Going out with a bang

Hi everyone,

Gregor checking in with the final Moai update of the year. This month marked the first time we were able to fully focus on bringing Moai to the public, a clear shift from the previous months that were largely centered around internal development. While this change in focus has been an exciting step forward, there’s one last piece of internal restructuring to cover before diving into the outreach and external progress we’ve made with Moai!

Same Team; Solidifying Roles

At the start of Q3, we took a look at how Moai should be led as we moved into shipping and selling. Over the past months, we spent some time looking into expanding the team, but it became clear that strong, focused execution matters more than expanding the founding team too early. While we explored adding a third founder, the process reinforced a simpler view: Moai right now moves fastest when we focus on function over form, put our heads down and take full ownership of what we’re doing ourselves.

In an early startup, everyone does everything. This is still the case, but over time, Marijn is taking on CTO-type responsibilities while I step into a CEO role, focusing on business development, marketing, and sales. Naturally, as a small startup there will still be overlap in our work, but having clear ownership, both internally and externally, has already brought more focus and momentum to how we move Moai forward.

Adopt AI conference in Paris marked the first time Moai was represented with its new roles, and we couldn’t have asked for a better setting. With freshly printed Moai T-shirts and our roll up banner ready, we were excited to introduce Moai to Paris! We were invited there by the Dutch Embassy of France together with five other startups, to showcase the Dutch startup landscape.

The event sparked many engaging conversations around the problems Moai aims to solve and proved to be a great moment to validate our approach to the ever-growing issue of unmanageable data sprawl. It was also Moai’s very first event with an official stand. We went in with modest expectations, open to whatever the experience would bring—but still, having the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, walk past our stand was something we never could have anticipated!

We were really amazed with an amazing turnout in interest for Moai, and expanded our network a lot. Instead of explaining the product, we spent most of the time listening to how teams describe their own struggles with knowledge and context. The language people used closely matched the problems we started Moai to solve. That’s a great signal we’re on the right track.

Demoing and playing in the sandbox

Over the past weeks, we’ve been running a steady stream of demos to teams who discovered Moai through Adopt AI and other events. The follow up has been strong, with excellent sharp feedback, which has helped us refine how we present Moai and where it delivers the most immediate value. We’re working on an online sandbox that will make it easier to experience what Moai does, where you can interact with it directly and try Moai out.

As we wrap up the year, our primary objective is still securing pilots so we can build with real customers in the loop, something we will have an update about next month. For now, we’re taking the opportunity to slow down a few days, spend time with family and enjoy the holidays.

We’re heading into the new year energized, grateful for the progress we’ve made, and genuinely excited about what the coming year has in store for Moai.

Marijn and I wish you a happy, productive new year!

Marijn & Gregor
The Moai team