Gamma’s Jon Noronha on how early-stage startups can challenge industry incumbents | S2E8

In a landscape dominated by incumbent players, Gamma takes a bold approach: instead of trying to be better than the existing players, they aim to be an entirely different tech company. They've reimagined the very essence of presentation tools and the creative possibilities they offer. In this episode of Spotlight On, Gamma’s Co-Founder, Jon Noronha, delves into the team’s journey, from an early acquisition at a former startup to somewhat coincidentally building a product that dovetails perfectly with AI. He also unpacks the challenges and opportunities early-stage companies face navigating today’s landscape.

While still in the early innings, Gamma’s journey underscores the importance of staying nimble and ahead of the curve. They’ve learned to anticipate and adapt to advancements in AI models and how to prevent the common (yet often surprising!) misuse of artificial intelligence products. On the heels of their Series A round, the discussion offers advice for early-stage startup founders on overcoming hurdles in aligning a product with market needs, fundraising in different economic climates, and more.

Conversation Highlights:

00:00 - Introduction to Gamma

03:10 - The foundations Gamma had in place to take advantage of the AI wave

08:42 - Structuring early-stage teams to leverage AI UX designers

14:31 - Outpacing powerful incumbents by embracing uniqueness to earn market share

23:02 - Building an AI company with customer data sensitivity in mind

30:02 - Overcoming challenges of fundraising during boom times

32:08 - Reflecting on the importance of a lean early-stage team

Featured: Jon Noronha, Co-Founder at Gamma, and Vas Natarajan, Partner at Accel