Lessons From the Front Lines of Building an AI Startup

Ahmed Rashad started his career on an oil rig, taught himself to code, and went on to build and sell a company. After stops at Oracle, MIT, McKinsey, Amazon, and Scale AI, he founded Perle to solve a problem he kept running into: the AI data gap.

Perle builds specialized training data for AI models in fields like medicine and linguistics — the niche areas where general AI struggles.Despite the anxiety around AI, Ahmed believes the upside far outweighs today’s disruption. Faster development doesn't shrink markets; it expands what's possible. In his view, AI isn't replacing human potential. It's amplifying it.

Tune in to hear:

• Why the right VC partner matters more than the biggest check
• The 4 things founders should never delegate
• How to keep investors engaged and informed
• What Arabic’s 22+ dialects reveal about the depth of the AI data gap

With experience at some of the world’s leading companies and now as the founder of an exciting AI startup, Ahmed has valuable insights on today’s startup ecosystem.

Don’t miss this episode for practical, hard-earned advice from a founder who has been in the thick of it since day one.

====Chapters====
00:18 – Meet Ahmed Rashad, Founder & CEO of Perle
01:15 – From Oil Rig to Software: Ahmed's Unlikely Origin Story
02:34 – What Perle Does and the Problem It's Solving
03:35 – Why This Problem Was Personal
04:35 – Use Cases: Healthcare, STEM, and Linguistics
05:02 – The Arabic Language Challenge: 22 Dialects and Counting
07:22 – How the Rapidly Changing AI Landscape Is Impacting Perle
09:16 – Fundraising Advice: The Four Things Founders Should Never Delegate
10:40 – Why the Right VC Beats the Highest Valuation
11:30 – What to Look for in an Investor Relationship
12:09 – How to Communicate Effectively with Your Investors
13:40 – The Reality of the Founder Journey: It's Never a Straight Line
16:36 –Why Ahmed is So Optimistic About AI
18:27 – What Concerns Ahmed About AI
19:47 – The AI Slop Problem
20:53 – Final Advice for Founders: Take Care of Yourself
22:42– Where to Find Ahmed and Learn More About Perle


----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn! 

Learn more about Perle: https://www.perle.ai/


This episode is produced by:

Brenda Hernández Jaimes: Podcast Producer & Talent Coordinator, Ellas Media

Angela R. Chong: Audio Editor & Post-Production Producer, Amplify Podcasts