00:00:09 Archita: You know, sometimes innovation doesn't begin with technology. It begins with the feeling that something in the world doesn't quite make sense the way it is. Maybe it's a design that doesn't fit, a system that doesn't work, or a future that hasn't been imagined yet. And every once in a while, someone looks at that gap and decides not just to fix it, but to redesign reality itself. Today, we are exploring that intersection where philosophy, creativity, and technology meet to shape entirely new possibilities. Welcome to our. Our room. the space where we explore the invisible forces shaping how we think, create, and build the future. I'm your host, and today I am joined by Pete Polyakov, founder of Mods Nation, the world's largest 3D automotive tuning platform. And Avia borrows a custom Porsche design house. Pete's journey is fascinating, with a background spanning philosophy, architecture, film, and software. He approaches technology not just as a tool, but as a way of reimagining how reality itself can be experienced. Today, we will explore what happens when deep thinking meets creative technology and how that combination can change entire industries. Pete, welcome to our room.

00:01:40 Pete Polyakov : Thank you for having me today.

00:01:42 Archita: Thank you for being here. And yeah, Pete, um, to start, Your background includes philosophy, architecture, film and now technology. So when you look back, do you see these as separate chapters or were they always pointing toward the same deeper curiosity?

00:02:04 Pete Polyakov : Well, you know, I grew up between scientists. My both parents are scientists. So it kind of was like natural way to look to fundamental science. And for me, philosophy was one of the most, you know, desirable ones because it gives you an ability to look at the current events from a little distance. So that part was a natural. And, uh, others were kind of consequential, um, because it was born out of curiosity into something. And then I raised a question to myself, do I just want to be an observer or I want to learn that field and a little bit deeper fundamental level. And this is how that happened. You know, usually very curiosity, you know, leads you. That's where you go.

00:03:01 Archita: MM. I'd say that philosophy and technology is rather fascinating combination, but I'm really excited, excited to learn more about, you know, how you you merge these two identities together. So it's really interesting because it sounds like the common thread isn't really the industry. It's the way you see systems and possibilities. And that brings us to something many people misunderstand about innovation. So I'm, I'm curious about this. Many people think that innovation is about sudden breakthroughs or genius ideas. But in your experience, does innovation actually begin somewhere much quieter, maybe with Noticing what doesn't feel right.

00:03:50 Pete Polyakov : Well, see, uh, like we hear that a lot when people travel and they see different parts of the world, they have a little bit wider understanding of how life and culture and other people can be. Um, and I think it's also applicable to science and knowledge as well. When you learn certain things, for example, um, philosophy gives you a great ability to zoom out at any moment of your life or even at any moment of the process, you know, because, uh, it is kind of hard to observe anything if you're inside of that. So, and when it comes to my current focus, I think all that helps at the same exact time, because philosophy gives me the ability to zoom out and architecture also to some degree does that because when you design a house, you never design a wall, you design the entire house and maybe an entire landscape. So you constantly, you know, have to a little bit look from the distance. And technology is just a tool. What can, you know, implement those thoughts and those desires and even exploration along the way. So I think all of that kind of like mix, you know, like that mixing part was very, very important. When you work at in any field, you know, it just enrich you and gives you like different perspective. So as we spoke just before about the culture, right? When we look at certain events, what's happening, you know, we like we can zoom a little bit out and see what exactly it could be. So I think it's all of that is important. And in technology, especially, um, and today, as you and me know, it's a lot of going on in the AI field, but, you know, maybe disturbing. And when people have a lack of, you know, different experience, including, uh, the backgrounds, uh, I think we, you know, can be quite a dangerous place. So, you know, that that helps every day, every day that helps. And I cannot say something is not important because for example, my, uh, my old friend, he became a priest. He was actually a scientist, you know, very well educated. Uh, and he became decided to become a priest, but his PhD in, uh, math, how all of that combines together. And then he called me one day and he said, you know what? I'm building a church right now with my bare hands. And I never would imagine what, you know, math background would help me at all in what I do. But I need to, you know, finish the roof structure on top of the church. And I would never, ever be able to do that if I wouldn't have a such background. So sometimes we don't know, you know, how applicable, you know, certain knowledge is in our lives, but it definitely, you know, widen the perspective in whatever you do.

