Building Great Companies - AI or Not!

Fireside Chat between Robert Chatwani and Vinod Muthukrishnan

Two stalwarts have a fireside discussion on building a great startup with a strong sense of customer value. And they also touch upon AI. Robert Chatwani is President and GM of Growth at Docusign and Vinod Muthukrishnan is VP and COO at Cisco’s Webex Customer Experience. These two have a long list of accomplishments.

Vinod began his career navigating ships in the merchant navy before founding Cloudcherry, which redefined the customer success journey. Cisco acquired Cloudcherry and after his golden handcuffs came off he joined Uniphore as Chief Customer Officer. After 3 years he is back at Cisco. A true captain, Vinod mentors founders and supports startups generously, embodying the pay-it-forward spirit of Silicon Valley.

Robert’s career is a masterclass in scaling growth and innovation. After McKinsey, he co-founded a consumer marketplace and held leadership roles at eBay and Atlassian, helping the latter become a global software powerhouse. Now President at DocuSign, he drives digital transformation in agreements worldwide - helping businesses around the world become more efficient and agile. Robert’s deep customer insight and growth vision make him a standout leader. He also serves on boards of Jivox, the American India Foundation, and the Bay Area American Heart Association.

What unites Vinod and Robert is their shared passion for customer success, leveraging technology, and scaling businesses. Their natural chemistry shines as they discuss AI’s impact on startups, the essentials of scaling, and blending foundational company-building with cutting-edge tech. This fireside chat was pre-recorded at Vinod’s house, complete with a real fire!

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Building Great Companies – AI or Not! (Inventus Capital Partners, 28 Nov 2024)

*Time-codes are approximate inflection points to help viewers jump to major topic changes.

0:00 – 3:00 | Opening & Speaker IntrosIntroduction of panelists and event context. Building enduring companies requires a strong mission and customer focus beyond tech trends.Jump to 0:00

3:00 – 11:00 | Founders’ Mindset in the Age of AIHow AI changes the competitive landscape for founders. AI lowers entry barriers but heightens the need for precise focus on customer pain and differentiation, not just tech adoption.Jump to 3:00

11:00 – 24:00 | Category Creation & the “Villain”Creating new markets by identifying a shared enemy or problem. Successful category leaders unify teams and customers around a clear “villain” (status quo pain), driving loyalty and value capture.Jump to 11:00

24:00 – 38:00 | Go-to-Market BlueprintEarly GTM strategies balancing hustle with scalable systems. Go-to-market is iterative craftsmanship. Build scalable playbooks early and evolve from founder-driven sales to repeatable processes.Jump to 24:00

38:00 – 52:00 | AI Productivity DividendRealistic productivity improvements AI can bring. True AI impact comes from pairing generative AI copilots with expert human workflows to free capacity for high-value, customer-facing work.Jump to 38:00

52:00 – 60:00 | Proving ROIConnecting engagement metrics to financial outcomes. Focus on outcomes buyers care about—revenue growth, retention, share of wallet—not just intermediary KPIs like NPS or usage stats.Jump to 52:00

60:00 – 68:00 | Rapid-Fire TakeawaysConcise, actionable advice for founders and investors:

1. Be honest whether you’re creating or following a category.

2. Design GTM early and anchor value in measurable growth.

3. Stay customer-obsessed and data-driven.Jump to 60:00

   
   

68:00 – 74:00 | Audience Q&A 1 & 2 – Category Killers; AI Regulation & Closing RemarksNuanced Q&A on category leadership and AI governance, concluding thoughts. Not all startups must be category killers but must be sharply positioned. AI regulation will focus on high-risk areas while openness drives innovation. Community and mentorship are essential.Jump to 68:00