Grit

#191 CEO & Co-Founder Intercom, Eoghan McCabe: Second Beginning


Listen Later

Guest: Eoghan McCabe, CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Intercom

“We are not ready for the degree to which our world is going to change,” says Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe, “in insane and incredible ways.” When he co-founded the company in 2011, the Irish-born entrepreneur was making it easier for companies to offer human customer service to their customers. But Eoghan believes “every single type of knowledge work” will soon be done by AI, and Intercom is well on its way to that destination: 45 percent of all tickets are being answered by bots now, and he expects that number to climb to 70 percent by 2026. “The agents no longer have to do the repetitive, painful, boring work,” Eoghan says. “They can focus on the more human, creative, interesting work that requires their empathy and creativity.”

In this episode, Eoghan and Joubin discuss fitting in, Archana Agrawal, authentic comms, taking risks, returning to the company you founded, politics at work, celebrating innovation, therapy for founders, and Ram Dass.

Chapters:

  • (01:04) - Insecurity and success
  • (06:16) - What Intercom does
  • (08:20) - Reinvention and “big company values”
  • (15:50) - Becoming an AI company
  • (16:53) - 2011 vs. 2024 in San Francisco
  • (21:03) - AI for customer service — and more
  • (25:07) - “The shitty gift that being attacked brings”
  • (30:25) - Expectations vs. reality, part one
  • (33:16) - What success means now
  • (36:08) - Running away
  • (39:56) - Coming back
  • (41:58) - Being busy is BS
  • (44:10) - Expectations vs. reality, part two
  • (45:44) - Self-mastery
  • (50:38) - Sanding off the rough edges
  • (55:08) - Who Intercom is hiring and what “grit” means to Eoghan

  • Links:

    • Connect with Eoghan
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
    • Connect with Joubin
    • Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
    • This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm
    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    GritBy Joubin Mirzadegan

    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9

    4.9

    183 ratings


    More shows like Grit

    View all
    This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis

    This Week in Startups

    1,281 Listeners

    a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

    a16z Podcast

    1,008 Listeners

    The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

    The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

    525 Listeners

    The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

    The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

    179 Listeners

    Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

    Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

    2,329 Listeners

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

    8,385 Listeners

    Business Breakdowns by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

    Business Breakdowns

    337 Listeners

    The Logan Bartlett Show by by Redpoint Ventures

    The Logan Bartlett Show

    189 Listeners

    Revenue Builders by Force Management

    Revenue Builders

    152 Listeners

    No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups by Conviction

    No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

    106 Listeners

    The Social Radars by Jessica Livingston

    The Social Radars

    94 Listeners

    Crucible Moments by Sequoia Capital

    Crucible Moments

    88 Listeners

    BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley by BG2Pod

    BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley

    419 Listeners

    AI + a16z by a16z

    AI + a16z

    26 Listeners

    Training Data by Sequoia Capital

    Training Data

    31 Listeners