Scott Wu (Co-Founder & CEO of Cognition)
Insights from a pioneer in AI agents
It was amazing to organize an Icons dinner with Scott Wu, co-founder and CEO of Cognition, and learn from a leader pushing forward the development of AI agents. Thanks so much Scott for sharing your perspectives with us! Thanks also to Silkroad Innovation Hub for hosting and EffectiveSoft for sponsoring. Key takeaways from Scott below:
Advice for Founders:
Work with people you know well, like, and respect: Scott’s co-founders and early hires included many childhood friends from math/coding competitions and camps.
Build a team of entrepreneurs: 13 out of 19 of Cognition’s team members previously started their own companies.
The conventional advice of move fast, stay close to your customers, and hire an A+ team is correct and should be applied to the extremes. Don’t look for secret truths. Strongly follow what works well.
Always go the extra mile when pursuing high priorities: Scott flew to North Carolina to have dinner with the parents of a potential, talented young hire to assuage their concerns about him joining a new startup.
The Future of Agents:
The demand for work, such as code, is limitless as companies and individuals always have new ideas and ambitions.
Cognition will enable anyone, using natural language, to become a software engineer.
Nevertheless, studying computer science remains incredibly valuable as it teaches you how to think and solve hard problems.
