Fireflies.ai founders Sam Udotong and Krish Ramineni revealed they once pretended to be an AI bot named “Fred” to validate their idea. In 2017, the duo manually took notes for over 100 meetings, delivering them to customers while posing as an automated service.
Fireflies.ai Founders Making bold Claim
Their viral LinkedIn post sparked debate about startup culture, with some praising their ingenuity and others questioning transparency.
By 2018, they stopped manual work and built a functioning product, later raising $4 million in seed funding. Now valued at $1 billion, Fireflies.ai has processed over 2 billion meeting minutes, proving that early risks led to lasting success.
