In this inaugural episode powered by Hissa Fund, we uncover the brutal realities of hiring AI researchers, fighting Meta's offers, and turning 11 years of "paper wealth" into cash.Vinay Kumar, Founder of Arya.ai, started building Deep Learning solutions in 2013 when AI wasn't cool, profitable, or even proven. For over a decade, he bootstrapped an elite AI research team in India, raised just $2M, and stayed relentlessly focused on enterprise AI for banking and financial services. In April 2024, Aurionpro acquired Arya.ai for $16.5M in an all-cash deal, delivering real exits to early employees who believed before the hype. But this isn't just an exit story. Vinay pulls back the curtain on the AI talent wars, revealing why Meta's $100M offers are breaking startups, how Frontier AI labs give employees just 0.1% equity, and why fresh graduates are now publishing research papers before they graduate. He shared this candid, unfiltered journey with host Satish Mugulavalli (Founder of Hissa), exploring the messy human side of building in AI, the brutal economics of compute vs. people, and what it really takes to share wealth in a winner - takes - all market. From hiring researchers in Paris over Bangalore to predicting AGI timelines, this is a masterclass in capital-efficient AI entrepreneurship and responsible wealth creation.In This Episode, You'll Learn:👉How Vinay Kumar competed with Meta's $100M offers to hire and retain top AI talent at Arya.ai👉Why Frontier AI model startups give founding teams 40% equity but early employees get only 0.1%👉The truth about AI's impact on jobs: which roles are getting compressed and which are expanding👉How Arya.ai turned 11 years of bootstrapped growth into a $16.5M all-cash exit that rewarded early believers👉Why Vinay regrets not giving away more equity and his philosophy on ESOPs vs. investor returns👉What 18-year-olds should study today and why mediocrity won't survive the AI eraSubscribe to Built to Share and follow Satish Mugulavalli on LinkedIn and for more founder stories on wealth creation, equity, and building companies the right way.CHAPTERS:00:00 - Vinay Kumar's Journey Building Arya.ai02:01 - The $100M AI Talent War: Meta's Offers08:16 - Why AI Researchers Leave Frontier Labs14:25 - Hiring AI Talent in 2013 vs 202521:29 - Building Arya.ai's Research Team Pre-GPT Era27:22 - ESOP Strategy: How to Share Wealth36:38 - Starting Arya.ai in 2013: The Origin Story41:25 - The Aurionpro Acquisition: $16.5M Exit Story44:29 - What the Exit Meant for Early Employees50:51 - AI's Impact on Jobs and Labor Market58:08 - Advice for 18-Year-Olds Entering AI Era01:01:57 - AGI Timeline: Is Sam Altman Right?#VinayKumar #AryaAI #AIstartups #AItalentwar #MetaAI #FrontierAI #AItakeover #enterpriseAI #BFSItech #startupESOPs #employeeequity #startupacquisition #Aurionpro #AIfunding #DeepLearning #AIresearchers #IndianAI #startupexit #wealthcreation #AIfounders #AIjobs #futureofwork #AGI #OpenAI #SamAltman #startupgrind #capitalefficiency #AIhiring #techtalent #startupequity #builttoshare #founderstories #AIentrepreneurship #responsibleAI #explainableAI #AItransformation #startupjourney #techpodcast #founderpodcast #startupindia #AIrevolution #Hissa #Hissafund

Built to Share is coming soon. A podcast about the people decisions that make or break startups.

Hosted by Satish Mugulavalli, Founder and Managing Partner of Hissa Fund, Built to Share features honest conversations with founders who've scaled companies in India's startup ecosystem. We're exploring the hard choices around building teams, sharing equity, and creating ownership culture.

In startups, everyone talks about valuation. But real builders know value means nothing unless it's shared.

Subscribe now. First episode drops soon.