00:07:06 Archita: And I'm glad that philosophy, you know, helps you look at the world from that wider perspective. It's, it's really powerful what you just shared because it suggests that innovation isn't just about invention, it's about perception. And let's stay with that for a moment. Uh, when you build Mods Nation, what was the moment where the problem became so obvious that you couldn't just ignore it anymore?

00:07:35 Pete Polyakov : So, uh, as you probably know, all of us buy some products online. They look at the, they look at the pictures and we're like, oh, that kind of looks good. And then when we receive it, it's nothing like what you purchased, right? It happened probably to all of us. Um, and about seven years ago, um, I bought, you know, I started with money and I bought really nice body kit for my car. And then I found myself on the driveway trying to fit that thing together. First of all, it didn't fit. And secondly, when I looked back, you know, when I stepped out a little bit out and look at that, I realized it doesn't even look good. And, you know, I think my wife walked outside and she, she kind of laughed and she said, well, family money spent well. And, uh, it kind of led me to thinking about that in a little bit wider perspective because then I said, well, it's not really my problem. It's actually a problem of many because, uh, when I look at the things on the pictures, obviously they prepared, uh, for such. And I'm making, uh, wrong judgment about how all that will look together, especially on my car. And, um, uh, such decisions usually when it comes to decoration, you know, when it comes to, you know, change the way how your car looks. It's always personal. It's always kind of collaboration with the, uh, whatever the medium you got. Right. So I said, let me because I had a quite, uh, experience in 3D, let me 3D model that in the next time, whatever I buy, I did. And you know, the result of me imagining how that will look. And actually when I got something and put it on the car, I literally met my expectations. And then I said, okay. Then my friends asked me to do that for them. They're like, oh, can you do this for me? And I did, and just a little bit later, I found myself. It turned into factory. When we have quarter million parts on the platform and over six hundred cars. So it kind of was in the blink of an eye. But yeah, that's I think that's where I started when I just realized, um, something doesn't work. And I realized it's not because the part, it's not because the company, it just, we don't really see the result in front of us. And that was important at that moment. So this is how it started.

00:10:19 Archita: So, uh, the idea wasn't born in a lab. It came from a real frustration. And often those lived, lived experiences become the seeds of transformation. So yeah, that brings me to the point. Your work seems to sit at the intersection of design, philosophy and engineering. So I'm curious, do you think the best creators are actually pattern watchers, people who notice how systems behave before trying to change them.

00:10:52 Pete Polyakov : You know, a lot of people who change their sport, usually musicians. That's very weird, but it's absolutely true. Like a lot of like people who change the world, they are musicians and also engineers. Um, all of us studied music. Uh, but, um, I think like probably the best products of what you see around the world and best things everywhere made. It's what kind of play of mind first. You know, when you imagine how these things will look like and what's the purpose of them? And then they, you know, turn into a real form. So I think it is kind of important, uh, because, uh, otherwise you just try something in the empty space, you know, you just throwing something and it might work or not. By the way, our platform works that way, where you as a manufacturer, you can put something on the platform, but you didn't even produce yet. So it's kind of like reproducing a little bit. That mine process, right? Um, you're putting in 3D the something that you never even produced yet, and you didn't even spend time on a deep engineering. So it's just a sketch. And then you put it on the platform and you see the immediate result because you can, you know, see how people use your part, how they, you know, interact with that. Do they pre-order these things or not? So I think to some degree, I kind of recreated that process, what you were talking about on the platform. But for me, you're absolutely right. It is kind of starts there, but, you know, magically, kind of technologically, we created the product with a little bit mimics that process and ease because then as an outcome, you immediately know, uh, if that project or that part or that, you know, product will work at all or not. And then you make a decision, you know, is it going to see the world or not? So our mind as well.

00:13:04 Archita: That perspective feels almost philosophical observing before acting. And I love how you mentioned, um, musicians in that this is so true. Oftentimes we see, you know, um, a musician observing things and then maybe writing a song, composing music. So that is a really great example. And, um, like I said in the beginning of this conversation, uh, I'm really curious to know how you merge philosophy and technology together. So did studying philosophy shape the way you approach building technology today?

