Conveyor is the leading generative AI-powered platform that automates and scales the most tedious part of the sales process: customer security reviews. Here is part two of their interview, part one can be found here.
Daniel Karp, Partner, Cervin: So I’d like to ask you a few questions about your style of management and your style as a CEO. This is your second CEO role. Between your first company Aptible and now Conveyor, it's been a 10 year journey. What are some of your thoughts on what you would do differently if you were to start a company now?
Chas Ballew, Founder & CEO, Conveyor: There's some things I've learned to do well, and then implemented with Conveyor. One is to hire good people and trust them, hold them accountable and be accountable myself, but really, let good people make decisions on their own. Many entrepreneurs benefit from having a certain amount of risk and ego, which empowers them to make decisions and trust their own judgment. This approach can scale to some extent and may be effective for a period. However, one thing I've discovered, which is both daunting yet remarkably productive, is the practice of hiring talented individuals and trusting them to make decisions, decisions may not be ones that I would necessarily agree with. It's something I've had to learn over time.
DK: I find it interesting because there are two thoughts to consider. First, as time passes, you come to realize that you cannot scale yourself. You need to encapsulate the essence of the culture, the DNA, the priorities, and values in your hiring process. This is crucial because those hires will carry these values to the next layers of the organization. I completely agree with you on this point.
The other interesting aspect is that we don't always recognize it, but there's a certain ego inherent to being a CEO. There are expectations from everyone in the company when they interact with the CEO. Therefore, having the confidence to bring in talented individuals to lead practices and to continue scaling the team, while acknowledging that you don't have to be the smartest person in the room all the time.
CB: I think about the difference between a founder and a CEO.
You can hire a CEO, but you can't hire a founder, right. And a founder brings a unique energy and attitude. There's something just very special about founders.
DK: So another question to follow up on that. What keeps you up at night? Or what is the first thing that you think about when you wake up?
CB: I grew up as an athlete and ran in college, so I've always tried to prioritize sleep, so something has to really be concerning before I lose sleep. But every morning when I wake up, I'm thinking about AI. And it's both really exciting, and also kind of terrifying, and a lot of uncertainty in a lot of ways. The capabilities that technology is unlocking right now are incredible.
DK: I think all of us are thinking about the impact of AI. And there's so many variations to it, though so many layers to it. It's changing everything.
CB: It's changing the products that we're building at Conveyor, but it's also changing how we work and the tools that we're working with. Every day. It's changing how we market and how we get the word out about Conveyor. It's really incredible.
DK: It's fascinating and you're at the bleeding edge of it. One of the things that impressed us the most is the use case that Conveyor brings to the table as it relates to the usage of applied AI.
CB: It's a great use case. Fundamentally, what we're doing is helping scale completing questionnaires in compliance and security, which requires precision and accuracy. By being able to bring our experience in compliance and security, and blend that with technology that can answer questions, but also harnessing that technology to make it more accurate, more reliable, and safer.
