EP007: Michael True | CEO & Co-Founder | Prescient AI

Equation of Excellence

Summary

Michael True, President, co-founder, and CEO of Fermat, shares his entrepreneurial journey and the founding of Preshy. He discusses his background in sales and working with blue-chip companies like IBM and Oracle. He explains how he transitioned into the music industry and developed a model to predict tour locations for record labels. When COVID hit and touring stopped, he shifted his focus to streaming and solving the problem of measuring marketing spend and driving streams. He talks about the challenges of building a team and finding the right balance between product velocity and marketing. The conversation covers topics such as the importance of focusing on client value rather than competition, the role of product velocity in different market segments, the elevator pitch for Prescient AI, and the company's media mix model. The conversation also touches on the significance of discipline and culture in achieving excellence.

Takeaways

Michael True started his career in sales and worked with blue-chip companies like IBM and Oracle before transitioning into entrepreneurship.
He founded Preshy, a company that used data science to predict tour locations for record labels in the music industry.
When COVID hit and touring stopped, he shifted his focus to streaming and developed a model to measure marketing spend and drive streams.
Building the right team is crucial, and Michael focused on hiring data scientists, engineers, and product managers with the right expertise.
Finding the balance between product velocity and marketing is a challenge, but it's important to ensure the product delivers on its promises. Focus on client value rather than competition to ensure quality and alignment with client needs.
Product velocity is more important for lower-level customers, while up-market customers prioritize value and complexity.
The elevator pitch for Prescient AI is a media mix model that measures and optimizes marketing spend across various channels.
Excellence is a function of discipline and a strong culture that prioritizes employee happiness and well-being.
Gratitude, strong opinions weakly held, and beginner's mind are key elements of an equation of excellence.

Sound Bites

"From Sales to Entrepreneurship: Michael True's Journey"
"Predicting Tour Locations: Preshy's Innovative Solution"
"Shifting Focus to Streaming: Solving the Marketing Spend Problem"
"If you're trying to build against a competitor, versus build for the value of your clients, it's a very slippery slope."
"Up-market doesn't really care about product velocity. It's just a different sales motion where the contracts can actually be insanely complex."
"That down folks. That is what we call an elevator pitch. That is a fantastic."

Chapters

00:00 From Sales to Entrepreneurship
07:10 Predicting Tour Locations
25:12 Balancing Product Velocity and Marketing
31:22 The Elevator Pitch for Prescient AI
48:05 The Significance of Discipline and Culture