Orbit - An Hg software leadership podcast

Marjorie Janiewicz has sold enterprise software through every platform shift for three decades: Oracle, MySQL, SAP, MongoDB, HackerOne. Now as Chief Revenue Officer at Mistral AI, she's taking a French startup from zero to $400 million in 18 months, closing deals with ASML and HSBC in under a year - timelines that used to take half a decade. Recorded in New York as Mistral announced its Finance offering, this conversation addresses what's working versus what's theatre in enterprise AI. Marjorie supports the MIT hypothesis: 95% of AI projects never reach production. Chatbots drive adoption but don't change businesses. The 5% that work? They start with one high-impact use case, they customise models with proprietary data, and they deploy on-prem where regulated data lives. She explains why the adoption curve flipped, why SaaS companies sitting on data can win if they treat AI as transformation not automation, and why Mistral bet on 400 forward deployment engineers instead of just shipping models. From prototypes done in 48 hours to why "sovereignty is just marketing, independence is what matters," this is pattern recognition from someone who's been in the room when the shift happens repeatedly. Whether you're a SaaS company worried about agents or trying to sell AI to enterprises struggling with ROI, Marjorie's earned her perspective.

Most B2B software founders don't spend four years working on presidential campaigns. Varun Anand did - on Hillary Clinton's 2016 run - and he argues that startups and political campaigns share the same DNA: both rely on finding "alpha," that elusive edge that competitors haven't copied yet. After the election loss forced a pivot into tech, Varun became the only attendee at a Clay webinar with no customers or revenue. That moment led to co-founding what's now used by Salesforce, OpenAI, and Nvidia, inventing an entirely new profession in the process. Varun reveals why go-to-market AI is fundamentally different from support or coding AI and how Clay's "un-opinionated primitives" approach lets teams build unique competitive advantages. He shares examples ranging from Waste Management analyzing trash can colours via Google Street View to Clay's own social listening engine that automatically routes sentiment to CSMs: all happening without human intervention. The conversation explores the Go-to-Market Engineer role, why curiosity-driven teams win, and Varun's prediction that the next 18-24 months will be about autonomous agents working accounts while humans focus on high-value interventions. Whether you're building GTM systems or rethinking sales ops, this episode challenges every assumption about how modern revenue teams should operate.

In this rare internal conversation, Matthew Brockman, Hg's Chief Investment Officer, offers an insider's view on what's actually working versus what's still hype. Far beyond speculation, this is private equity deploying real capital into real companies with real customers, watching what happens when agentic software meets regulatory compliance and established workflows. Brockman reveals why vibe coding is being used in sales processes but not production, why venture money is subsidising inference costs that must eventually turn into labour market economics, and his "virtual Matthew" Turing test for when we've truly reached AGI. From Hg's Catalyst program - parachuting developers into portfolio companies at Hg's expense to accelerate AI product builds - to standing up in Silicon Valley urging CEOs to invest and move quickly, this conversation cuts through the noise with data, deployment examples, and the hard economics of building enterprise AI that actually ships. Essential listening for anyone trying to separate signal from hype in February 2026

Franz Faerber, co-founder and CEO of Everest Systems and former architect of SAP HANA, challenges Sam Altman's vision of throwaway software, arguing humans crave stability, while making the case for why Germany - not Silicon Valley - is the right place to build next-generation enterprise software in the AI age. Despite being a German-US company, Everest invests 80% in Germany, leveraging equal talent quality at a fraction of US costs. This episode explores the rare dual perspective of someone who led innovation inside SAP and now challenges the narrative that all meaningful software innovation must come from the Valley. Faerber discusses Everest's breakthrough "live sandboxing" technology that eliminates complex multi-system landscapes,, why deep domain knowledge is the new differentiator in an AI age, and shares his counterintuitive leadership philosophy: "I'm a big believer in a certain level of chaos is healthy." From building Germany's first AI-generated warehouse module to his advice for SaaS leaders ("assume AI costs zero—what fundamentally changes?"), this conversation offers a masterclass in conviction, timing, and reimagining enterprise software. Whether you're building against incumbents or navigating AI transformation, Faerber's insights on bureaucracy, talent strategy, and the courage to "do it earlier" provide essential guidance for software builders.

