than their access to tools.

Listen to the full episode for a clear view of what it takes to win in e-commerce when everyone has the same AI and how to build a business that lasts beyond the hype.

On our latest ChaiNet episode, Chris Baxter, co-founder of Aeva AI, shares how he built an AI receptionist for health clinics to significant monthly revenue without a technical background.

Chris spent years in real estate, making thousands of calls and seeing firsthand how missed calls lose business. He later discovered clinics faced the same problem. So, with no coding experience, he and his co-founder created Aeva, an AI phone assistant that books appointments and supports receptionists, not replaces them.

We discuss:

* Moving from real estate to SaaS without writing code

* Nailing product-market fit in the allied health space

* Growing to a strong MRR in under a year without venture capital

* Competing against funded companies as a bootstrapped team

* Why niching deep beats building another generic AI tool

For non-technical founders, operators, and anyone building with AI, this is a real-world look at how to turn domain experience into a scalable product.

Tune in to learn how understanding a problem beats having a technical pedigree.

🎙️ On our latest ChaiNet episode, Dhruv Kantak, Business Head of SEO at Hovers, explores what happens when AI becomes the world’s biggest shopping engine.

Dhruv has driven millions in organic traffic for e-commerce and D2C brands. But now, as AI rewrites search and consumers ask chatbots for buying advice, traditional product pages and SEO tactics face obsolescence.

We discuss:

✅ The urgent shift from SEO to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

✅ How D2C brands survive when AI curates products directly

✅ Why metrics like keyword rankings are losing meaning

✅ What actually drives growth in a zero-click search landscape

✅ Building marketing careers as the rules change in real time

For founders, marketers, and anyone growing a brand online, this conversation breaks down what to do when search stops sending traffic and where real opportunity lies now.

Tune in for a practical look at the future of organic visibility.

Our latest guest on ChaiNet is Nikhil Sewak, the founder and CEO of Yett. He’s building an AI-driven discovery platform for offline retail, drawing lessons from 16 years of building distribution networks across UP, Bihar, and other tier-two cities.

We explore: ✅ His journey from mechanical engineering and manufacturing to recognizing the gap in offline retail discovery. ✅ How Yet helps shoppers find malls, hubs, and stores with a chatbot that answers local retail questions. ✅ The challenges and triumphs of onboarding 2,500+ retailers who aren’t tech-savvy. ✅ Why tier-two cities like Lucknow, Indore, and Agra are where physical retail’s future is being built.

This conversation provides a focused look at innovation, resilience, and the practical application of AI in markets where offline shopping still retains its charm.

Listen now for insights on why retailers are receptive to digital adoption, how to build trust in non-technical markets, and why the currency of relationships, not transactions, drives growth in physical retail.

Our next guest on ChaiNet is Anmol Sood, co-founder of Alai (YC W24). Anmol made a significant leap from a prestigious career at Meta to build an AI-native presentation tool that transforms how ideas are communicated.

We’ll talk about his bold decision to leave one of tech’s most coveted roles for the high-stakes world of AI entrepreneurship. We’ll also dive into what truly sets Alai apart in the crowded presentation software landscape.

Things like:

✅ The profound motivation behind leaving Meta as a Staff Engineer to build an AI presentation startup.

✅ How Alai’s AI helps users create clear, compelling, and context-aware presentations.✅ What makes Alai’s approach uniquely effective in a market filled with AI slide generators.✅ Anmol’s candid perspective on the future of human communication in an AI-augmented workplace.✅ The challenges and learnings from transitioning from a big-tech engineer to a founder.✅ Honest advice for anyone considering a similar career jump from a secure, high-profile role.

If you’re interested in innovative AI tools for communication, contemplating a major career pivot from big tech to startups, or want to learn about building from zero in the competitive AI space, this conversation is a must-watch.