230: Humanizing Sales in the Age of AI with Venki Pola

Home » 230: Humanizing Sales in the Age of AI with Venki Pola

Venki Pola, co-founder and CTO of OneShot.ai, shares his incredible journey from a career at Salesforce to becoming an immigrant entrepreneur. After experiencing personal tragedy and navigating the complexities of the U.S. immigration system as an H-1B visa holder, Venki’s story is one of resilience and determination. We explore the additional hurdles he faced while transferring his visa to his startup, managing responsibilities, and ensuring his status enabled him to chase his business dreams. His story is a testament to perseverance and the relentless pursuit of one’s aspirations, against all odds.

Peda Venki Pola is the co-founder and CTO of OneShot.ai, recently spotlighted by Forbes for launching Execution OS, a platform that orchestrates AI agents and human experts to drive B2B sales prospecting outcomes. Previously, he joined Salesforce through its acquisition of Dimdim and spent a decade architecting products like Chatter, Lightning Bolt, and Commerce Cloud. Beyond tech, Venki is also a speaker, writer, dancer, and trader.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

Venki Pola’s inspiring journey from Salesforce employee to immigrant entrepreneur, highlighting his perseverance in navigating the U.S. immigration system as an H-1B visa holder.
The challenges and triumphs of transferring his visa to his startup, OneShot.ai, showcasing the hurdles immigrant founders face.
The transformative power of AI in outbound sales, with OneShotai revolutionizing sales prospecting by integrating AI capabilities with human expertise.
The importance of moving from solution-focused mindsets to understanding real market and customer needs, emphasizing customer discovery and market research.
Addressing misconceptions about AI, particularly in marketing, and the critical balance between AI’s capabilities and the indispensable human touch.
The future of AI and its impact on job roles, encouraging professionals to embrace change and innovation while highlighting AI’s role in enhancing, not replacing, human contributions.

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