Chris Pedregal

I think is largely a function of the fact that it's an app on your computer rather than a tab lost within 50 other tabs on your website that you have to find. So I think we can take a little bit of credit for that, but I think that was a way better decision than we realized at the time.

I think is largely a function of the fact that it's an app on your computer rather than a tab lost within 50 other tabs on your website that you have to find. So I think we can take a little bit of credit for that, but I think that was a way better decision than we realized at the time.

Yeah, so when we started off building Granola, we had a completely different interaction pattern in the app. So the thing we pitched and the first version we built was very different. You would type in a keyword or two in Granola in real time, and you'd hit tab, and then Granola would write the full note for you in real time. It's a really cool demo. It felt kind of magical when you used it.

Yeah, so when we started off building Granola, we had a completely different interaction pattern in the app. So the thing we pitched and the first version we built was very different. You would type in a keyword or two in Granola in real time, and you'd hit tab, and then Granola would write the full note for you in real time. It's a really cool demo. It felt kind of magical when you used it.

I'd say something like, Mac app. You'd type in Mac app and hit tab, and then you'd write this. Like, Chris was really glad that he made the decision to build a Mac app. And then we basically spent six months trying to make this work. And we just couldn't.

I'd say something like, Mac app. You'd type in Mac app and hit tab, and then you'd write this. Like, Chris was really glad that he made the decision to build a Mac app. And then we basically spent six months trying to make this work. And we just couldn't.

What we found out was that no matter how great the notes we wrote were, if a computer is writing notes for you real time during a meeting, you can't help but read it. And what ends up happening is it's incredibly distracting. The whole point of Granola is you can be more present in the meeting. And what was happening is the exact opposite was going on. People were just looking at the notes.

What we found out was that no matter how great the notes we wrote were, if a computer is writing notes for you real time during a meeting, you can't help but read it. And what ends up happening is it's incredibly distracting. The whole point of Granola is you can be more present in the meeting. And what was happening is the exact opposite was going on. People were just looking at the notes.

And if they were not exactly how they wanted, they were editing the notes. And then they realized they had not been paying attention to the person speaking. And it was just really bad.

And if they were not exactly how they wanted, they were editing the notes. And then they realized they had not been paying attention to the person speaking. And it was just really bad.

So we ended up completely changing the interaction pattern to being something way more mundane, which is during the meeting, it works just like a regular text editor, like a notepad, you type stuff, and then all the magic happens at the end, which means that the magic moment, the value of granola, You only realize after you've used it for a whole meeting, which is not great.

So we ended up completely changing the interaction pattern to being something way more mundane, which is during the meeting, it works just like a regular text editor, like a notepad, you type stuff, and then all the magic happens at the end, which means that the magic moment, the value of granola, You only realize after you've used it for a whole meeting, which is not great.

Ideally, when you're building a product, you want that magic moment to happen in the first 20 seconds. It just made it a way better product. Like I said, we spent six months trying to make this wrong thing work until finally we kind of accepted that there was a better way to do it.

Ideally, when you're building a product, you want that magic moment to happen in the first 20 seconds. It just made it a way better product. Like I said, we spent six months trying to make this wrong thing work until finally we kind of accepted that there was a better way to do it.

I think the only answer here really is you need to build something better than other people faster. In this space, there are switching costs, there are small moats, but I think the only way you win is you need to consistently build better stuff than other people faster than they're building it. And doing that in a space that's moving this quickly, it's not a small feat.

I think the only answer here really is you need to build something better than other people faster. In this space, there are switching costs, there are small moats, but I think the only way you win is you need to consistently build better stuff than other people faster than they're building it. And doing that in a space that's moving this quickly, it's not a small feat.

Something we talk about as a team all the time. I think something like granola, there's an inherent switching cost because the more context granola has, the more useful it's going to be for you. So something will have to be much better, I think, for someone to switch off of granola. But I think you get complacent for three months. You're in trouble in this space.

Something we talk about as a team all the time. I think something like granola, there's an inherent switching cost because the more context granola has, the more useful it's going to be for you. So something will have to be much better, I think, for someone to switch off of granola. But I think you get complacent for three months. You're in trouble in this space.

Something we're pretty explicit about is knowing when we're working on a feature, are we in exploit mode or are we in explore mode? Because you need two completely different approaches to that. So what that means is, do we know what needs to be built here? Is there a clear idea and it's just about executing it as quickly as possible? Or do we not know what the answer is here?

Something we're pretty explicit about is knowing when we're working on a feature, are we in exploit mode or are we in explore mode? Because you need two completely different approaches to that. So what that means is, do we know what needs to be built here? Is there a clear idea and it's just about executing it as quickly as possible? Or do we not know what the answer is here?