Madrona Partner Vivek Ramaswami hosts May Habib, co-founder and CEO of Writer, a 2023 IA40 winner. Writer is a full-stack generative AI platform for the enterprise. In this episode, May shares her perspective on founding a GenAI company before the ChatGPT craze, building an enterprise-grade product and go-to-market motion with 200% NRR, whether RAG and vector DBs even have a role in the enterprise, the essential attributes she looks for when hiring, and some valuable lessons she learned from past experiences. It's a must listen for anyone building in AI.

Transcript: https://www.madrona.com/writer-ceo-may-habib-generative-ai-platform

(00:00) Introduction

(01:00) The founding story of Writer

(01:19) Understanding Writer's product and value proposition

(02:58) The importance of building your own AI models

(07:10) The role of vector databases and RAG in enterprise 

(12:41) Navigating the challenges of enterprise sales in AI

(16:43) The essential attributes May looks for when hiring 

(19:13) The journey of building a high-growth AI company

(29:27) Final thoughts and hiring at Writer