Post methodology: Claude 4.0 via custom Dust assistant @TDep-SubstackPost with the system prompt: Please read the text of the podcast transcript in the prompt and write a short post that summarizes the main points. Please make the post as concise as possible and avoid academic language or footnotes. Refer to podcast guests by their first names after the initial mention. Light editing and reformatting for the Substack editor.Everyone wants AI, but when you actually bring it to them, they reject it. That's the counterintuitive insight from Elias Torres, the serial entrepreneur behind HubSpot’s product transformation, Drift and now Agency.
In this week’s episode, Elias shared a fascinating paradox: we have the most intelligent technology mankind has ever created, yet people demand perfection from it while struggling to use basic chat prompts effectively. This expectation mismatch is killing AI adoption.
From scarcity to serial success
Elias’s journey from growing up in communist-era Nicaragua—where opening the fridge revealed only empty shelves—to building billion-dollar companies offers founders a masterclass in resourcefulness. His first exposure to technology came through a stolen computer his father brought home and later helping his professor mother with her laptop. That scrappy, figure-it-out mentality shaped everything that followed.
After starting with chatbots at IBM in 1999 (yes, chatbots), Elias co-founded Performable, which was acquired by HubSpot. There, he rebuilt the entire product from scratch, scaling from 20 to 5,000 customers overnight. Later, Drift pioneered conversational marketing before selling for over $1 billion.
Four hard-won lessons for founders
Embrace AI's Imperfection Elias uses AI to manage his entire inbox, letting Agency draft and send emails without human review. His philosophy: if AI does 10-30% more than you were doing before, that's a massive win. Stop demanding 100% accuracy and start capturing the value of “good enough.”
Scale Customer Experience, Not Headcount The biggest lesson from Drift? You can’t scale great customer experience by just hiring more people. Elias’s new goal is audacious: build a billion-dollar company with under 100 employees. The secret is AI-led customer experience that removes humans from routine interactions while preserving the personal touch where it matters most.
Hire for Hunger, Not Credentials Some of Elias’s best hires—including future Klaviyo founder Andrew Bialecki—came from unconventional backgrounds. He looks for intelligence, grit and hunger over pedigree. “If you have all the credentials, I kind of rule you out immediately,” he says. “It’s just sus.”
Obsession Over Revenue Unlike many other startups, Elias is taking a different approach with Agency. He’s focused on making 50+ customers completely obsessed with the product rather than chasing every dollar: “I want to build something that people like throwing money at me.”
The future is lean
Elias believes most SaaS products just create more work for users. His vision for Agency—and the future of business—is tools that actually take work away. The goal isn’t to help humans do things better; it’s to let AI do things infinitely while humans focus on what they do best: taking initiative, making decisions and choosing purpose.
For founders, the message is clear: stop trying to perfect AI and start leveraging its imperfect but powerful capabilities. The companies that win won't be those that replace human judgment, but those that amplify human agency while automating everything else.
As Elias puts it: “I just want to tell people what to do one time and they do it 10,000 times.” That's the real promise of AI—if you're brave enough to let it be imperfect.
Hosted by Sonya Huang and Pat Grady
Mentioned in the episode:
Lookery: David Cancel’s first startup that Elias joined after IBM; shut down in 2009
Performable: Elias and David’s second startup, acquired by HubSpot in 2011
Drift: Elias and David Cancel’s third startup, merged with Salesloft in 2024
Klaviyo: B2C CRM company started by Andrew Bialecki after working with Elias at HubSpot
Secret: Short-lived anonymous messaging app that inspired one of Drift’s early iterations
Tatajuba: Kitesurfing destination in Jericoacoara, Brazil where Elias (briefly) considered retirement
