The Exchanges

Q I've had over the last two, three years was, uh, you can see when companies don't really make a concerted effort to pivot or rebuild or, or embrace AI, and you can tell either by what they're posting about online, who they're engaging with, like how their products are developing, but you guys did make that concerted effort. What was that process for you internally, especially with your customers too?

A I mean, it was really hard. Um, there were a lot, there was specifically one really, really big deal that we wanted to close, and it was going to take up, like, 90% of our resources, um, and it was really hard to figure out, like, okay, how do we end up, like, taking, how do we end up finding resources to start building for the future instead of just building for right now, and thankfully, even though it was honestly at the time really hard, the deal paused for a month, and during that time, we actually got a lot done. We, we, like, finalized the idea that for our, like, Second product, which was the Merge Agent Handler. Um, we also started really aggressively leading into AI coding, so Gil and I, like, paused back on the keyboard, like, using Cloud Code really aggressively, using Windsurf really aggressively, so we could also learn how to code, um, with AI, and that, that month actually really transformed the business, because with us having first-hand knowledge of how powerful AI is from zero to one, it allowed us to see what was possible with our existing products as well.

AI assessment note: “during that time, we actually got a lot done. We, we, like, finalized the idea”

Q That's so interesting. So what is, I mean, I guess to distill that down further, what is the sales experience in the AI world? Like, people just don't, like, they don't really know what they want? We have to be pretty prescriptive.

A We have to say, like, oh, we've seen this from other customers, like, this, these are, like, best practices are. Um, a lot of times they don't have experience with like partnerships for these different integrations. They're not sure like what the best end user experience is. So we'll just, we have to use our experience to kind of guide them through the best way to build. Um, but also a lot of these AI companies, they purchase much faster, uh, like a large financial services, like the deal cycles are definitely just longer. Um, for SaaS platforms, shorter because sometimes we're selling to an existing product that already has product market fit. If it's a newer product, they're also like a little bit unsure of what adoption might look like. And for these large AI companies, it's, it's really fast. Um, because the competition is just so fierce.

AI assessment note: “we have to use our experience to kind of guide them through”

Q So I think you guys have been a little bit humble. I know, and I think these are some of your customers. So some of your customers are names like OpenAI, Perplexity, Netflix, Uber, Mistral, Dropbox, Freshworks, and more. So how did that happen?

A Yeah, a lot of work. Like, it was very, a lot of work. Yeah. Um, when we first got started, especially because we were infrastructure, a lot of startups, like, were very scared to use us. I remember talking to Ramp, and they were, I think, like, a hundred employees at the time, um, and we were really scared to onboard them because our product was so, like, early. And, um, yeah, it's, it's, we've obviously gone, like, a long way since then, and obviously they've grown a lot on us as well. And, yeah, we just, We've had to adapt the company a lot. Like, I think after our Series B, we made a really concerted effort to move up market, segment our team, um, have a more mature sales motion, and also just make sure our product was really enterprise ready, and that was really hard, but, like, last year was really when it all started kicking in.

AI assessment note: “after our Series B, we made a really concerted effort to move up market”

Q Can I ask this? What are the most popular connections?

A Yeah, I mean, it's just like general, like, productivity tools, like ticketing systems, um, like file storage systems, like Google Drive, Box, Dropbox. Um, also people are really, obviously, like, messaging systems are very common just for, like, automation of, um, communication. Um, email is very popular. Also, like, code repositories are very popular. But yeah, just, like, general, general, like, productivity tools. There are more specific, um, connectors that are very popular for specific functions. So, like, obviously for accounting, it's, like, the, like, most common accounting systems, like, QuickBooks, NetSuite, um, Xero. Marketing teams also are starting to use a lot of different platforms, too, like, HubSpot, um, like, A, H, R, I don't even know how to say this one, but yeah, like, all these, like, different, like, um, GEO, different platforms, too, um, but yeah, just overall, like, it, it, everything is getting connected, and even if there isn't, even if there isn't a public MCP server, we'll generally, we specifically create our own tools, so that's not, like, a blocker for anyone.

AI assessment note: “productivity tools, like ticketing systems, um, like file storage systems, like Google Drive”

Q So we talked about this a little bit off camera, but we were talking about talent and recruiting, and you were saying some of your best hires came, like, off cycle, not through, like, fundraisers and that kind of thing. What do you look for in talent, and what are those kinds of traits?

A I mean, you, you have to actually be interested in what we're building. Like, if you're only joining because, like, you know, like, you think you're really hot, it's gonna be easy, or, like, um, you think you're just gonna, like, only make a lot of money, and you can just coast, that's just not the company that we are That we are, and for most companies, um, that's just not a great fit. So it's really just, like, hiring missionaries versus mercenaries and filtering for that, and it is hard. Like, I think during, like, the period, like, the more upfront you are about how hard it is to do company building, the more you're able to weed out the people that are just trying to coast and just, like, ride on your coattails and not do anything. Um, but yeah, I mean, it is hard, and, like, it's interesting to see, like, all these, like, people joining, bouncing from company to company to company where they think it'll be really easy, because once something gets hard, they're just gonna abandon you.

AI assessment note: “So it's really just, like, hiring missionaries versus mercenaries and filtering for that”

Q in the AI world, like, everyone is so AI-pilled, but it is evolving so fast. You guys made a concerted effort, again, to, like, rebuild and pivot towards these new opportunities, but how do you see that playing out, especially because you've, you've been founding companies for a while, like, how do you see this next generation evolve? Like, do you think people will be able to adapt like that?

A I, I just think, I think it'll be hard. Like, I think right now it's very much easy mode for a lot of these companies, and, but every year, from what we've seen, like, we started a company in twenty-twenty, and I hear, like, everyone says, like, the year they started is the hardest year, but, like, when we started in twenty-twenty, it was, like, peak COVID, and we fundraised when people weren't even used to doing Zoom meetings, um, and that was, like, very hard, and then the year after, like, then, like, everyone was fundraising crazy, the year after, everyone died, and then after that, like, then it became just, like, crazy again, um, and so, Yeah, I just think you need to really learn how to adjust regardless of what happens with the market, and I think Benioff's really good at it, and I think a lot of these people are not going to be used to that.

AI assessment note: “I think it'll be hard. Like, I think right now it's very much easy mode”