The 7-Failure Rule: How Forethought AI Found Product-Market Fit with Co-Founder Deon Nicholas

Forethought AI co-founder Deon Nicholas shares how he built a company that puts customers (not hype) at the center. In this episode of Build Mode, he unpacks his “7-Failure Rule,” the early experiments that shaped Forethought’s success, and why conviction should always come from your users, not your investors. 

Chapters:

00:00 Intro 

01:23 The Founder Journey: Adapting Every 6-9 Months 

05:33 From AI Research to Solving Business Problems 

11:12 Finding Your Customer: The Importance of User Conversations 

18:22 Building Demos and Landing First Paying Customers 

25:12 The Seven Failure Rule for Product Market Fit 

30:38 Preparing for and Winning TechCrunch Disrupt 

35:16 The Reality of Fundraising and Chasing Metrics 

39:07 Navigating Competition in Customer Service AI 

43:03 Stepping into Chairman and What's Next 

44:57 Outro 

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.