Daniël Rood, director of AI go-to-market at Google Cloud, offers a masterclass in navigating transformation from inside a tech giant. Building Google's first European AI team when gen AI was still "a PhD science project," Rood reveals the hidden resistance mechanisms that plague even innovative organizations. His concept of the "corporate immune system"—the culture that protects success for all the right reasons but resists dramatic shifts—explains why customer success stories, not internal advocacy, are what actually move leadership. His hiring philosophy centered on "intellectual humility" and "teams of translators" who bridge technology and business offers a blueprint for staffing AI initiatives moving too fast for anyone to be an expert. The conversation reveals Google's quiet dominance: AI Mode has already reached 1.5 billion monthly active users, nearly double OpenAI's reach. But Rood's most provocative insight addresses vertical SaaS: he predicts the shift to "expertise as a service," where repetitive professional work gets commoditized and deep human judgment becomes "an API on top of the platform." His framework for the new reality is stark—culture trumps strategy, three-year horizons are irrelevant, the world is "tokenizing," and sales cycles collapse through proof-based processes. By 2030, he argues, AI will have moved so deeply into the background that having a Chief AI Officer will seem as obsolete as having a Chief Mobile Officer today.

From oil rigs to Amazon's machine learning division and now Cambridge's DeepMind chair, Professor Neil Lawrence brings a refreshingly grounded perspective to AI. Lawrence introduces his "atomic human" concept; arguing it's not our capabilities but our vulnerabilities and limitations that make us irreplaceable. Drawing on experiences watching his coding assistant try to claim authorship and building systems at Amazon, he illuminates why accountability requires skin in the game and why machines can never truly stand behind decisions the way humans must. His mechanical engineering background shines through in vivid analogies that make complex ideas tangible and even delightful. The conversation builds to a genuinely uplifting conclusion about the next generation. Lawrence dismisses the disempowering AGI narrative sold by tech incumbents protecting their turf, arguing instead that today's young people see the world as it is and are excited to shape it. His insistence that "people aren't stupid"—from public dialogues to business customers consistently asking for improvements in healthcare and education—makes the case for staying connected to customers and trusting the next generation to steer technology toward what we care about most. It's a perfect note to end the year on: pragmatic, human-centred, and genuinely hopeful.

Product Mind Principal Oji Udezue - veteran of Microsoft, Twitter, Atlassian, Calendly, and Typeform - offers an energising vision of product leadership in the AI era. Drawing from 25 years building products, Udezue reveals that it isn't something to fear but an opportunity for those willing to embrace what he calls "self-erasure": shedding old mental models to approach new technology with fresh eyes. His journey from Microsoft's competitive trenches to discovering that "permanent influence has nothing to do with convincing people I was smart" unlocks why curiosity and vulnerability now matter more than ever. Udezue introduces the "three speed problem": his framework showing that while engineering capacity approaches infinity over the next decade, the real leverage comes from accelerating product divination and go-to-market to their theoretical limits. With characteristic wisdom, he advocates for "healthy paranoia" about change while championing extreme experimentation, prototyping over PRDs, and designing with customers as core team members. His closing mantra: "I happen to the world; the world doesn't happen to me" captures the determined optimism required to build jewel-like software in an era of unlimited possibility.

In this illuminating conversation from the frontier of AI-native startups, William Fairbairn, founder of Zalos.ai and part of Y Combinator's class of 2025, reveals what it takes to build at Silicon Valley velocity. Just five weeks after launch, Zalos is already deployed with major enterprise customers, automating finance workflows through computer-use agents that execute tasks like humans—extracting contract terms, initiating billing, and reconciling cash. Fairbairn's insights into Y Combinator's evolved wisdom for the AI era, particularly "forward-deployed engineering", demonstrate how the startup playbook has been fundamentally rewritten. With funding bars rising to $2 million ARR in 12 months just to reach Series A, and "supernovas" scaling from $1 million to $100 million in 18 months, this postcard from the edge of software leadership captures the intensity and opportunity of building in an era where the rules change weekly.

