The 7-Failure Rule: How Forethought AI Found Product-Market Fit with Co-Founder Deon Nicholas
Podcast: Build ModePublished On: Thu Nov 13 2025
Description: Forethought AI co-founder Deon Nicholas shares how he built a company that puts customers (not hype) at the center. In this episode of Build Mode, he unpacks his “7-Failure Rule,” the early experiments that shaped Forethought’s success, and why conviction should always come from your users, not your investors. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:23 The Founder Journey: Adapting Every 6-9 Months 05:33 From AI Research to Solving Business Problems 11:12 Finding Your Customer: The Importance of User Conversations 18:22 Building Demos and Landing First Paying Customers 25:12 The Seven Failure Rule for Product Market Fit 30:38 Preparing for and Winning TechCrunch Disrupt 35:16 The Reality of Fundraising and Chasing Metrics 39:07 Navigating Competition in Customer Service AI 43:03 Stepping into Chairman and What's Next 44:57 Outro New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
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