michael hess

I could not be more thrilled to our announce our $30M Series B! This comes just 6 months after our Series A and reflects more than 8x in revenue growth since February. The rockets are lit...come join us!

@willsclips_ @OutsetAI @radicalvcfund glad we got the tube suit on camera

Most companies don’t actually understand their users. @OutsetAI is using AI to change that. They’re building a platform that can run user research interviews at scale. They just raised a $30M Series B led by @radicalvcfund, less than six months after their $17M Series A. The team has grown from 7 to 45 people in under a year. I spent the day with founders @mchlhess and @AaronLCannon and the Outset team to see how they’re building and scaling at this pace.

Merge team is on FIRE these days

@austinxwalker This is literally the most important problem of our generation. Great stuff, will be rooting for you and the team.

we're building the founding team in san francisco. looking for the world's best engineers and designers to solve this problem. if you make a successful referral to our next founding engineer, i'll give you $25K. DM's are open!

a few years ago i got covid and never recovered. i went from exercising every day to completely bedbound. lost 40lbs. in and out of hospitals for over 2 years. saw 20+ doctors. bloodwork came back normal. "you're probably just stressed from being a founder."

my investor said she can drop us off if yours can pick us up

@SpamRoss @OutsetAI Needs more crazy eyes

Who wore it better? @OutsetAI

What % of venture backed startups in SF have founders w/ Bay Club memberships?

@8vc @OutsetAI @jack_moshkovich @kevinniechen @AaronLCannon We couldn't be more excited to be on this phase of the journey with you!

@OutsetAI @jack_moshkovich @kevinniechen Congratulations to @AaronLCannon, @mchlhess, and team on building a powerful, elegant platform that’s helping user research to become more human-centered than ever.

Understanding customers is existential for any business. @OutsetAI is redefining how it’s done, with pioneering AI-led interviews blending survey scale & human depth. We’re proud to lead their $17mm Series A. More below from @jack_moshkovich & @kevinniechen:

I’m thrilled to announce @OutsetAI's $17M Series A funding round, led by @8vc! Since day one, @AaronLCannon and I were driven by a simple truth: Companies build better products when they actually talk to their users. YC drills "talk to your customers" into founders for a reason—it works. But scaling those conversations has always been challenging. I’m proud that we've created a platform that enables companies to have deeper conversations with more customers at unprecedented scale. What's even more special: not a single employee has left the company since we were founded three years ago. We believe the journey is just as important as the destination, and it's truly a privilege to work with our all-star team each and every day. We approached Series A strategically, raising exactly what we needed to fuel our growth to the next stage. Thank you to 8VC and our other investors (Future Back Ventures by Bain & Company, @ycombinator (including our partner, the incredible @garrytan), @Adverbvc, @RebelFund_VC, Genius Ventures, Ritual Capital, Alt Capital, and Mute Ventures). We're focused on what truly matters: serving our customers and growing responsibly. We believe in building a sustainable business that creates real value. To our customers who trust us, our investors who believe in our vision, and our incredible team who make it all possible—thank you. Time to scale.

@sjwhitmore @DanielLurie Do you carry a laptop while running? Would LOVE to get into run commuting

omg just ran commute a new route across sf - went thru tenderloin & crossed market st for first time in ages & it’s so clean & felt so safe!!! great job @DanielLurie it took me so long to learn running caution in SF lol & now I get to unlearn it!

@rebryk @southpkcommons @ycombinator @HF0Residency @seedcamp @sequoia South Park and YC are goat

Pre-seed is tough. No users, no revenue, just an idea and a deck. These 18 startup programs can help founders to build from zero: 1.) @southpkcommons , US 2.)@ycombinator, US 3.) @HF0Residency, US 4.) @seedcamp , Europe 5.) Arc by @sequoia, US / Europe 🧵

@garrytan The night is *dorkest before the dawn

The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.

@jasonc_nc @twallyweb Oh totally -- to be clear I'm very much in favor of redesigning our streets. But that's a very different argument than how and when to utilize engines/trucks.

The fact that other places do it akin to my explanation versus ours and have equal or better (mostly better) fire safety outcomes would seem to imply otherwise. You’re also likely heavily overweighting fire deaths (~2,300 annually, mostly in SFRs where the fire response tactics are largely irrelevant because warning is the core life-saving solution) vs the many, many multiples more (actually preventable) deaths from auto, pedestrian, cyclists on unsafe streets - where we have far higher death rates than peer countries. In short, we’re saving 1 hypothetical life and tripping over 10 real ones to do it. Also makes less enjoyable cities as a bonus.

Jason has completely radicalized me about fire trucks to the point where my dad said I’m not allowed to talk about fire trucks at family gatherings anymore.

@jasonc_nc @twallyweb Additional cost of 2 FF paramedics at $80K/year outweighs the cost of a brand new fire engine in about 10 years of operation

@jasonc_nc @twallyweb For the record, I am FULLY in support of sending smaller quick response vehicles with ALS capabilities in lieu of fire engines to medical calls. But there's no world where this SAVES money without impacting fire response times.

@jasonc_nc @twallyweb Remember, you're spending money to have capabilities when it really matters. I'd rather the budget be inflated by $200K/yr if it means we save one additional life. Life safety applications are not where you want to penny-pinch.

@jasonc_nc @twallyweb Right, but now you're suggesting...hiring MORE firefighters to staff additional apparatus in order to save money? 😂 you can't just divert 2 FFs from the engine to the ambulance b/c of minimum staffing requirements

@billclerico not to mention that a 1.5in hose is going to do NOTHING against the 30foot flame lengths we were seeing in the interface in pacific palisades

Good discussion of hydrant water needs during urban firestorms and why it’s a difficult problem