How Raj Suri Got the Idea for Presto — and Validated It by Working in a Restaurant

Raj Suri built Presto after one painfully slow restaurant bill split turned into an obsession. In this episode, he breaks down how he got the idea, why he worked inside a restaurant before building, how he found his first customer, and what founders get wrong about picking markets vs products. This is a sharp episode on idea formation, validation, founder conviction, and surviving when you’re too early.

Timestamps:00:00 How Raj got the idea for Presto from a restaurant bill split01:48 What Presto became and why restaurants felt broken04:20 Leaving an MIT PhD to go all-in on startups07:35 Why he chose hardware instead of software09:24 How he thought about de-risking the form factor11:34 What “day two” looked like after the idea15:06 Why he actually worked in a restaurant as a waiter16:28 How to tell whether you’re early vs late to a market19:27 No competitors: huge opportunity or no market?22:10 Why founders need to uncover the real nuance themselves24:34 What Raj got wrong about the business28:00 Why he believes founders should start with product, not market30:50 When that advice breaks down33:25 How he raised early capital and found his first big customer34:35 Raj’s current process for generating and killing ideas36:25 A startup idea he killed and why41:49 Does he start with the product or the problem?44:18 Raj’s advice and current projects