This Week in NoCode + AI From Stanford, to Google, to CEO of AI Agent Platform with Jacob Bank
11 snips
Apr 13, 2025 Jacob Bank, founder and CEO of Relay App, is a former Google product lead for Gmail and Calendar. He discusses his transition from academia to entrepreneurship, shedding light on his experiences at Google and the challenges of AI integration. Jacob also emphasizes the growing importance of no-code tools and how they bridge the gap with AI agents. A live demo showcases Relay App’s workflow capabilities, while insights into navigating corporate and startup environments offer listeners valuable entrepreneurial reflections.
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Early AI Calendar Insight
- Jacob Bank discovered early in his PhD that digital calendars lacked ways to represent important but non-fixed tasks.
- This led him to focus on AI for better time management, blending social science and productivity interests.
Pivot from Research to Startup
- Jacob dropped out of his Stanford PhD to start Timeful, an AI-powered calendar app with high user ratings but unclear monetization.
- The company was later acquired by Google, proving his pivot from research to product was successful.
Big Company PMs Less Startup Ready
- Being a product manager at a large company like Google may provide the worst preparation for starting a startup.
- This is because large-scale product management differs greatly from the agility and breadth required in startups.