Daniel Ahmadizadeh's website. Brooklyn-based startup founder and teacher.

Hi, I’m Daniel - I’m currently growing Crustdata, a Y Combinator startup building the Google for AI agents.

I also teach entrepreneurship at Columbia University and Stanford University. Over the last 10+ years I've been the CEO of two Y Combinator backed startups. My expertise is getting new products launched and changing the trajectory of existing ones.

I have helped lead three companies to over $1M+ in annual recurring revenue and my work has been recognized in major publications like WSJ, The Today Show, and NPR. I'm honored to have been invited to speak on startups at Harvard, Princeton, and TED (where I was a TED Resident). Beyond building, I also angel invest and coach founders. I was the very first investor in Motion after their YC batch at seed, now a $550M company.

Why do I teach? My dream is to change the way entrepreneurship is taught around the world, shifting it from theoretical to practical. Over the last three years, I’ve taught 500+ students, and my hope is that each one leaves the classroom more confident to pursue not only their projects, but also their next steps in life.

My framework, Start With One, focuses on solving a problem first for one person, as they can be the microcosm of an entire market. It shifts entrepreneurship from idea-led to problem-led, transforming theoretical personas into actual human beings.

Start With One has guided students and founders to launch new ventures and measure their impact. See testimonials here. Join my weekly Start With One office hours to get live startup advice.

When I’m not working on Crustdata, I love focusing on health goals and spending time with my family. I’m also a Columbia Business School alum. Here are some of my values and a preview of the book I’ll publish next year. Feel free to add comments to it directly!