Think AI Podcast

Episode 1: From Leg Braces to AI: The Journey That Built Data & AI Studio

Host: Dev Goyal
Date: March 11, 2026

Episode Overview

In this powerful inaugural episode, Dev Goyal delivers a candid, inspiring account of his journey from a difficult childhood in India to becoming a renowned AI consultant and entrepreneur. With vulnerability and insight, Dev shares how personal resilience, cross-continental experience, and a relentless drive shaped the formation of Data & AI Studio. The episode weaves together personal milestones, entrepreneurial lessons, and actionable AI tips, positioning AI not just as technology—but as a fundamentally human story.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Childhood & Early Challenges (00:00–05:15)

• Dev’s Physical Disability: Born with a disability, Dev couldn’t walk as a child. His father would carry him everywhere. School was harsh—he faced bullying and felt invisible.
  • “When I was a kid growing up in India, I didn’t walk. Not I didn’t walk well, I didn’t walk at all. My father used to carry me around… The kids at my school, they didn’t exactly roll the red carpet. They beat me up regularly.” (00:00)
• Resilience & Support: Support from his father and friends gave him the confidence to start walking with leg braces, shifting his self-perception.
  • “Even when my body wasn’t cooperating, my mind was on fire. I was always in the top three in my class… Studying was one of the most easy areas where my disability did not matter. The scoreboard was fair.” (02:45)
• Gaining Independence: At 11, receiving a modified scooter allowed Dev to experience true freedom, a foundational moment for his future.
  • “For the first time in my life, I could go somewhere without someone carrying me. I could choose where to go. And that feeling became the foundation of everything I built later.” (04:30)

2. Education & Early Entrepreneurship (05:16–12:40)

• Choosing Engineering: Followed the traditional path valued in India—engineering over medicine. Experienced culture shock at a top-tier college, returning home to foster deep friendships, interests in music, and early business instincts.
• First Business Experience: Helped a blind friend by finding music students, experiencing entrepreneurship firsthand.
  • “But experience gave me something that money can’t buy… That realization that I could see a gap, fill it, and create value. I was maybe 20 years old and the seed was planted.” (08:45)
• Nonlinear Journey: Emphasizes the messiness of real entrepreneurship; after engineering, Dev pursued an MBA and (partially completed) CFA, then gained real-world business lessons through a friend (Jay).

3. Tech Evolution & the Spark of AI (12:41–23:00)

• First Jobs & Self-Reliance: Started in operations at a Silicon Valley company in India, learning to code on the fly. Sought self-sufficiency through relentless job searching, attending 400 walk-in interviews.
  • “In the span of, let's say, four to six months, I went to 400, yes, 400 walk-in interviews every weekend, relentlessly.” (15:49)
• Global Perspective & AI Origins: Landed a role in Singapore working with smart cards, building algorithms and security systems—what he later realized was the start of his AI journey.
  • “Here is where my AI journey quietly begins. I started building algorithms, testing security systems, white hat hacking… solving complex business problems with data and logic. And before anyone was calling it AI.” (17:02)
• Homecoming & Own Startups: Founded SOL Informatics in India, offering training and building government projects. Pride in seeing former trainees become industry leaders.

4. U.S. Move & Building a Data/AI Business (23:01–33:10)

• US Consulting Experience: After immigrating, worked in healthcare and enterprise IT. The desire to build something lasting persisted.
• Key Milestone—Medical Device Success: As an independent consultant, built a claim processing system from scratch, driving over $100M in revenue for a client.
  • “We built a solution that took from zero to more than $100 million and hundred thousand claims a month from a system we built. Pretty proud of it I would say.” (28:58)
• Founding Think AI: Co-founded with Manish, earning top Microsoft partner honors and serving mid-sized manufacturing/healthcare businesses.
  • “Out of half a million partner across the globe, we were in the top 1%.” (30:05)

5. Secrets Behind High Project Success (33:11–38:40)

• Three Pillars:
  1. Sell Outcomes, Not Technology:
     “Every engagement started with what business problems we are trying to solve and not what tools you want to use.” (34:00)
  2. Invest in People:
     “One of my core passions is taking someone with one skill… and growing them into a leader.” (35:13)
  3. Global Teams, Diverse Perspectives: Global hiring wasn’t about cost, but diversity—the right perspective matters as much as the right algorithm.
• Post-Covid Challenges: Talent retention became harder due to market changes and loyalty shifts.

6. Pivot, Reinvention, and Data & AI Studio (38:41–45:29)

• Soul-searching & Coaching: Hired three coaches—operational, business mastery, and branding/marketing. Reinvented his business into a mission-first organization.
• Key Lessons Learned: The real differentiation is brand, not just delivery; marketing engine can be more powerful than sales.
• New Focus: Data & AI Studio
  • Pillar 1: Community & education—a learning platform for data/AI, with free and paid tiers.
  • Pillar 2: Ready-to-use AI product packages for small businesses—“AI receptionist,” lead generation tools, etc., making AI accessible and affordable.
  • Pillar 3: Coaching—helping business owners build their own AI and personal AI “clones” to scale expertise and save time.

7. Humanizing AI: The Ongoing Thread (45:30–46:40)

• Dev frames AI as a fundamentally human story—his lessons are about resilience, reinvention, and making tech work for real people.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If I could teach my legs to walk, I could teach myself anything.” (03:51)
• “Real entrepreneurship is messy, it’s nonlinear. It’s a lot of: ‘I’ll figure it out.’” (09:50)
• “Here is where my AI journey quietly begins... before anyone was calling it AI.” (17:10)
• “What gives me more pride than any revenue number—some of those students I trained are now running their own companies.” (20:29)
• “We were ranked…the top 1% out of half a million Microsoft partners globally. Not the top 10%, not 20%, but the top 1%.” (30:10)
• “We never sold technology. We sold outcomes… If a client came to us saying ‘We want AI,’ our first question was ‘Why?’” (34:05)
• “Global teams see problems differently—they bring different lenses and in AI, lens matters as much as the algorithm.” (36:10)
• “I learned that a marketing engine, when done right, is more powerful than a sales engine. That thought leadership isn’t just content, it’s positioning.” (41:49)
• “AI is just not a technology play, it’s a human story.” (00:39, repeated thematically)

Actionable AI Tip of the Day (46:41–49:30)

Build Your First AI Assistant in 10 Minutes:

• Go to any major AI platform (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Grok, etc.).

• Use the following prompt (customize as needed):

  “You are my personal assistant. I run a [your business type]. My biggest challenge right now is [your pain point]. Every time I ask you a question, give me three options: one quick fix, one strategic solution, and one innovative idea that I haven’t considered. Always ask me one follow-up question to refine your suggestions.”

• Try this daily for a week; expect AI to become more of a thought partner than a glorified search engine. For skeptics: start with low-stakes questions (“What should I include in my next meeting?”).

What's Next? (49:31–End)

Preview of Episode 2:

• Real stories from healthcare AI applications: building claim systems, finding diagnostic patterns, and lessons for organizations overwhelmed by data.
• “Healthcare and AI is not a future conversation. It’s happening right now and most leaders are either moving too slow or in the wrong direction. I’ll tell you why and what to do about it.” (51:06)

Final Thought

Dev invites listeners to subscribe, share the podcast, and connect on LinkedIn or his website for continuing the conversation.

Summary prepared for listeners seeking inspiration, strategy, and actionable AI insights, grounded in the lived experience of a leader who’s rebuilt himself and his business from the ground up.