The items below are things May Habib said in talks and interviews about building Writer, enterprise AI, risk and discomfort, and the future of work. — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.

Infographic for "Lessons from May Habib".

On the Transformative Power and Reality of AI

  1. On Being Born in Rural Lebanon: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "I was born in rural Lebanon in a village in a province called". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  2. On Inspired Mode Versus Cranking Mode: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "it allows us to spend more of our week in inspired mode versus like cranking mode". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  3. On Production Versus Scale: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "production and scale, we have learned are two very different milestones in a company". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions.
  4. On a Builder Class: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "the emergence of a builder class within a team that is adopting AI". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions
  5. On Who Knows What’s Beyond: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "go from AI assisted writing to AI writing to who knows what's beyond". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions.
  6. On Business Impact Without Rewiring: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "the vast majority of companies have not seen an iota of business impact". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  7. On the Biggest Blocker to Scale: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "It means a radical rethinking of their org design. And that really is honestly the biggest blocker to scale". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions.
  8. On Putting All the Tools in One Platform: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "we put all of those tools in one platform we gave folks the option to deploy writer in their own environments". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  9. On Being Enterprise Focused From Day One: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "we've been enterprise focused from day one". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions
  10. On Home-Built Tech Debt: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "so much of the home-built stuff is accumulating tech debt as soon as it is launched". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions.
  11. On Individual Productivity: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "individual productivity does not rewire your organization for agentic productivity". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  12. On Language as the Interface to Intelligence: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "a company that we started to really work on language has evolved into a company that works on intelligence because language now is the interface to intelligence and soon to be super intelligence". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.
  13. On Six or Seven Labs: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "being one of only you know six or seven labs in the world training models from scratch". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions

On Entrepreneurship and Building a Company

  1. On Being the Family Interpreter: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "eldest child of a family that immigrated from Lebanon to Canada". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.
  2. On Being the Navigator: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "you're kind of the Navigator and you are often in uncomfortable situation". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions
  3. On Shutting Down a Company with Revenue: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "it wasn't very easy to shut down something that was creating revenue". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.
  4. On Working Against Immigrant Paranoia: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "there is a bit of kind of immigrant paranoia and fear that can hold me back from taking big risks and I'm really intentional on working against that". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  5. On Failing More: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "I actually wish we failed more because I want more at bats to be able to tell people that that's okay". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  6. On Constantly Reestablishing Product-Market Fit: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "we are in a constant state of reestablishing product market fit as a generative AI company". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.
  7. On 2015 Versus Now: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "product market fit this is not 2015 right it is going to be established and lost reestablished and lost again all in the span of 12 months potentially". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions
  8. On Paying Customers and Product-Market Fit: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "just because they're still paying you doesn't mean you still have product market fit". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.
  9. On Pioneering Synthetic Data: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "we pioneered synthetic data techniques". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.
  10. On Thinking Incrementally: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "I think much more incrementally unless forced into a corner". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  11. On Competitors Already in the Building: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "when you serve the Global 2000, they're already using all your competitors. And that actually is excellent for us". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions.
  12. On Pressure in the Fortune 500: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "Pressure is an understatement". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions
  13. On Re-Winning: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "even when you win you are constantly re winning". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.

On Leadership and Vision

  1. On Leading From the Front: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "our leaders are so in the trenches really leading from the front". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  2. On Finding Signal in Noise: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "find signal and noise marry that to conviction and experience and just take risk". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  3. On Empowering the People Closest to the Work: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "our vision is to empower people empower people who are closest to the work to transform the way that they work". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.
  4. On Labs Coming With Fanfare: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "The labs come into enterprises with a ton of fanfare". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  5. On Being Contrarian: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "a lot of what we've been doing has felt contrarian we built our own models even as folks said hey these Frontier models are getting more powerful and cheaper why don't you just build on them and that has really proven to be what the Enterprise needs". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  6. On Platform Rather Than Prompt Chaining: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "folks have ended up with non-scalable non-production ready applications and proofs of concept". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions
  7. On Being Comfortable Being Uncomfortable: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "I do think over time I've gotten comfortable being uncomfortable being scared". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  8. On Control Over the Roadmap: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "I think that was one really big part of it is just control over our road map, our destiny". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions.
  9. On Not Letting a Third Party Down: In a Radical Talks masterclass on full-stack enterprise AI, Habib said: "it is really hard to stomach the idea that like we could be letting Vanguard down because OpenAI quantized the model and didn't tell anybody". — Radical Talks, Masterclass Edition: Writer CEO May Habib on full-stack enterprise AI, auto-generated captions
  10. On Being a Few Steps Ahead of Customers: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "we're a few steps ahead of our customers not by that many". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  11. On Customers Taking a Big Risk: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "our customers are taking a big risk in partnering with us because the technology is so exciting". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  12. On Intimacy With the Customer: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "it is really fun to be a builder in the enterprise right now because I don't think anyone has had this level of intimacy with the customer ever". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions.

On Equity, Ethics, and the Future of Work

  1. On Language and the Modern Economy: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "if you can't speak the language of your community fluently you literally can't join the modern economy you live on the fringes of a society". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  2. On the Language You Were Born Speaking: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "the language you were born speaking shouldn't impact the kind of life you end up leading". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  3. On a Dystopian Future: In an episode on getting comfortable with scary things, Habib said: "we could end up with a really dystopian future where most jobs are done by AI employees and folks who already would have been top of the food chain you know that much more productive as a result of having all that leverage". — Episode 1: Getting comfortable with scary things with Writer’s May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  4. On Talking At Rather Than To Customers: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "A flashy demo never comes to life because they're literally gone and are talking at customers rather than to customers". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  5. On Growing Up in a Family Business: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "I grew up in a family business. I grew up listening to my dad haggle with suppliers". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  6. On a Customer Service Organization With a Lab: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "We were a customer service organization, a client outcomes organization that had a research lab". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  7. On Starting With a Translation Problem: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "We started to solve a translation problem". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  8. On Brands as Code: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "so much of what we sought to do was help companies manage their brands as code". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  9. On Customer IP: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "That's customer IP. We never train on it". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  10. On the Model as the System of Record: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "the model will become the system of record". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.

On Strategy and Go-to-Market

  1. On Voice and Phone: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "most of our use of AI is going to go to voice and phone". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  2. On Rewriting the Sales and Marketing Stack: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "the complete rewrite of the sales and marketing tech stack". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  3. On Tools Influencing Workflows: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "the tools we use influence the workflows that we can do". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  4. On Design Partners: In an interview on building the enterprise AI that the labs sell, Habib said: "It's like having design partners across every business". — Writer’s May Habib: Building the Enterprise AI That Anthropic and OpenAI Sell, auto-generated captions.
  5. On Agentic Operating Rhythms: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "enterprises at scale will be doing things agentically". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.
  6. On Large-Scale Change Management: In a GAEA Talks conversation, Habib said: "large-scale change management we know what we're trying to change and why". — GAEA Talks: Own Your Means of Intelligence with Writer CEO May Habib, auto-generated captions.