Dovetail's CEO explains why building a product is the 'easy part' of a startup
As AI startups flood the market and funding tightens, Dovetail CEO Benjamin Humphrey shares how he’s cutting through the noise by focusing on short-term innovation.
Early to the AI wave, customer insights startup Dovetail attracted one of the largest investments in Australia during the 2022 hype cycle, securing a whopping $86.9 million funding round — and said no to Andreessen Horowitz in the process.
Fast forward to 2024, and the world of AI is moving faster than ever. If you’re not launching major product updates every six months, you’re seen as lagging behind. Ironically, this has made operating a SaaS business much harder than it used to be.
Fresh from launching Dovetail 3.0, CEO Benjamin Humphrey spoke to Capital Brief for our In The Arena series about everything from the challenges of heightened user expectations to maintaining a competitive edge in an era where “every man and their dog has an AI startup".
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
First, let's deal with the reality for founders right now and the pressure on companies that raised during the hype cycle. Are you thinking about raising yet, and if so do you have a strategy in place?
