Orbit - An Hg software leadership podcast

• The 3 speed problem: Jason Richards speaks to Oji Udezue on CPO leadership in the age of unlimited engineering

  Product Mind Principal Oji Udezue - veteran of Microsoft, Twitter, Atlassian, Calendly, and Typeform - offers an energising vision of product leadership in the AI era. Drawing from 25 years building products, Udezue reveals that it isn't something to fear but an opportunity for those willing to embrace what he calls "self-erasure": shedding old mental models to approach new technology with fresh eyes. His journey from Microsoft's competitive trenches to discovering that "permanent influence has nothing to do with convincing people I was smart" unlocks why curiosity and vulnerability now matter more than ever. Udezue introduces the "three speed problem": his framework showing that while engineering capacity approaches infinity over the next decade, the real leverage comes from accelerating product divination and go-to-market to their theoretical limits. With characteristic wisdom, he advocates for "healthy paranoia" about change while championing extreme experimentation, prototyping over PRDs, and designing with customers as core team members. His closing mantra: "I happen to the world; the world doesn't happen to me" captures the determined optimism required to build jewel-like software in an era of unlimited possibility.

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• Fevered determination: Building Zalos from zero to enterprise in 5 weeks. Hg's Jonathan Wulkan speaks to founder, William Fairbairn

  In this illuminating conversation from the frontier of AI-native startups, William Fairbairn, founder of Zalos.ai and part of Y Combinator's class of 2025, reveals what it takes to build at Silicon Valley velocity. Just five weeks after launch, Zalos is already deployed with major enterprise customers, automating finance workflows through computer-use agents that execute tasks like humans—extracting contract terms, initiating billing, and reconciling cash. Fairbairn's insights into Y Combinator's evolved wisdom for the AI era, particularly "forward-deployed engineering", demonstrate how the startup playbook has been fundamentally rewritten. With funding bars rising to $2 million ARR in 12 months just to reach Series A, and "supernovas" scaling from $1 million to $100 million in 18 months, this postcard from the edge of software leadership captures the intensity and opportunity of building in an era where the rules change weekly.

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• Trust, Velocity, and Building the Answer Engine: Dmitry Shevelenko of Perplexity speaks to Farouk Hussein

  In this fascinating conversation, Perplexity's Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko reveals how a company barely three years old is mounting the first credible challenge to Google's search dominance in two decades. Shevelenko shares the counterintuitive distribution strategy that led Perplexity to partner with mobile carriers and device manufacturers rather than chasing browser deals, explaining how creating mutual value with partners became their path to 22 million monthly active users. The discussion centres on execution velocity as Perplexity's primary competitive advantage, with Shevelenko openly admitting that six months from now he'll have a top priority he can't even imagine today. From eliminating internal presentations entirely to making hiring decisions "physically hurt," he paints a vivid picture of how Perplexity maintains startup intensity while competing against trillion-dollar tech giants, offering invaluable lessons for anyone navigating the AI transformation.

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• The long road to the last mile : Nic Humphries and Matthew Brockman reflect on 25 years of Hg

  In this candid anniversary conversation, Hg's leadership team of Matthew Brockman and Nic Humphries reflects on 25 years of building one of Europe's most focused software investors. Humphries shares the challenge of convincing colleagues to abandon multiple sectors for pure software focus, while Brockman opens up about his leap of faith in 2010, leaving Apax Partners for an uncertain bet on Hg's vision and the turbulence of 2012 that eventually led to success. The conversation hones in on AI as the next major platform shift and Brockman's concept of the "last mile"—the deep understanding of customer workflows required to transform AI capability into practical business solutions. Their discussion reveals a firm that has spent 25 years accumulating the pattern recognition, operational capabilities, and entrepreneurial culture perfectly suited for an era where success depends less on investment judgement and more on building products that solve real workflow problems—making this milestone feel less like a celebration of the past and more like preparation for the defining challenge ahead.

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• AI, Control Points, and the Next Wave of Vertical SaaS with Tidemark Capital founder, Dave Yuan

  In this compelling conversation, Tidemark Capital founder Dave Yuan shares his journey from Bain consultant to building one of the most thoughtful voices in vertical SaaS investing. Yuan reveals his "control point" philosophy—identifying the mission-critical systems that small businesses would turn off last before going bankrupt—and explains how this approach has guided Tidemark's investments in category leaders like ServiceTitan, Toast, and OneStream. His insights into workflow gravity, data gravity, and account gravity provide a masterclass in understanding what creates defensible market positions in software. The discussion takes a provocative turn as Yuan explores AI's dual nature as both opportunity and existential threat for established software companies. He introduces the concept of "integrate surround"—how AI point solutions can gradually subsume control points by becoming the system of action rather than just record—and shares his framework for "fast waters" versus "slow waters" in AI adoption. With characteristic humility and intellectual curiosity, Yuan offers practical advice for navigating today's volatile market while building the Vertical SaaS Knowledge Project community that has become an industry touchstone for founders and investors alike.

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