Des Traynor

Des Traynor is the cofounder of Intercom which creates modern Customer Service software that redefines how businesses support their customers. The company has raised over $241 million from top tier investors such as Kleiner Perkins, Bessemer Venture Partners, or Index Ventures to name a few.

Des Traynor is a Co-founder and the Chief Strategy Officer of Intercom, the modern customer communications platform that unifies every aspect of the customer journey. To date, Intercom has raised over $238M from some of the best including Index, ICONIQ, Kleiner, GV, and Bessemer. As for Des, before co-founding Intercom, he was a UX consultant, a university lecturer in computer science, and also a Ph.D. researcher. Des is also a prolific angel investor with a portfolio including the likes of Stripe, Algolia, Notion, Miro, and many more. In Today's Episode We Discuss: 1.) Origins of Intercom: How did Des make his way into the world of startups and come to co-found Intercom? When did they realize they really had something with Intercom and had to focus on it? What does Des know now that he wishes he had known at the start of Intercom? 2. Two of the Biggest Myths in Startups: Being First and Defensibility Why does Des believe that being the first does not matter? Why is it not an advantage? Why does Des believe that no company has defensibility on day 1? How does Des believe defensibility is built? What does Des mean when he says, when investing in companies he looks for a "long road to the starting line"? 3.) Product 101: A Masterclass on Product: How does Des answer the question of when to release a second product? How should the second product be resourced? MVP and lean or full budget and committed? What are the biggest mistakes people make when releasing a second product? What mistakes have Des and Intercom made when releasing new products? How does Des advise founders on when to stop working on a product? How do you know when it is not working? How does Des determine between a feature and a product both when building and when investing? 4.) Moving to Enterprise: What does Des believe are the three core things all companies need to scale into the enterprise effectively? Which should they do first? Which is most challenging? How does Des advise founders on when is the right time to move into the enterprise? How does the product need to change to meet enterprise needs and requirements? 5.) The Makings of Great Product Marketing: What does Des believe makes truly great product marketing? Who does it well today? How does your product marketing need to change as you scale from SMB to enterprise? If product marketing to both an end user and a separate buyer, which persona should one prioritise their messaging towards? How does Des advise founders on product marketing when they have a horizontal product with a very broad customer base? 6.) Angel Investing 101: From Stripe to Miro to Notion: Why does Des believe it is beneficial for operators to also be investing? What are the biggest lessons Des has learned from angel investing? How does Des approach both market sizing and outcome scenario planning today? How price sensitive is Des today? How has that changed over time? Item's Mentioned in Today's Episode with Des Traynor: Des' Favourite Book: How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen

Today, we speak to Des Traynor of Intercom about problem selection, pricing, using principles to scale yourself as a leader, and maintaining alignment as an organisation grows. Des is one of the most succinct communicators in European tech. He didn't disappoint on the episode. Throughout it, you'll come across surprising, unique principles and heuristics that have helped Des propel Intercom into €1B+ business it is today.

Intercom CEO Des Traynor discusses why startups need to grow fast (7:44), how to execute at speed (10:48), build an effective culture (33:35) & more!

Intercom CEO Des Traynor discusses why startups need to grow fast (7:44), how to execute at speed (10:48), build an effective culture (33:35) & more!

In this episode, Des Traynor, the co-founder of Intercom talks about the pitfalls, successes, and surprises of establishing and growing a company.

Check out Intercom: https://www.intercom.com FOLLOW Des: https://twitter.com/destraynor FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Thanks to our partners: LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job free at https://www.linkedin.com/angel Odoo - Get your first app free & $1000 off your first implementation pack at https://odoo.com/twist Assure - Get 20% off your first SPV at http://assure.co/angel Show notes: 0:00 Start 1:08 Importance of charging for enterprise products from the start 6:08 Explaining the phenomenon of startups that become great companies when the idea behind them is not logical or the market is unforeseen 10:18 LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job free at https://www.linkedin.com/angel 11:49 Investing in Notion - what he initially saw in the product, how UI helps Notion stand out, how angel investing & giving advice help hone his skills as an operator at Intercom 17:39 Common fundraising mistakes that founders make 21:48 Growth planning at a late-stage startup 24:26 Odoo - Get your first app free & $1000 off your first implementation pack at https://odoo.com/twist 25:57 How Intercom was initially pitched, the singularity of CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot,Intercom, etc.), preparing for IPO & raising capital as a late-stage startup 30:52 Operating profitably, thoughts on acquisitions as a route to growth 35:02 Assure - Get 20% off your first SPV at http://assure.co/angel 36:32 Hopin's rapid rise in online events, dealing with the pandemic and being cooped up, keeping up company moral 44:13 Intercom's international offices, work from home, Slack's market penetration play, Microsoft vs. Salesforce in the 2020's 51:09 Acquisition offers, why hasn't Intercom sold yet? Pricing power in the enterprise, important product-market fit metrics 1:01:50 Thoughts on going public Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 Subscribe to TWiST Clips for all the best moments: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS7tJlcUA6PzVHEMo-X7ddg?sub_confirmation=1

Check out Intercom: https://www.intercom.com FOLLOW Des: https://twitter.com/destraynor FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Check out Intercom: https://www.intercom.com FOLLOW Des: https://twitter.com/destraynor FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Des Traynor, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Intercom, has been at the forefront of digital customer engagement for the past decade, building a company wholly focused on helping brands have more relevant and personalized conversations with customers. In this episode of Conversations w/ Conversocial, we will be talking with Des about bringing conversational insights to the forefront of your CX strategy to make every conversation more proactive, timely and contextually aware. Join us to learn how and why: - Conversational data offers unique and superior insights compared to other sources - Conversational data can yield insights that the entire organization can use across sales/marketing/care - Orchestrating brand engagement with customers in a single channel ensures relevance across the customer journey