David Hariri from Ada

David Hariri is the Co-Founder of Ada.

Ada is the world’s leading customer service automation company. Built for the digitally transforming enterprise, Ada’s AI-powered customer service automation platform helps companies effortlessly resolve their customer inquiries in any language or channel.

Since 2016, Ada has powered over 4 billion automated customer interactions for companies like Meta, Verizon, AirAsia, Yeti, and Square.

Takeaways

• Why Mike and David worked as customer support reps at other companies to find the true problem to solve.
• Why the Buyer and User of a product are sometimes different and how you should build for them.

• Design principles and open-source collaboration.
• The importance and meaning of elegance in a product.
• Balancing design and execution/timing.
• How to do road mapping effectively with customers.
• Dove into Paul Graham's Founder Mode and how David views founder involvement and feedback with his team.
• How to give tough feedback on the work not the person and driving better results for the team and company while not being a jerk.
• David's view on hiring for values and hiring for technical and design roles.

Chapters

00:00 Starting ADA by Working as Customer Service Representatives

01:59 The Importance of Focusing on the Problem First

03:56 Firsthand Insights from Working in the Role

07:51 Understanding Stakeholders in the Buying Process

13:49 Doing More with Less and Prioritizing Partnership

18:30 Hiring for Values and Building a Design-Driven Culture

29:11 Appreciation for Design Principles and Open Source Collaboration

36:13 Founder Involvement and Attention to Detail

43:22 The Art of Giving Tough Feedback

48:29 Generative AI in Customer Service

Keywords

Ada, customer service, founders, problem-solving, technology, user insights, stakeholder, design principles, open source, collaboration, execution, roadmapping process, customer commitments, problem prioritization, involvement, details, founder involvement, tough feedback, balance, generative AI, personal and professional life, dealing with hard times, finding balance