Executives today are inundated with data from all directions, obscuring the real problems and opportunities that need addressing. FORA, an AI-powered platform co-founded by seasoned tech entrepreneur Joe Essenfeld, is changing that dynamic. By providing clear insights across company conversations, meetings, and documents, FORA is helping leaders like Matt Geffken, an executive at CAI, cut through the noise.

CAI is a private equity-backed supply chain and manufacturing software firm. Its inherently lean structure and lack of a middle management layer presented Matt with a unique challenge – staying informed across multiple teams and projects without consolidated reports. As one of FORA’s early adopters, he sat down to share his experience integrating the platform into his workflow.

Matt explained that FORA’s implementation process begins by connecting the tool to a customer’s Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra workplace directory. This allows FORA to create user accounts, connect calendars, and generate personalized prompts based on employees’ job titles. These personalized prompts are then used to generate tailored meeting summaries and insights. FORA also uses the company’s org chart to assign proper permissions and create initial “lenses” or focus

areas for different user groups. FORA typically collaborates with senior executives to determine these focus areas so that the platform is configured to surface the most relevant insights from the onset.

Matt found implementation to be straightforward. ”You work with your security team to secure basic approvals and permissions, identify key focus areas, and then you’re up and running in a day. In fact, it feels less like a whole ‘implementation’– it’s much simpler than that,” he remarked.

CAI’s fast-paced, acquisition-focused growth strategy requires its executives to track progress and insights across disparate teams. “I can’t be in 15 meetings at once – it’s just not feasible,” Matt said. “FORA allows me to understand what’s happening across my teams and projects without being a part of every conversation. It helps me convert all of this primary source information into manageable pieces.”

While FORA provides visibility across CAI’s operations, Matt also utilizes it to prepare for important meetings. “During our monthly board meetings, I expect intense questioning from all angles,” he said. “ I rely on FORA’s transcripts and insights to enable me to readily address any topic raised.”

But FORA has also become an indispensable part of my daily workflow,” he continued. “It’s constantly surfacing blindspots– crucial details that would’ve otherwise gotten lost amidst all the noise. Those ‘aha’ moments are a part of what makes this platform so crucial for executives.”

FORA provides Matt with the information he needs to stay aligned and agile. As an executive overseeing a rapidly expanding portfolio, he explained that AI-powered platforms like FORA are already becoming mission-critical tools in the modern CIO’s arsenal. By seamlessly integrating into existing workflows, these solutions can quickly return value back to their users – in FORA’s case, by transforming qualitative data into actionable insights.

“FORA represents the future of technology-empowered leadership,” he explained, “and I’m excited to be at the forefront of this transformative shift.”

At 45, I have seen many bubbles inflate and burst. A common pattern is that basic business fundamentals stop making sense for a while, followed by a sudden collapse.

Recently, opinions from Sequoia Capital, Barclays Investment Bank, and others suggest that NVIDIA’s customer spending by companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, Tesla, Oracle, and others is unsustainable. At first glance, it’s easy to call this a bubble and think that we are at the start of the end of this period of rapid growth and innovation.

However, I believe this situation is different. Sequoia’s analysis points to a $600 billion gap in revenue needed to justify the current spending. They estimate $100 billion in potential AI-related revenue, leaving a $500 billion shortfall.

My intuition is that NVIDIA’s numbers represent tech companies prioritizing investment in silicon over people to provide more shareholder value. Their investment is not just for creating AI-specific revenue with a Field of Dreams, “build it and they will come” mindset; it’s to transform their organizations to be AI-centric. They are integrating AI capabilities into every offering and absorbing AI costs into traditional cost centers instead of those dedicated to innovation.

To keep affording these large AI investments, companies are using automation and low-cost labor as defaults for new organizational design. They are making fundamental changes to enable AI investments across their entire operations.

I agree that if tech companies don’t make structural changes, the current investment in AI chips will prove to be a bubble that deflates soon. However, I believe there is a greater chance that these changes will be made to support the investment in AI.

This likely means that more jobs and roles at big tech companies will become obsolete, requiring rapid reskilling of the domestic tech labor force in the US.

NVIDIA's AI Surge: A Structural Shift or Just Another Bubble?

Midnight struck and my SSO token was invalidated, ending my first journey as a Founder turned Executive. 

I feel a mix of sadness from leaving talented colleagues and friends at iCIMS and excitement for the possibilities that come from founding a new company. Spending 10 years as Founder/CEO of Jibe and then four years as an executive at iCIMS proved to be both equally valuable experiences, and I wanted to share some of my lessons learned as a way to show appreciation for the experience.

Building relationships and helping customers, partners, and co-workers fulfill their missions and advance in their careers has been the most meaningful part of my experience.

A top personal and professional highlight was officiating the wedding of two colleagues. 

Companies: simplicity and authenticity attracts better talent

If you want to attract the best talent, be easy to work for. Make your hiring process simple and aligned with your culture. This provides significant returns versus the effort required to do it.

As a candidate, try to apply for a job as soon as it opens. Being early doesn't guarantee you'll move on in the process but it is a benefit worth striving for.

Choose your GTM strategy: “restaurant” or “country club” - not both. Startups thrive with a "restaurant" approach

Focus on solving the problems of your ideal customers and rapidly growing your base. 

Mature, slower-growing companies do better as country clubs

When your focus shifts to stable revenue and profit targets, pivot to a "country club" model by increasing your prices, providing exceptional service, and fostering a tight-knit community of loyal customers. 

Never try to be both, and ensure your team aligns with your chosen approach. I've learned this lesson the hard way. Early focus on a product-driven customer experience means you can focus on top-line growth and product innovation for longer. Ideally, you don't pivot to the country club-like experience until you have 9 to 10 figures of revenue.

Understanding hype vs. substance is more important than ever. Shrinking window of opportunity

These shorter and more intense cycles mean opportunistic windows are getting smaller, giving leaders with a superior understanding of their company's hype vs. substance a growing edge.

Discerning this balance better than anyone else in your industry enhances your company’s growth and outcomes in the most strategic areas, like M&A and equity and debt financing.

Transparently share this understanding with your team and Board. I have seen exceptional leaders multiply their success by doing this well. I continually refine this skill due to its nuanced importance.

From Founder to Acquired Exec: Four Lessons from 14 Years

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NVIDIA's AI Surge: A Structural Shift or Just Another Bubble?

From Founder to Acquired Exec: Four Lessons from 14 Years