In this fascinating conversation, Perplexity's Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko reveals how a company barely three years old is mounting the first credible challenge to Google's search dominance in two decades. Shevelenko shares the counterintuitive distribution strategy that led Perplexity to partner with mobile carriers and device manufacturers rather than chasing browser deals, explaining how creating mutual value with partners became their path to 22 million monthly active users. The discussion centres on execution velocity as Perplexity's primary competitive advantage, with Shevelenko openly admitting that six months from now he'll have a top priority he can't even imagine today. From eliminating internal presentations entirely to making hiring decisions "physically hurt," he paints a vivid picture of how Perplexity maintains startup intensity while competing against trillion-dollar tech giants, offering invaluable lessons for anyone navigating the AI transformation.

In this candid anniversary conversation, Hg's leadership team of Matthew Brockman and Nic Humphries reflects on 25 years of building one of Europe's most focused software investors. Humphries shares the challenge of convincing colleagues to abandon multiple sectors for pure software focus, while Brockman opens up about his leap of faith in 2010, leaving Apax Partners for an uncertain bet on Hg's vision and the turbulence of 2012 that eventually led to success. The conversation hones in on AI as the next major platform shift and Brockman's concept of the "last mile"—the deep understanding of customer workflows required to transform AI capability into practical business solutions. Their discussion reveals a firm that has spent 25 years accumulating the pattern recognition, operational capabilities, and entrepreneurial culture perfectly suited for an era where success depends less on investment judgement and more on building products that solve real workflow problems—making this milestone feel less like a celebration of the past and more like preparation for the defining challenge ahead.

In this compelling conversation, Tidemark Capital founder Dave Yuan shares his journey from Bain consultant to building one of the most thoughtful voices in vertical SaaS investing. Yuan reveals his "control point" philosophy—identifying the mission-critical systems that small businesses would turn off last before going bankrupt—and explains how this approach has guided Tidemark's investments in category leaders like ServiceTitan, Toast, and OneStream. His insights into workflow gravity, data gravity, and account gravity provide a masterclass in understanding what creates defensible market positions in software. The discussion takes a provocative turn as Yuan explores AI's dual nature as both opportunity and existential threat for established software companies. He introduces the concept of "integrate surround"—how AI point solutions can gradually subsume control points by becoming the system of action rather than just record—and shares his framework for "fast waters" versus "slow waters" in AI adoption. With characteristic humility and intellectual curiosity, Yuan offers practical advice for navigating today's volatile market while building the Vertical SaaS Knowledge Project community that has become an industry touchstone for founders and investors alike.

Orbit 48 sees Dr Amr Ellabban sit down with Des Traynor, co-founder and CSO of Intercom, to explore how AI requires revolutionary thinking from businesses. Des shares the pivotal moment when ChatGPT emerged in November 2022, spurring Intercom's bold 15-day pivot to develop Fin, their AI customer support agent. The conversation reveals how successful AI transformation demands complete organisational commitment—from reimagining pricing models to restructuring teams—rather than incremental changes: "It's not a cherry on top. It's the only game that matters." Drawing from his experience at Intercom and as an angel investor, Des outlines the three-phase evolution of AI in business: from augmenting human work to handling portions of jobs to eventually performing entire roles. For leaders navigating similar transformations, he offers unflinching advice on the necessity of decisive action and clear communication, predicting that AI may soon handle 60-80% of support volume in what will be "the largest change in how labour is applied in most businesses." His insights on product boundaries and avoiding "MiniDisc" solutions in rapidly evolving technology landscapes provide a compelling roadmap for organisations embracing this inevitable shift.

What happens when AI can code? In this illuminating conversation with Cognition's Founding President Russell Kaplan, we explore how AI is fundamentally transforming the landscape of software development. Drawing from his journey through Tesla's Autopilot team and Scale AI, Kaplan shares profound insights on leadership in rapid technological change, emphasizing that "talent is everything" and that exceptional outcomes come from "small teams of highly technical people." His perspective challenges conventional thinking about software engineering's future, suggesting we're entering an era of "software abundance" where customer expectations will rise dramatically. The discussion moves beyond theoretical AI potential to practical implementation, with Kaplan revealing how his philosophy of speed as strategy guides decision-making in a world where AI capabilities in software development are doubling every 70 days. Rather than fearing job displacement, Kaplan envisions a future where "way more people are shaping the creation of software" as the nature of engineering evolves. With refreshing optimism, he suggests we're approaching a time when "software is good by default" and shares his excitement for what may be "the most exciting time to be a software engineer" in history.

