{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Customer Obsession &amp; Agentic AI Power Ravenna\u2019s Reinvention of Internal Ops","description":"Most startups bolt AI onto old products. &amp;nbsp;\u2068@ravennahq\u2069 &amp;nbsp;reimagined the entire workflow.&amp;nbsp; When we first met Kevin Coleman and Taylor Halliday, it was clear they weren\u2019t just chasing the hype cycle. They were pairing AI-native architecture with deep founder-market fit, and rebuilding how internal ops work \u2014 from first principles. Their new company, Ravenna, is going after a $160B+ market dominated by legacy players. But instead of being intimidated by incumbents, they got focused, making some smart moves that more early-stage teams should consider: 1) Speak with 30+ customers before writing a line of code 2) Define a clear ICP and pain points 3) Build natively for Slack \u2014 where support actually happens 4) Prioritize automation, iteration, and real workflow transformation 5) Stayed radically transparent with investors and early customers At Madrona, we love backing teams that combine ambition with discipline \u2014 and Kevin and Taylor are doing just that. In this episode of Founded &amp;amp; Funded, they sit down with Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter and talk through their journey, what they\u2019d do differently the second time around, and how they\u2019re building a durable, agentic platform for internal support. If you're a founder building in AI, SaaS, or ops \u2014 this conversation is full of lessons worth hearing. Transcript: https:\/\/bit.ly\/4ju2Cml Chapters:&amp;nbsp; (00:00) Introduction (00:23) Meet the Founders: Taylor Halliday and Kevin Coleman (02:05) The Birth of Ravenna: Identifying the Problem (03:05) The Concept of Enterprise Service Management (04:02) The Journey from Idea to Execution (04:31) Customer Insights and Market Fit (06:42) Building a Next-Generation Platform (10:43) Slack Integration and AI Automation (14:37) Partnering with Slack: A Strategic Move (17:13) Leveraging Slack for Knowledge Management (20:13) Balancing Focus and Vision (21:07) Discovering ITSM: A Hidden Market (21:40) Expanding Beyond IT: The Universal Help Desk (24:30) ServiceNow and the AI Revolution (27:03) Building a Transparent and Collaborative Culture (29:37) Recruiting Top AI Talent (31:59) Navigating Market Realities and Customer Focus (37:59) Advice for Aspiring Founders ","author_name":"Founded &amp; Funded","author_url":"https:\/\/www.madrona.com\/","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/36382565\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/item\/36382565"}