Grit Inside the AI Startup Making Customer Support 65% Cheaper
26 snips
Sep 21, 2026 
Jesse Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Decagon, builds agentic AI for enterprise customer support and previously founded a company acquired by Niantic. He discusses scaling from 50 to 500 employees, preserving culture through rapid growth, and shifting from generalists to specialists. He also explores escaping the startup idea maze, recognizing product-market fit, choosing co-founders and investors, and giving customers ownership of their AI systems.
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Decagon Learned When To Hire Ahead
- Decagon initially hired only when pain became undeniable, preserving a lean team despite strong demand.
- Jesse later recognized that scaling required planned hiring because reactive recruiting could not support rapid growth.
Growth Makes Hiring Standards Harder To Protect
- Rapid growth makes maintaining hiring standards harder than attracting candidates.
- Decagon added late-stage bar-raiser interviews focused on culture, intensity, and judgment as the company approached 500 employees.
A Fast-Growing Startup Becomes New Every Quarter
- Jesse described Decagon as feeling like a new company every quarter or two while scaling.
- He and Joubin found reassurance in realizing that even experienced founders are improvising in unprecedented markets.