We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nyle Malik a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nyle, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

One of the most significant trends we’re observing in the tech industry is the pervasive integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into virtually every product we encounter. From personal email clients to household appliances like kitchen fridges, AI is becoming an embedded feature, fundamentally changing how we interact with technology. This trend underscores the importance of not only harnessing the power of AI but also ensuring its applications are meaningful and enhance the user experience.

At Prosal, we’ve been at the forefront of integrating AI into our core offerings, particularly in simplifying the process of finding and qualifying Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for businesses. A pivotal moment for us was during the initial surge of Large Language Models (LLMs) in the industry. We introduced an innovative tool that allowed users to interact with extensive RFP documents through an AI-driven chat interface, aiming to extract relevant information without the need to read through the entire document. Despite the technological advancement, we noticed that users weren’t engaging with the tool as anticipated.

This observation led us to a crucial realization: the technology was sound, but the user experience was lacking. We responded by focusing on personalization, actionability, and trust. By analyzing user interactions, we identified common inquiries and restructured our AI to preemptively provide this information, streamlining the user experience. This not only saved time but also transformed the way users engaged with RFPs on our platform.

Building on this, we developed “Magic Tools,” a suite of AI-powered tools designed to assist users in the proposal creation process. These tools, informed by our earlier learnings, were crafted to offer a seamless, one-click solution to jumpstart the proposal creation, making the process more efficient and user-friendly.

However, we recognized that technology alone isn’t enough; trust in AI is paramount. We invested in building transparency around our AI processes, incorporating educational elements, interactive demos, and clear explanations of how AI decisions are made. This approach not only demystified AI for our users but also built a foundation of trust, essential for fostering long-term engagement with our platform.

There is a critical balance between technological innovation and user experience. As AI continues to shape our digital landscape, we must design AI-driven solutions with the end-user in mind, ensuring that technology serves to enhance, rather than complicate, our digital interactions. At Prosal, we’re proud to be at the intersection of this trend, crafting AI solutions that are intuitive, trustworthy, and, most importantly, centered around the needs of our users.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Nyle Malik and I am the co-founder and CTO of Prosal. My professional background is rooted in software development, with experience working for big tech companies. However, my personal and professional life took a pivotal turn when I realized the immense challenges people face globally, particularly the inequitable access to public business opportunities. This issue seemed to disproportionately favor large, well-connected corporations, leaving smaller entities and individuals at a disadvantage.

Drawing on my experiences from living and working in three different countries, I’ve witnessed first-hand the diverse yet interconnected challenges that communities face worldwide. It was these observations, coupled with my expertise in machine learning, that propelled me to co-found Prosal. Our platform is designed to democratize access to public business opportunities, making them more accessible to a broader range of participants.

What sets Prosal apart is not just the technology we’ve developed, but the ethos behind it. We’re driven by a commitment to social change, leveraging my background in computer engineering and machine learning to create a platform that can truly level the playing field. This venture was born from a desire to apply my skills and passion for continuous learning to make a tangible impact in the industry.

I’m most proud of the direct impact we’re making in the lives of our users. Every day, we’re working to solve real, pressing problems for people across the globe, and the feedback from our community is what motivates us to keep pushing the boundaries. Prosal is more than just a platform; it’s a movement toward creating a more equitable and accessible landscape for public business opportunities. We’re here to challenge the status quo and fundamentally transform B2B outsourcing for the better.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Transitioning from a traditional software engineering background in the corporate world to co-founding a startup was a leap that brought with it an array of unforeseen challenges. My academic and professional background was deeply rooted in Machine Learning, a niche that I was both passionate about and felt competent in. The predictability and structure of working within established companies provided a certain level of comfort and confidence in my abilities.

However, the inception of Prosal marked the beginning of a new chapter where comfort zones became a thing of the past. The vision we had for Prosal wasn’t just about leveraging advanced technology; it was about creating a platform that was accessible, user-friendly, and impactful. This vision required skills in full-stack web development, an area I had only briefly explored. The realization that I needed to pivot from my specialized role into a more versatile web developer was daunting, to say the least.

Determined to bridge this skill gap, I embarked on a rigorous learning journey. I delved into books, online courses, and hands-on projects to understand the nuances of web development. This period was characterized by trial and error, where each mistake was a lesson in disguise. The nights were long, often spent unraveling the complexities of the code I had written, learning to embrace the process of fixing mistakes and improving the product bit by bit.

This journey was more than just about acquiring new technical skills; it was a profound lesson in resilience and adaptability. The dynamic nature of a startup meant that the ground beneath us was constantly shifting. Every decision, every line of code, and every product feature had to be thought through with the agility to adapt to changes.

What this experience taught me was the power of stepping out of my comfort zone and the importance of continuous learning. In the face of uncertainty and challenges, the ability to keep moving forward, to learn from setbacks, and to maintain momentum is invaluable. Resilience, in this context, is about embracing the uncomfortable, being open to learning, and understanding that progress often comes dressed in the garb of failure.

This ethos of resilience and perpetual learning is something I carry with me every day at Prosal. It’s a reminder that while the path of innovation and entrepreneurship is fraught with challenges, it’s the relentless pursuit of growth and improvement that defines our journey.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In my previous technical roles, the emphasis was always on perfection and robustness. We operated with well-defined roadmaps and timelines, ensuring that every product we shipped was polished to the highest standards. This approach stemmed from a belief that taking our time to perfect a product was crucial to its success. It was about crafting something great, without the pressing need for immediate results.

However, the startup ecosystem operates on a different paradigm. Here, time isn’t just a constraint; it’s a currency. The luxury of lengthy roadmaps and the pursuit of perfection often take a backseat to agility and speed. In the early stages of Prosal, I quickly realized that the traditional approach to product development wasn’t going to cut it. The need to rapidly iterate, to test various hypotheses, and to pivot based on feedback became paramount. We were in a race not just to build something great, but to build it quickly and learn from it even faster.

The unlearning process was challenging. It required a shift from a mindset of ‘shipping the best version’ to ‘shipping to learn and improve’. It wasn’t about compromising on quality, but rather about embracing the iterative process of development, where each version brought us closer to what our customers truly needed. The variability in product development, the direct feedback from early adopters, and the constant need to adapt taught me that flexibility and speed were not just beneficial but essential. Our ability to quickly respond to market demands, to test new ideas, and to pivot when necessary became our strength.

Unlearning the traditional approach to product development and embracing the fast-paced, iterative nature of startups has been a transformative experience. It has not only shaped our product strategy at Prosal but has also ingrained in me the importance of adaptability and speed in driving innovation. It’s a lesson that continues to influence how we approach challenges and opportunities, ensuring that we remain agile in an ever-evolving market.

Contact Info:

• Website: prosal.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nylemalik/