We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our April cohort. 2 spots left.
Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Ashish Nagar, founder and CEO of Level AI, a contact center software platform that has raised $35 million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- Ashish’s Path to Level AI: From a product manager on Amazon’s Alexa team, where he spearheaded early conversational AI efforts, to founding Level AI, Ashish’s journey is a testament to his deep involvement in the evolution of AI technology.
- The Renaissance of Conversational AI: Ashish describes the current period as a golden age for conversational AI, driven by rapid advancements and new research ideas. Despite the progress, he highlights ongoing challenges like understanding fiction and managing long dialogues.
- Learning from Amazon: Ashish credits his time at Amazon with shaping his approach to business and entrepreneurship, particularly highlighting the importance of bias for action, the effectiveness of small teams, and a relentless focus on customer centricity.
- Level AI’s Mission: As a contact center intelligence platform, Level AI aims to revolutionize how brands handle customer service by providing insights and improving service performance without relying on bots for interactions.
- The Future of Customer Support: Ashish predicts significant advancements in automating customer service workflows, while emphasizing the enduring role of humans in providing complex support and decision-making.
- Augmenting Human Productivity: The vision for Level AI extends beyond improving customer service to enhancing the productivity of millions of frontline workers, underscoring a broader impact on work and efficiency in various sectors.
Actionable
Takeaways
Embrace the Power of Small Teams:
Ashish's observation about the impact of small teams at Amazon, especially in driving significant outcomes with limited resources, underscores an actionable strategy for tech startups. By focusing on lean operations and empowering small, agile teams, companies can achieve remarkable efficiency and innovation.
Bias for Action:
Drawing from his experiences at Amazon, Ashish highlights the importance of moving quickly and focusing on impactful actions. Startups should cultivate a culture where rapid experimentation and a focus on execution are valued over prolonged deliberation, thereby accelerating growth and learning.
Customer Centricity as a Core Value:
Ashish's emphasis on customer centricity being deeply embedded in Amazon's culture serves as a reminder that truly putting the customer first goes beyond lip service. Making every decision with the customer's best interest in mind can question and challenge the status quo, leading to better products and services.
Focus on Problems That Matter:
Level AI's success in the contact center space stems from identifying and addressing a real, unsolved problem — enhancing customer service through AI without replacing human interaction. This approach of solving meaningful problems that no one else can address is a critical takeaway for founders looking to make a lasting impact in their industries.
Educating the Market is Key:
As Level AI navigates the process of defining a new category within customer service intelligence, the importance of education becomes clear. Startups often need to not only innovate but also play a significant role in educating their potential market about the value and utility of their solutions, especially when carving out a new niche or redefining an existing one.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
CEO of Eloqua
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
Adrien Menard
CEO and Co-Founder of Botify
Adrien Menard, CEO and Co-Founder of Botify: $82 Million Raised to Build the Future of SEO
Patrick Woods
CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit
Patrick Woods, CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit: Over $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Communities
Parry Bedi
Co-Founder and CEO of Tingono
Parry Bedi, CEO of Tingono: $7 Million Raised to Help Companies Boost Net Revenue Retention
Sam Fonoimoana
Founder & CEO of Datajoin
Sam Fonoimoana, Founder & CEO of Datajoin: $3.5 Million Raised to Help Brands Leverage Customer Behavioral Insights
Jonas Rinde
CEO of Nomono
Jonas Rinde, CEO of Nomono: $15 million Raised to Power the Future of Podcasting
Ori Entis
CEO and Co-Founder of Staircase AI
Ori Entis, CEO and Co-Founder of Staircase AI: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Customer Revenue Growth
Taylor Lint
CEO and Founder of Swantide
Taylor Lint, CEO and Founder of Swantide: $7 Million Raised to Revolutionize How Companies Design and Build Their GTM Infrastructure
Chris Strahl
CEO of Knapsack
Chris Strahl, CEO of Knapsack: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Design Systems
Andy Mowat
CEO and Co-Founder of Gated
Andy Mowat, CEO and Co-Founder of Gated: Over $3 Million Raised to Build Noise Cancelling Headphones for Email
Pierce Ujjainwalla
CEO of Knak
Pierce Ujjainwalla, CEO of Knak: $25 Million Raised to Empower Enterprise Marketers with Codeless Email and Landing Page Creation
Thomas Millay
CEO of DemandJump
Thomas Millay, CEO at DemandJump: Over $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Content Strategy
Tom Lee
Co-Founder of LOVO AI
Tom Lee, Co-Founder of LOVO AI: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI Voiceovers
Tine Karlsen
Co-Founder & CEO of Vev
Tine Karlsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Vev: $7 Million Raised to Power the Future of No-Code Visual Design
Leena Joshi
Co-founder and CEO of CloseFactor
Leena Joshi, CEO of CloseFactor: $15+ Million Raised to Automate Repetitive Sales Processes
Creating the Go to Market Category with ZoomInfo’s Bryan Law
CMO of ZoomInfo
Creating the Go to Market Category with ZoomInfo’s Bryan Law
Alex Reynolds
Alex Reynolds, CEO & Co-Founder of Vendelux: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Event Intelligence
Daniel Erickson
Founder and CEO of Viable
Daniel Erickson, CEO of Viable: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Customer Feedback Analysis
CEO and Co-Founder of Sendoso
Creating the Sending Management Category with Sendoso’s Kris Rudeegraap
Sam Mallikarjunan
Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen
Sam Mallikarjunan, Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of Offline Advertising
Jonathan Legge
Co-Founder and CEO of &Open
Jonathan Legge, Co-Founder and CEO at &Open: Over $35 Million Raised to Create the Future of Corporate Gifting
Chris Golec
CEO and Co-Founder of Channel99
Chris Golec, CEO and Co-Founder of Channel99: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of B2B Marketing
Tyler Strand
Co-Founder and CTO of Air
Tyler Strand, Co-Founder and CTO at Air: $38 Million raised to Build the Creative Operations Category
Sangram Vajre
Co Founder and CEO of GTM Partners
Behind the Category: Creating the Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Category with Sangram Vajre
Jared Siegal
CEO and Founder of Aditude
Jared Siegal, CEO and Founder of Aditude: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Publisher Monetization
Hikari Senju
CEO and Founder of Omneky
Hikari Senju, CEO and Founder of Omneky: $10 Million Raised to Empower Brands With AI-Powered Ads To Maximize Performance
Michael Bamberger
CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights
Michael Bamberger, CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights: $7 Million Raised to Power the Future of Qualitative Research
Ishveen Jolly
CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship
Ishveen Jolly, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship: Over $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Sports Influencer Marketing
Marc Bernstein
CEO and Founder of Balto
Marc Bernstein, CEO and Founder of Balto: $52 Million Raised to Power the Future of Contact Centers