CEOs of ElevenLabs and Lovable argue their time at companies like Palantir and Google was essential for learning to build at scale, understand customer problems, and develop ambitious ideas. They doubt they would have succeeded starting right out of school.
ElevenLabs' CEO avoids ineffective delegation by first immersing himself in a new function (like sales or legal). This allows him to understand the fundamentals, which is crucial for assessing and hiring the right expert leader for that role.
Rather than lamenting the distance from Silicon Valley, top European founders frame their location as an advantage. They become the undisputed top company for ambitious, loyal, and less-expensive talent in cities like Stockholm or Warsaw, attracting engineers eager for a generational opportunity.
The most critical window for staying ahead in AI is the first 24 hours after a new technology is released. ElevenLabs mobilizes its small, nimble teams to begin integration immediately to capitalize on the moment, believing this is the key to being ahead.
In Europe, the value of startup equity is not widely understood. ElevenLabs' CEO had to convince new hires and even their families that equity was a valuable part of compensation, sometimes having to "almost force" employees to accept it, a stark contrast to the US tech scene.
The CEO of ElevenLabs uses a human assistant and a script to triage his inbox. Emails are automatically labeled P0 (respond same day), P1 (respond within the week), or P2 (low priority). This system provides immediate clarity on what needs attention.
ElevenLabs' CEO has 15 direct reports, split evenly between experienced veterans who have "seen it before" and high-potential employees who have grown with the company. This blend of experience and internal context is key to managing rapid scaling.
ElevenLabs' CEO realized his first sales leader hire was monumental not just for revenue, but for culture. Sales leaders tend to hire people in their own image, meaning that first hire dictates the approach and values of the entire future sales organization.
In the fast-moving AI space, rigid long-term planning is futile. Lovable uses a flexible six-month product roadmap, while ElevenLabs uses quarterly initiatives for alignment but gives its foundational research teams total freedom from timelines to foster innovation.