From Lower-Middle Class India to Google and Beyond: The Journey of Surojit Chatterjee, Founder & CEO of Universal AI Employee Startup EMA

As a technologist at heart, I've spent my career breaking norms and pursuing ambitious ideas, from building mobile advertising at Google to co-founding Flipkart in India, and now as founder and CEO of Enterprise Machine Assistant (EMA), where we're building a universal AI employee to revolutionize the way humans work.

1. Surojit Chatterjee grew up in a lower-middle-class family in a third-tier town in India.
2. He excelled at math and was encouraged to pursue computer science, leading him to attend one of India's top colleges, IIT.
3. Chatterjee started his career as an engineer but later pursued a business degree from MIT.
4. He joined Google early in its history and worked on various projects, including mobile advertising, which generated $50 billion in revenue.
5. Chatterjee then joined Flipkart in India as Chief Product Officer before returning to Google and later becoming Chief Product Officer at Coinbase.
6. He is currently the founder and CEO of Enterprise Machine Assistant (EMA), a company that created a universal AI employee to collaborate with human employees and automate repetitive tasks.
7. Chatterjee's career path involved considering careers in consulting and investment banking but realized he was a technologist at heart.
8. He values Google's culture of hiring smart people and giving them the freedom to learn and figure things out.
9. Chatterjee took risks in his career by pursuing ambitious ideas, even when facing resistance, which led to successful projects like click-to-call ads at Google.
10. At Google, he learned to break norms to innovate, as established processes can become inhibitors for new successes.
11. Chatterjee's time at Flipkart provided valuable insights into the unique challenges of building e-commerce in a developing country like India.
12. He believes that being intentional and deliberate is crucial to maintaining company culture, even as a company grows and hires new employees.
13. While running Google Shopping, Chatterjee noticed cultural changes that negatively impacted the work environment, leading him to leave and explore other opportunities.
14. EMA was founded with the goal of automating mundane tasks in enterprises, allowing human employees to focus on more creative and valuable tasks.
15. Chatterjee worked closely with early customers to design EMA as a platform that could be widely adopted rather than a custom solution for individual clients.
16. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on building a great product, which will naturally attract attention and opportunities.
17. EMA's long-term vision is to become a conversational operating system for enterprises, enabling a small number of human employees to work with AI agents to build large companies.
18. Chatterjee encourages startups to stay focused on their product by limiting distractions, such as public announcements and excessive social media engagement.
19. He believes that in the future, a few human employees working with AI agents will enable even small teams to create significant impact and revenue.
20. The combination of human employees and AI agents like EMA can revolutionize the way companies operate and generate value.
21. Chatterjee's experiences at various stages of his career have shaped his perspective on the importance of culture, innovation, focus, and collaboration in business.
22. His leadership roles at successful companies reflect his ability to adapt, learn, and contribute to diverse industries and challenges.
23. EMA's mission is to empower enterprises by automating routine tasks, enabling human employees to concentrate on creative problem-solving and strategic initiatives.
24. Chatterjee's story serves as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals, demonstrating the value of determination, continuous learning, and calculated risk-taking in achieving car

Source: EO via YouTube

❓ What do you think? What is the most important quality for a leader to possess: the ability to take calculated risks, or the willingness to listen to opposing viewpoints? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!