Very cool! I've been wondering why more messaging based assistants based in AI aren't emerging versus human-aided (Magic, Operator, etc.). (I was excited about carla.io but disappointingly it never really worked very well.)
This one is fast but still very natural. The suggested query in the onboarding flow obviously works very well, but I tried to throw it for a loop by asking where I can take a party of 20 for dinner in SF tonight (real problem so if anyone has suggestions would love to hear them!).
The response wasn't tremendously useful, but it was still an intelligible and coherent response (recommended 20 Spot--kind of a smart response actually!).
Asking friends, they've suggested Amici's or Buca Di Beppo so I can imagine the algorithm learning or being taught over time to incorporate characteristics like that (large groups). I like that it's a narrow use case to start--focus on that and build from there. Much more optimistic than the wide and shallow approach of Magic and Operator.
The language models here are still being trained, so there will definitely be things it doesn't understand yet - eg, the fact that "party of 20" should translate into "good for groups". But that's great feedback and glad you liked it!
Veeva Systems (VEEV) took just a touch longer at 6 years and did it with remarkable capital efficiency. Founded 2007. Raised $4m from VCs. IPO in 2013. Opened at $2.4b mkt cap, closed day at $4.5b, $5.6b today.
I just came across their story the other day - really inspiring. I'd love to hear the full story of how they did it. They are in a super specialized market, so I'm guessing that helped.
yes, we are tackling a single vertical, life sciences - with multiple SaaS products. the core vision is the industry cloud.
by being super specialized, the cost of sale is massively lower. no need for an army of sales people. focus is on product and delivery/implementation - once it is proven that your stuff actually works, others take notice in a tightly knit industry.
Great to see both workday and veeva mentioned here, both tri-valley software companies proving that success can come in the Bay Area outside of Silicon Valley and San Fran.
Great post! As a father of a 2.7 yo and a 1.3 yo, I agree with your points and would add the following (among others):
- Having kids makes you a better communicator generally. It's easy to get frustrated with kids and adults when they don't do what you say. Having kids makes you realize that you need to look at yourself first. Repetition matters. Consistency matters. Being the best example of what you want them to be matters. Having high expectations and then doing your part in helping them get there matters. And so on. The maturity that comes with these realizations make you so much more effective in other ways as a communicator.
- Having kids makes you INCREDIBLY efficient. After I had kids, I decided to be home by 6.30p every day with my mind cleared and ready for my family. Per Parkinson's law ("work expands to fill the time you give it"), I figured any level of success can be had while meeting that constraint, provided you (and your environment--a big factor) prioritize accordingly. So I've become incredibly efficient. Once I made efficiency a priority, I realize that improving my thinking was a necessary step. Among other things, I started meditating as a way to improve mental clarity and the ability to switch efficiently between tasks. It's had a huge impact on my life in ways beyond what I intended. I now do more things than I did before I had kids and wonder what I did with all the time I had before I had kids!
Regarding the meditation, it's really interesting - could you tell a bit more about how it has helped you, do you do it every day, how long, what exact meditation technique and where did you learn it?
I've just found my thinking to be much clearer. Meditation is essentially practice in awareness: awareness of your thoughts, awareness of your focus, awareness of your emotions. It doesn't mean being able to ignore or eliminate them, just becoming aware of them and reacting accordingly.
Ideally, I'd like to do it twice a day for 20 mins each, but right now at least I average every other day or so for 20 minutes after the kids are asleep.
I first heard about it when reading stuff by Ray Dalio, founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. He called it the best return on investment he ever made so that piqued my curiosity.
There are a couple of different types of techniques that seem to be variations of each. Transcendental Meditation is possibly the most famous (or notorious). It's expensive and has a "secretive" air to it.
Currently reading nonfiction: Stewart Brand’s Whole Earth Catalog.
Currently reading fiction: The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien.
Finished Tolstoy’s War and Peace in 2020 (pandemic silver lining). Life changing book.