Des Traynor - Real Talk about AI and Software - [Invest Like the Best, EP.340]

My guest today is Des Traynor. Des is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Intercom - a customer service solution that helps businesses answer product questions, offer instant support, and automate sales. The business was founded in 2011 and its products operate within 25,000 businesses, including the likes of Amazon, Lyft and Atlassian. Our conversation is roughly split in half. First, we talk about AI and how it’s actually changing businesses like Intercom through products such as their OpenAI powered bot called Fin. We then talk about Des’s views as an investor, which includes an answer about software that I’ll remember for a long time. Please enjoy my conversation with Des Traynor.

Listen to Founders Podcast

Founders Episode 311: James Cameron

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

(00:03:42) - (First question) - Des's high level thoughts on Open AI and new technology

(00:07:07) - Advanced AI tech for existing businesses versus start-ups ventures 

(00:11:14) - Where Intercom falls on the spectrum of existing and new AI technology 

(00:13:16) - Training AI to be tailored to specific fields of work

(00:18:25) - The natural end point is for Intercom incorporating AI  

(00:22:25) - Des's product philosophy behind this technology

(00:24:03) - Choosing an AI provider that best suited his customer service industry needs

(00:26:55) - The value comparison between using AI-led customer service versus human

(00:29:18) - Why outsourcing automated data is not for everyone

(00:31:15) - Des's advice for other companies beginning to integrate AI into their operations  

(00:36:33) - What he is excited for as an investor in this area

(00:37:50) - The most common discussions he’s having about this technology

(00:41:21) - The inherent risks of using AI models that are not 100% accurate 

(00:45:10) - Des's evolution as an investor

(00:48:25) - How Intercom solved it’s AI execution problems

(00:50:46) - Combating other companies that are trying to overtake the field 

(00:53:44) - Counter arguments for using AI technology  

(00:57:22) - His view on the best software out there

(01:03:00) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him