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Few founders get the chance to return to the helm of the company they built, let alone rip everything apart and rebuild from the ground up. But that’s exactly what Eoghan McCabe did with Intercom. In a recent 1st round review podcast conversation, McCabe shares how defying Silicon Valley’s best practices was the key to rebooting his company, making bold bets on AI, and doubling down on customer-first strategies.

⚒️ Rebooting Intercom: Eoghan McCabe on Defying Silicon Valley Orthodoxy

🎙️ Listen to the full episode here

📆 Published: September 5th, 2024

🕒 Estimated Reading Time: 3 mins. Time saved: 71 mins🔥

💡 The Power of Trusting Your Instincts

One of McCabe’s biggest lessons after stepping away and returning to Intercom? Trusting his instincts. It’s easy for founders to get swayed by Silicon Valley’s norms and expert advice. But McCabe realised that blindly following industry best practices led Intercom astray.

As a founder, you often start with nothing but intuition. The mistake many founders make is losing trust in their instincts as their company scales. McCabe’s return to Intercom was a wake-up call: trusting your gut matters, especially when it comes to hiring, values, and product strategy.

Takeaway: Your intuition is one of the most valuable tools you have as a founder. Trust it, refine it, and don’t be afraid to push back against industry norms if they don’t align with your vision.

🛠️ Ripping Up the Playbook: Why Conventional Practices Can Hurt Your Company

When McCabe returned to Intercom, he didn’t just adjust a few things—he ripped up the company’s existing playbook. From values to performance management, he realised that the company had adopted practices that were hurting productivity and culture. For instance, Intercom’s move toward enterprise-focused sales with rigid contracts boosted short-term revenue but caused long-term harm.

McCabe shifted the company back to its original DNA: customer-first, scrappy, and intuitive. He threw out practices that were commonplace in Silicon Valley but felt fundamentally wrong for Intercom’s mission.

Takeaway: Just because something works for other companies doesn’t mean it’s right for yours. Founders and product managers should constantly evaluate whether they’re following conventional wisdom blindly or making choices that truly align with their product and customers.

🚀 Making Big Bets: The Role of Risk in Building Great Companies

One of McCabe’s key insights was that bold moves excite people. When he returned to Intercom, he doubled down on AI, even betting the entire company on it. He embraced big swings instead of careful, measured approaches—and it paid off. By becoming the first to ship an AI service agent, Intercom leapt ahead of competitors like Zendesk.

But these moves aren’t just about AI. For McCabe, betting on big ideas is a hallmark of great founders. The alternative—playing it safe—leads to mediocrity, which isn’t appealing to top talent or customers.

Takeaway: Big risks often yield big rewards. As a founder or product manager, it’s important to assess where you can take strategic risks and make bold bets that could propel your company ahead of competitors.

🏗️ Focus and Simplification: How McCabe Sharpened Intercom’s Strategy

Intercom’s product strategy had become scattered, which McCabe identifies as one of the major issues when he returned. The company had multiple focuses—serving sales, marketing, and support teams—and wasn’t winning in any of them. McCabe chose to focus entirely on customer service, a massive $30 billion market.

By narrowing the company’s focus, he gave his team clear direction. This clarity helped Intercom regain momentum, and it’s a powerful reminder for any founder: sometimes, saying “no” to opportunities is the key to success.

Takeaway: Prioritise clarity and focus in your product strategy. When your team has too many competing priorities, it’s harder to win. Pick your battles, narrow your focus, and go all-in on areas where you can excel.

🎯 Performance Management, Simplified

When McCabe overhauled Intercom’s performance management system, he wasn’t interested in the usual bureaucracy. Peer reviews? Gone. Complex feedback loops? Ditched. Instead, he created a streamlined system where employees were ranked based on their goals and values, with regular, clear feedback.

This no-nonsense approach took out much of the subjective bias that often creeps into performance reviews, while also creating more accountability.

Takeaway: Founders and managers should strive to simplify performance management. Focus on what truly matters—goals, values, and clear feedback—and eliminate unnecessary complexity that distracts your team from doing their best work.

📢 Honesty, Transparency, and the Role of Culture

One of the more surprising things McCabe embraced when rebooting Intercom was radical honesty, even when it meant admitting mistakes. Intercom’s pricing had become a meme for being bad, and instead of dodging the issue, McCabe publicly acknowledged it.

This transparency built a culture of trust within the company. Employees saw their CEO owning up to the company’s flaws and working hard to fix them. This also helped weed out those who weren’t aligned with the company’s new direction, leading to a stronger, more committed team.

Takeaway: Honesty goes a long way in building trust with both your team and your customers. Don’t be afraid to admit when things aren’t working and commit to making real changes.

🌱 Design the Business to Work for You

One of the most impactful lessons McCabe learned was from Jason Fried of 37signals: design the business to work for you, not the other way around. Too many founders become slaves to their own companies, sacrificing happiness and fulfilment for the sake of growth.

McCabe took this to heart when rebooting Intercom. He refused to build a “big company” with unnecessary complexity and bureaucracy. Instead, he focused on keeping Intercom lean, focused, and a place where he and his team could thrive.

Takeaway: Your company should serve you, not the other way around. Founders and managers need to design their businesses in a way that aligns with their values and happiness. Don’t let external expectations dictate how you run your company.

📈 The Future of Intercom: Defying Expectations

McCabe’s journey of defying conventional wisdom and making bold, disruptive choices has put Intercom back on a growth trajectory. From AI-driven customer service to a simplified, customer-first strategy, the company is once again thriving in a mature, crowded market.

The key takeaway for founders and product managers? Don’t be afraid to rip up the rulebook and chart your own course. Whether it’s trusting your gut, simplifying processes, or making bold bets, success often comes from doing things your way—even when it means going against the grain.

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📅Timestamps:

• [00:02:59] Trusting instinct and principles.

• [00:04:15] Trusting intuition in business.

• [00:08:30] Go-to-market strategy evolution.

• [00:14:48] Evolution of decision-making strategies.

• [00:17:47] Reinventing traditional business practices.

• [00:20:37] Performance management and goals.

• [00:26:07] Smart people changing trajectory.

• [00:29:01] Strong opinions vs. multiple approaches.

• [00:34:53] Generalist orientation in business.

• [00:36:41] Building a living organisation.

• [00:42:22] Company clarity and engagement.

• [00:44:38] Overcoming fear of change.

• [00:49:02] Picking a specific market.

• [00:54:22] Bet-the-company decisions.

• [00:55:55] Disruption in business categories.

• [01:01:32] Founder Market Fit.

• [01:04:25] The importance of branding.

• [01:08:30] Branding across a growing team.

• [01:11:50] Building a business your way.

• [01:14:21] Life as an open world.