Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
For an audio-only podcast, transcripts, and custom Notion x Decagon templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/2rl402
To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/et3w9w
Welcome to First Block, a Notion series where founders from the world’s leading companies tell us what it was like to navigate the many firsts of their startup journey—and what they learned from that experience.
In this episode, we spoke with Jesse Zhang, Co-founder and CEO of Decagon. In just a year since coming out of stealth, Decagon has become a $1.5 billion AI unicorn, transforming customer service for companies with AI agents.
Jesse shares his journey from a painful first startup experience to building Decagon with intentional customer discovery, the breakthrough innovation of Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs), and why commercial thinking matters as much as technical excellence.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:40 Rethinking Customer Experience
02:45 Early Startup Lessons
05:18 Agent Operating Procedures
09:58 Building Enterprise Trust
14:04 Scaling Fast
15:53 Hiring Philosophy
19:12 The Tool Stack
20:12 Advice Block
For an audio-only podcast, transcripts, and custom Notion x Decagon templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/2rl402
To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/et3w9w
Welcome to First Block, a Notion series where founders from the world’s leading companies tell us what it was like to navigate the many firsts of their startup journey—and what they learned from that experience.
In this episode, we spoke with Jesse Zhang, Co-founder and CEO of Decagon. In just a year since coming out of stealth, Decagon has become a $1.5 billion AI unicorn, transforming customer service for companies with AI agents.
Jesse shares his journey from a painful first startup experience to building Decagon with intentional customer discovery, the breakthrough innovation of Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs), and why commercial thinking matters as much as technical excellence.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:40 Rethinking Customer Experience
02:45 Early Startup Lessons
05:18 Agent Operating Procedures
09:58 Building Enterprise Trust
14:04 Scaling Fast
15:53 Hiring Philosophy
19:12 The Tool Stack
20:12 Advice Block