In this episode of Orbit, Matthew Brockman, Managing Partner at Hg, sits down with renowned AI pioneer Andrew Ng to explore the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Andrew, who has led ground-breaking initiatives at Stanford AI Lab, Google Brain, and Coursera, shares fascinating insights on building in the AI era, including how the falling costs of prototyping (just $55,000 to create a working prototype) are democratising innovation and allowing companies to take more shots at goal with minimal risk. The conversation delves into practical advice for software leaders navigating this technological revolution, with Andrew emphasising that the real value lies in the application layer rather than foundation models themselves. He challenges conventional thinking about AI "kill zones," advocates for creating innovation sandboxes within organisations, and offers a compelling perspective on why professionals across all domains—from lawyers to doctors to marketers—should learn coding to effectively harness AI's potential. Andrew's prediction of the rise of "10x professionals" who can masterfully direct AI to accomplish tasks presents both an exciting opportunity and imperative for business leaders to embrace this transformative moment.

As AI beds into the business world, a new breed of company is being born where the latest technology is built-in. Helping them to grow is an equally new breed of investor. In the first Orbit of 2025, Nic Humphries hosts sits down with Zoe Zhao and Annalise Dragic, co-founders of Azlin Software. With backgrounds in venture capital, M&A, and Hg's own Saturn investment team, Zhao and Dragic share their journey from investing in B2B software companies to creating their own investment platform. They delve into their unique approach to acquiring and nurturing vertically specialized young businesses, emphasizing a long-term, sustainable growth model that leverages AI and automation for efficiency. The co-founders discuss the importance of community within their portfolio, fostering innovation, and the balance between nurturing product development and a vibrant company culture. Their entrepreneurial spirit shines through as they explain how Azlin Software plans to support founders at the smaller end of the market, where businesses may not yet have the resources to fully realize AI's potential. Whether discussing their own entrepreneurial leap or the future of software investment, Zhao and Dragic offer a fresh perspective on the intersection of technology and business growth.” azlinsoftware.com [email protected] [email protected]

In our latest episode Hg’s Managing Partner, Matthew Brockman, presses two CEOs and an AI insider on how a business leader can usefully integrate generative AI into their business workflows. David Carmona, a VP and CTO at Microsoft, Avaneesh Marwaha, CEO of US legal tech producer Litera, and Soeren Brogaard, CEO of Danish construction innovators, Trackunit, cover the swift advancements in AI that are redefining industry workflows. These experts explore the journey from AI incubation to mass adoption, the balance between internal efficiency and customer-centric product enhancements, and the need for data-rich, insight-driven business strategies. They also consider the future of AI in reshaping the legal and construction sectors and the importance of fostering an organizational culture that embraces continuous innovation.

Hg’s Joe Jefferies sits down with Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, the CEO of Xero, to unravel the intricacies of leading a global software company and the personal journey that brought her to the helm. With a history of bold moves at tech behemoths like Amazon and Google, Singh Cassidy shares her philosophy on risk-taking, revealing how a series of strategic bets rather than any singular decision shaped her illustrious career. From a father's entrepreneurial spirit; to navigating a rocky job market post-college on the eve of a tech boom; to Xero's remarkable growth across 180 countries: Singh Cassidy reflects on fostering a culture of inclusivity and the importance of authenticity in leadership all whilst thriving on the continuous pursuit of impactful risk-taking.

In this enlightening episode of the Hg podcast series Orbit, host Joe Jefferies converses with Nick Mehta, the long-standing CEO of Gainsight, about the intersection of vulnerability and leadership in building a successful software company. Nick candidly describes his philosophy of "human-first" leadership, which has become a cornerstone of Gainsight's culture. He recounts his journey from childhood ambitions instilled by his father to the challenges he faced fitting in, and how these experiences shaped his transparent and authentic approach to leadership, coining the term "Nick 2.0" to signify his evolution. This transformation involved embracing openness and candidness, not just personally but also at the organisational level with "Gainsight 2.0," fostering a culture where honesty is valued, and employees are encouraged to embrace their own personal growth narratives.