Chain of Thought | AI Agents, Infrastructure & Engineering Building an AI-Native Startup | GrowthX's Marcel Santilli
How do you build an AI-native company to a $7M run rate in just six months?
According to Marcel Santilli, Founder and CEO of GrowthX, the secret isn't chasing the next frontier model, it's mastering the "messy middle." Drawing on his deep experience at Scale AI and Deepgram, Marcel joins host Conor Bronsdon to share his framework for building durable, customer-obsessed businesses.
Marcel argues that the most critical skills for the AI era aren't technical but philosophical: first-principles thinking and the art of delegation.
Tune in to learn why GrowthX first focused on services to codify expert work, how AI can augment human talent instead of replacing it, and why speed and brand are a startup's greatest competitive advantages. This conversation offers a clear playbook for building a resilient company by prioritizing culture and relentless shipping.
Follow the hosts
Follow Atin
Follow Conor
Follow Vikram
Follow Yash
Follow Today's Guest(s)
Connect with Marcel on LinkedIn
Follow Marcel on X (formerly Twitter)
Learn more about GrowthX
Check out Galileo