ai
Learn how the smartest people in the world are using AI to think, create, and relate. Each week I interview founders, filmmakers, writers, investors, and others about how they use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Midjourney in their work and in their lives. We screen-share through their historical chats and then experiment with AI live on the show. Join us to discover how AI is changing how we think about our world—and ourselves. For more essays, interviews, and experiments at the forefront of AI: https://every.to/chain-of-thought?sort=newest.
Chris, co-founder and CEO of Granola, suggests that the initial hype around AI meeting notes is just the beginning of a larger computing revolution. He believes the current state of AI applications will pale in comparison to what's coming next, focusing on how work interfaces will evolve in an AI-native world.
Granola CEO Chris shared his perspective on the inherent difficulty of startups, stating that they are 'knife fights' regardless of whether they are succeeding or failing. He admitted he was unprepared for the intensity of managing a successful startup, likening it to desperately trying not to fall off a surfboard during a big wave.
Dan, CEO of Every, highlighted the rapid pace of change in the AI industry, mentioning the recent release of Claude's Slack agent. He emphasized the need for companies to be prepared for quick shifts and to build on foundational elements that will be important for the future.
Chris, CEO of Granola, addressed the issue of competitors copying their AI meeting notes feature, including Notion, OpenAI, and Zoom. He takes a long-term view, stating that current competition is less important than capturing future opportunities in the evolving AI landscape. He also noted that they were inspired by earlier meeting note-taking AI.
Chris, CEO of Granola, identified a significant challenge in scaling the 'soul' or consistent, coherent feel of their product as the team grows. He finds it difficult to maintain this quality while also benefiting from a larger team working on complex problems.
Dan, CEO of Every, shared a mental model for structuring early-stage product teams, dividing roles into 'pirate' and 'architect.' The pirate focuses on rapid development to find value, while the architect pairs with them to ensure sustainability and scalability.
Chris, CEO of Granola, discussed the significant challenge of scaling his team from a previous startup of 12 people to their current size of between 16 and 70. He highlighted organizing humans and maintaining product coherence as key difficulties in this growth phase.