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Subvolts take Businesses want AI but fear its flaws; this episode explores overcoming that gap. Sep 23, 2025
For you
Developers
Learn about building autonomous AI systems that focus on back-end processes, not just front-end interactions.
Business
Understand why your company might be hesitant to adopt AI and how to overcome "imperfection anxiety" in implementation.
Hype note
3/5Notable

A solid interview with an experienced AI practitioner discussing practical business adoption challenges and unique solutions.

Training Data
Training Data Episode

Why Businesses Are Rejecting the AI They’ve Asked For: Agency CEO Elias Torres

45 min Interview Hosts: Sequoia Capital
0:0044:49

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From Subvolts

Summary and analysis by Subvolts editorial, AI-assisted.

Summary

Sequoia Capital's Training Data podcast features Elias Torres discussing why businesses reject AI despite asking for it. Torres, with experience from IBM, Drift, and Agency, highlights an "expectation mismatch" and "imperfection anxiety." He explains how Agency builds autonomous, AI-first solutions focusing on back-end customer experience to replace inefficient human-dependent processes.

Explained simply

Imagine wanting a perfect robot helper but being scared it might mess up. This episode talks about why companies ask for AI tools but then hesitate to use them because they aren't flawless. It suggests focusing on making the behind-the-scenes work better with AI first.

Why listen

This episode offers insights into the practical adoption challenges of AI in businesses. It's for founders, executives, and product leaders grappling with AI implementation. Torres's contrarian view on focusing on back-end experience over front-end bots connects to current discussions around AI's ROI and integration, relevant to how labs like Google Gemini and Anthropic are pushing enterprise solutions.

On the mic
  • HostSequoia Capital
  • GuestElias TorresAgency CEO, Agency
About
AgentsEnterprise
Key facts
  • Guest: Elias Torres, Agency CEO
  • Show: Training Data (Sequoia Capital)
  • Length: 45 minutes
  • Torres' AI Experience: Building AI systems since 1999
  • Previous Companies: IBM, Drift, HubSpot
Show notes from Sequoia Capital

Elias Torres has been building AI systems since 1999, from chatbots at IBM to co-founding Drift and now Agency. He believes businesses are caught in an expectation mismatch—demanding AI while rejecting it due to imperfection anxiety. Drawing from his experience scaling HubSpot, Elias explains why human-led customer experience doesn’t scale and how Agency is building AI-first solutions that work autonomously. His contrarian approach focuses on the back-end customer experience rather than front-end AI SDRs, aiming to “deprogram the entire business world” from inefficient human-dependent processes.

Hosted by: Sonya Huang and Pat Grady, Sequoia Capital

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

00:00 Introduction 01:50 AI and Customer Expectations 03:36 Managing Emails with AI 07:21 Elias' Personal Journey 11:27 Early Career 14:28 Joining HubSpot and Scaling Challenges 16:31 Hiring Exceptional Talent 18:53 Founding Drift 20:27 Pivoting to Success with Drift 21:41 Drift's Chatbot Innovation 22:09 Challenges and Limitations of Drift 22:37 The Struggle with Customer Knowledge 23:09 Scaling Challenges and Lessons Learned 25:58 Rediscovering Purpose Post-Drift 28:55 The Birth of Agency 29:42 AI's Role in Customer Experience 35:13 Building a Sustainable Business Model 37:06 The Vision for Agency 38:22 Challenges and Opportunities with AI 41:22 Deprogramming and Embracing Change 43:23 Optimism for the AI Future 44:15 Closing Thoughts

Jargon decoded
AI SDRs
Elias Torres
AI Sales Development Representatives, automated tools for initial sales outreach.
Published
Show
Training Data · Sequoia Capital
Length
45 min
Products
Drift, HubSpot, Lookery, Performable, Klaviyo, Secret
Summary by
Subvolts, using an AI model (how we work). Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
#Agents#Enterprise

Best of Training Data

Questions people ask

Why do businesses reject AI they ask for?
Businesses experience an "expectation mismatch" and suffer from "imperfection anxiety," leading them to reject AI due to its perceived flaws.
What is Agency's approach to AI?
Agency builds AI-first solutions that work autonomously, focusing on the back-end customer experience rather than front-end AI sales representatives.

Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to Sequoia Capital.