E56: Fired 40%, Won $100M: Intercom's Wartime Blueprint While You Make PowerPoints

Barcelona terrace, 7:30 AM call with a MedTech CEO managing 10,000 employees. "We have Microsoft Copilot." Meanwhile, Intercom fired 40% of their workforce and turned a dying $1.3B company into a $100M AI revenue machine.

Episode 56: When comfort meets extinction.

Breaking down:

• The Walking Corpse: 5 quarters declining growth | Zero net new revenue incoming | $1.3B valuation meaning nothing | CEO returns October 2022 | ChatGPT drops November 30 | 7 WEEKS to working AI agent | Europe: "Let's study this for 6 months"
• The 40% Purge: New values = sharpened knife | Resilience, Excellence, Work Hard, SHAREHOLDER VALUE | Quarterly performance reviews checking AI usage | Letters to the board, attempted coups | 18 months later: 98% employee approval | Your Betriebsrat: Heart attack
• The 15-Process Beast: Not a ChatGPT wrapper | User intent analysis, CRM integration, urgency detection | 25% to 56% resolution rate through A/B testing | Every percentage point "hard-fought" | Meanwhile you debate if AI is "mature enough"
• The 99-Cent Revolution: Old pricing = hated, complex | New: 99 cents per RESOLVED ticket | Human support: $5-30 per ticket | 42% cost reduction IMMEDIATELY | R&D becomes profit center | March 2023 launch while competitors still planning

The Wake-Up Call: Identify your 40% AI Neanderthals NOW | Make wartime decisions, not committees | Sell outcomes, not licenses | Build culture for AI excellence | Stop consulting, start executing | Your sacred cow must die

The brutal truth: While you're forming AI steering committees, companies like Intercom are firing 40% and betting $100M on 8-week prototypes. McCabe said it perfectly: "AI will be disruptive in the most aggressive, violent way. If you're not in, you're out of the whole fucking game." Your LinkedIn might say "Open for work" in 6 months.

#IntercomBlueprint #40PercentPurge #AINeanderthals #FromZeroTo100Million #WartimeCEO #ChatGPTRevolution #KIRevolution #ResolutionRate #99Cents #ShareholderValue #NetNewARR #WalkingCorpse #Betriebsrat #MittelstandKrise #CopilotIsNotEnough #FireOrBeFixed #AITransformation #SaaSGrowth #EoghanMcCabe #DesTraynor #FINai #A/BTesting #OutcomesNotLicenses #EuropeVsSiliconValley #NovartisExit #Schlumberger #ProfitProfitProfit #ExecuteOrDie #MalcolmWerchota #AIKochbuch #Barcelona #NoMiddleGround #TransformOrDie #YourLinkedInOpenForWork