00:13:42 Pete Polyakov : Well. I think in the core of that, who am I building this for? And I'm building for people, you know, and philosophy focused more or less on that. Um, then I'm asking like fundamental questions, why am I doing that for who I'm doing that because for me, it's not really, you know, the side of effect of that it become a business. But in the core of that, it was focused as a car culture. So, um, I think all that really affects in a way how you present how you build your business. For example, my company, uh, it's not a regular way how people are organized, uh, you know, such structures, but it's, uh, employed, uh, own company. And the reason why I did that because, uh, I said I want to be surrounded by equal people. I don't want to be surrounded by people who I cannot really share whatever's going on in my life. And unfortunately, that's what you see in the corporate world every day where, you know, people who in executive positions, they walk into the rooms and they cannot really talk about anything because they just bought a Ferrari. And, you know, the guys around them just, you know, making another paycheck just to pay rent or, you know, put some food on the table and feed their own kids. So I think it's kind of all that affects, in a way, how you want to see your products, how you want to see your business look like. And, um, um, I think all of that affects, you know, it's kind of like culture. It's a kind of system of taboo, what you cannot do. Right. And philosophy kind of like top layer on that. Uh, and I think that's, you know, deeply affects everywhere. The moment you imprint, you got imprinted in such forms. Uh, I think it's just follows you along everywhere.

00:15:58 Archita: Yeah. That that really makes a lot of sense. And, uh, you know, philosophy often asks the deeper question, which really starts everything. Like, why does this system exist the way it does? Or like you said, um, who am I doing this for? So yeah, when, when someone starts asking that entirely new models can emerge from it. So for many people listening, building something innovative feels distant or intimidating. But in reality, big ideas often begin in very ordinary moments. So what does the day to day process of turning a vision into a working platform actually look like?

