Training Data n8n CEO Jan Oberhauser on Building the Universal AI Automation Layer
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Aug 26, 2025 Jan Oberhauser, Founder and CEO of n8n, shares his insights on transforming his company into a leading AI automation platform. He discusses the strategic shift that led to four times revenue growth by connecting any LLM to applications, highlighting the importance of community engagement and transparency. Jan introduces the Model Context Protocol for advanced AI workflows and touches on the significance of open-source practices. He also reflects on the challenges of expanding into the US and mentions tools like Granola that fuel productivity.
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Turn Threat Into Value-Chain Opportunity
- Jan saw AI as either an existential threat or the biggest opportunity and chose to become part of the AI value chain.
- He transformed n8n from adding features to enabling people to build AI-powered applications.
Prioritize Community Over Short-Term Leads
- Double down on what already drives adoption instead of forcing lead-generation metrics that misalign incentives.
- Jan removed lead goals and focused marketing on community adoption and content to drive long-term growth.
Flight-Time Prototyping
- Jan used long flights to prototype product ideas and built early AI Nodes work on a flight from San Francisco.
- He still prototypes MVPs on travel time but avoids production coding on dodgy Wi-Fi.