<description>&lt;p&gt;Varun Khurana wants every job candidate to have the best possible chance to prove themselves for every job they apply to. He’s been in the trenches building with voice AI for 2+ years, and had some great nuggets to share:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;💬 How Wayfaster started: &lt;/strong&gt;“Wayfaster started out as a way to interview your entire pipeline in a couple seconds... the only way you can really do that is using voice AI."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;⛔️Why AI video avatars are a no-go: &lt;/strong&gt;"We tried avatars and every candidate hated it... I think it just makes candidates feel dumb. It's just like, why am I talking to an avatar? Like how stupid do you think I am?"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;📑How AI interviews give candidates a chance: &lt;/strong&gt;"Candidates have just gotten really accustomed to getting this default auto-reject email... At least here, I know that if I do a good job on the interview, I have a shot at this opportunity."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;strong&gt;🐻Why he’s bearish consumer voice AI: &lt;/strong&gt;"I'm actually a little more bearish on the consumer voice AI use cases. I like voice AI in constrained environments, like B2B, there's an amount of intent... I don't think people are going to want to be talking to their phones all the time."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hope you enjoy the conversation! As always you can subscribe at https://smartspeakers.fm.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Chapters&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;0:00 Welcome and intro&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1:32 First big AI aha moment&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;5:08 Career background&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;7:40 Exploring startup ideas&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;10:34 How WayFaster was born&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;14:21 Initial target markets&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;16:45 Candidate response to AI interviews&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;19:07 Benefits for recruiters and candidates&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;23:30 How AI is transforming recruiting&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;26:51 The two-sided recruiting game&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;31:05 Why Varun is bearish on consumer voice AI&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;35:09 Future generations and AI adoption&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;38:09 Content recommendations and closing&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Links&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://wayfaster.com"&gt;WayFaster Website&lt;/a&gt;: wayfaster.com&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkhurana2/"&gt;Varun Khurana on LinkedIn&lt;/a&gt;: &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkhurana2/"&gt;https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkhurana2/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.southparkcommons.com/"&gt;South Park Commons&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://deepgram.com/"&gt;Deepgram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;* &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://charlesrubenfeld.substack.com/"&gt;Charles Rubenfeld's Newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit &lt;a href="https://www.smartspeakers.fm?utm_medium=podcast&amp;#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1"&gt;www.smartspeakers.fm&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Smart Speakers Podcast

Dave Zohrob & Harish Agarwal

Your AI interviewer will see you now—Varun Khurana, Wayfaster

MAR 31, 202539 MIN
Smart Speakers Podcast

Your AI interviewer will see you now—Varun Khurana, Wayfaster

MAR 31, 202539 MIN

Description

<p>Varun Khurana wants every job candidate to have the best possible chance to prove themselves for every job they apply to. He’s been in the trenches building with voice AI for 2+ years, and had some great nuggets to share:</p><p>* <strong>💬 How Wayfaster started: </strong>“Wayfaster started out as a way to interview your entire pipeline in a couple seconds... the only way you can really do that is using voice AI."</p><p>* <strong>⛔️Why AI video avatars are a no-go: </strong>"We tried avatars and every candidate hated it... I think it just makes candidates feel dumb. It's just like, why am I talking to an avatar? Like how stupid do you think I am?"</p><p>* <strong>📑How AI interviews give candidates a chance: </strong>"Candidates have just gotten really accustomed to getting this default auto-reject email... At least here, I know that if I do a good job on the interview, I have a shot at this opportunity."</p><p>* <strong>🐻Why he’s bearish consumer voice AI: </strong>"I'm actually a little more bearish on the consumer voice AI use cases. I like voice AI in constrained environments, like B2B, there's an amount of intent... I don't think people are going to want to be talking to their phones all the time."</p><p>Hope you enjoy the conversation! As always you can subscribe at https://smartspeakers.fm.</p><p>Chapters</p><p>0:00 Welcome and intro</p><p>1:32 First big AI aha moment</p><p>5:08 Career background</p><p>7:40 Exploring startup ideas</p><p>10:34 How WayFaster was born</p><p>14:21 Initial target markets</p><p>16:45 Candidate response to AI interviews</p><p>19:07 Benefits for recruiters and candidates</p><p>23:30 How AI is transforming recruiting</p><p>26:51 The two-sided recruiting game</p><p>31:05 Why Varun is bearish on consumer voice AI</p><p>35:09 Future generations and AI adoption</p><p>38:09 Content recommendations and closing</p><p></p><p>Links</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://wayfaster.com">WayFaster Website</a>: wayfaster.com</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkhurana2/">Varun Khurana on LinkedIn</a>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkhurana2/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkhurana2/</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.southparkcommons.com/">South Park Commons</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://deepgram.com/">Deepgram</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://charlesrubenfeld.substack.com/">Charles Rubenfeld's Newsletter</a></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.smartspeakers.fm?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">www.smartspeakers.fm</a>