00:16:42 Pete Polyakov : Well, uh, you probably have seen a lot of millionaires on this, like, really great podcasts talking about, uh, please focus on something what you love. I agree with that. But there's a kind of like, you know, it's kind of like half truth in all of these things because in order for you, you know, do what you love, it's a very narrow vision of actually what you do. Even you do what you love, right? Because there are some routine exist. Um, and it's, it's unfortunate, it's an unavoidable, um, in your process. Um, and, uh, for us, one of the challenging things was not really 3D or the cars. So it has to make a system that will work well. Um, because when you have a just few parts, that's totally fine. But when you have a quarter million parts, it's completely different ballgame. And uh, Usually what I see, it's, uh, you know, when we start to work on something new, thing we like address. What is this for? How it's going to work and how it's applicable in every single day, and then how to make sure what it will be the right reflection of what is happening. Because that's the core, the core idea, right? So people can know upfront what they're going to deal with. And I think that the daily routine is how to make that giant system to work in such a structural way, what it will reflect just a reality. When you deal with the virtual stuff, you also deal with the real things and there's no difference. And I think that's our daily needs. Uh, for example, right now we just developed, uh, one of the things that probably not really that high necessity in the crowd, but, um, one of the things, what we always see on the major, um, you know, cart developers, uh, like, you know, BMW, Porsches and all of them actually, uh, they put their cars in the air tunnel just to see the flow. And technically that's really designed for, you know, many things like performance stability, you know, like fuel efficiency and many other things. But one thing that exists in the aftermarket field, uh, people just design something randomly and then they put it and sometimes they say, well, let's test it on the track some, most of the time it's foolishness. It's not true. Uh, but then we said, well, how about we will help our people, uh, to actually see the results immediately? Is it really, you know, efficient? Is it really aerodynamically done? Well, so we created the air tunnel. Digital air tunnel where people can see, uh, how their whatever they buy. How it will perform on the street or on a track or and so on. Right. And then coming back to your question, you know how it really looks like. We decided to build a real one. First. We said, well, we know in principle how it works and we know we've seen some digital results, but we want to build something real. What will actually, you know, will mimic the reality. And it should not be, uh, you know, too scientific. So it should be absolutely founded on the science, but it should not be overcomplicated. So it should give you immediate results. You should not wait. It should be real time and so on. Right? So we had to build a real one because how, how else we would understand how it works because just watching video, not enough. We built a real one. And then we found, you know, the technology basis because we kind of had to create the innovation there because there's no such a thing exists as a real time. Um, you know, the air tunnel because it's a lot of complicated calculations. So we had to break through that and then, uh, give people a sense, what if you buy in that, you know, and if you want to see not just, you know, because people want to feel that assurance, what they bind the right thing. And a good example for that. Uh, about twenty years ago, um, I worked for a company, they were selling refurbished laptops. And, uh, part of the game was what, uh, my profit was dependent on how much I will sell. Uh, I solved the problem, the amount, it was pretty easy. But then I said, how can I raise the price? of the product, and refurbished laptops were common with these gray, boring box almost industrial one. And I said if I will put the beautiful design on just on the box, how that will work. And I think it cost me one dollar fifty cents or something per box. So I put these two laptops just as an experiment on the table in front of the customer. And I said to that customer, what inside of that box? Both of them. Exactly the same thing. The only thing this one certified locally and that one just comes with, you know, general, uh, general, um, warranty. And, you know, to my surprise, about sixty percent of people were like, kind of like, you feel like uneasy and they like, let me get that. The colorful one. So pretty much they were not understanding what they're buying. And, uh, they just wanted to feel that assurance. Whatever they're buying, it makes sense, right? And, uh, I think that experience in the past gave me understanding of what when people buy and when they looked, you know, at a certain thing, uh, from many, many angles, you know, and I'm not talking about dimensional angles, but generally then they have more satisfaction with whatever they buy. They're quite surprised there because, um, what I learned is a daily routine. When we do that, the loyalty to the brand increase. So if before, uh, if you made a mistake and, um, uh, you know, you buying something from the, from anywhere and for some reason you made the mistake, not even the platform, not even the product. You just made a mistake. What you do when you write a review, You saying, you know, it's good product, but I made the mistake. Sometimes people even admit that and therefore I cannot give you five stars. I'm just going to give you three, you know. And at that moment you just say, okay, well, how is that fault of the brand? How is that fault of the platform? How is the fault of anyone? And when you're given a little bit more understanding to the customer what you're dealing with actually loyalty rates. So just to summarize all that, the daily basis, it's sometimes you need to go the entire, like, you know, like literally rudimental level of the whatever you're working with actually just to make it work. So whatever that looks fun and, you know, easy on the outside, the daily basis of that, you really dive in all the way on the fundamental, like, for example, build real air tunnel. Who would do that? Right? Uh, and then you deliver it in the most Simplified way to the audience. So I think that's kind of like everyday routine for us.

00:24:46 Archita: Wow, that is all very fascinating to hear because you have entirely, you know, changed our perspective on technology and how it actually works in the day to day life. It's so refreshing to hear because this, this really demystifies the process, and the tension between the vision and doubt seems to be part of every meaningful journey. So yeah, this has been truly a very interesting conversation and I'm sure our listeners feel the same way. So for listeners who want to explore your work or learn more about what you're building, where can they find you?

00:25:26 Pete Polyakov : Well, uh, if you guys have a car, welcome to Mods Nation. Just go there, try any ideas. It's absolutely free. You don't have to buy anything. Uh, just have fun with that. And, you know, for us, as long as that project brings fun and our personal level and the joy people who want that, you know, that's totally cool. So we don't need any, we don't do transactional, you know, business. We do more like fun and experiential business. So if you guys, uh, you know, have a car, you want to try something, maybe just a different color, maybe different wheels or whatever all of you welcome. Because it's, you know, I think more than likely your car on the platform and we have a lot of things to, to experience with. So please come to have fun and hopefully that will work for you.

00:26:15 Archita: We'll make sure to include those links in the episode description so listeners can explore further and have fun. And if there's one thing this conversation reminds us of is that innovation doesn't start with technology. It starts with curiosity and the courage to see the world differently. So thank you, Pete, for this amazing conversation. And to everyone listening, if today's conversation sparked something in you, maybe take a moment to notice the systems around you, the tools you use, the problems you see, the ideas waiting quietly in the background. Sometimes the next breakthrough begins simply by asking, what if this could be different? Thank you for spending this time with us on all our room. Until next time, stay curious.