The best founders aren’t well rounded
Issue #12: Mat Vaxelaire’s theory on what actually drives startup success
Our partner Matthieu Vaxelaire has a theory about founders. After years of launching companies at Hexa, he's noticed something about the ones who go the distance.
They're not well-rounded, they're impressively lopsided.
Mat calls it the "superpower theory." While the startup world obsesses over finding complete founders - those who can code, sell, lead, and execute with equal skill - Mat's observed that category-defining companies are built by founders with one personality trait so overdeveloped it compensates for other areas.
Some founders have intensity that makes them operate at 3x speed. Others have magnetic charisma that attracts world-class talent through sheer force of personality. Some learn so fast they compress decades of expertise into months.
Today, we're sharing Mat's conversation with Hugues Renou, founder and CEO of Tengo (HX24). Watch as Mat's theory comes to life through Hugues' superpower - an almost uncomfortable level of intensity - as they discuss building Tengo.
It's a window into how these outsized traits work in practice. And why Mat believes trying to be super well-balanced might actually limit your potential.
The takeaway: lean into who you are.
Files from Hexa
🧹 Twice with Sweep co-founder, Rachel Delacour
Rachel Delacour has done it twice - built Bime Analytics into a powerful BI product with organic growth (no massive funding rounds), sold it to Zendesk for $45M, then came back to build Sweep, now one of Europe's climate tech standouts with €100M raised. In this conversation with Thibaud, Rachel gets refreshingly honest about the journey. She talks about the invisible fatigue that comes with being a founder, the complexity of navigating M&A, and the investor choices she won't compromise on the second time around. What stands out is her clarity on choosing battles that actually matter - a luxury that comes from having been through the entire cycle before.
🏃 Why AI startups have less time than they think
Our partner Florent Quinti has a warning for AI startups: your window is closing faster than you think. While incumbents are still fumbling with AI features, AI-native startups have a rare advantage but only for the next 3 years. Flo argues that by 2028, Fortune 500 companies will have locked in their AI stack for every function. Once incumbents figure out AI and leverage their massive distribution networks, the game is over. Right now, startups have the edge: better tech architecture, cleaner data, faster iteration cycles, and top AI talent. Every software category is there for the taking. The window to build a category-defining AI company has never been more open. It's also never been shorter.
Other files we recommend
📊 Google Cloud's AI predictions with 20+ industry leaders
Top VCs and founders share what's actually coming in AI, from the 3-year window for startups to build before incumbents catch up, to why AI infrastructure will be "unrecognizable" by decade's end.
🎯 Key insights from Sequoia's AI Ascent by Guillermo Flor
8+ hours of wisdom condensed, founders from OpenAI, NVIDIA, Anthropic, Ramp, and Langchain share how to build AI companies in 2025, from why 70% of Anthropic's code is now AI-generated to ambient agents.
News
🥳 Aircall (HX14) hits $175M ARR and profitability
Our 2014 company crossed $175M in annual recurring revenue while reaching profitability, a rare combination in today's market. The growth comes as they shift from phone system to AI platform: their new features coach reps through calls in real-time, surface answers during objections, and handle follow-ups automatically. The AI Voice Agent now answers calls 24/7 in multiple languages. It's a bet that sales and support teams want intelligence built into their communication tools, not bolted on afterwards. Read more.
👋 InboundX looking for its tech founder
Our newest founder Johary is on a mission to make B2B websites actually work, and he needs a technical co-founder. His insight: while everyone expects ChatGPT-level experiences everywhere, most B2B sites remain glorified PDFs that confuse prospects instead of converting them. Rather than building another chatbot widget, Johary imagines AI agents seamlessly embedded into the entire website experience. He needs a CTO to co-own the vision and bring it to life, potentially defining how B2B commerce works for the next decade. Send him a DM if you’re interested.
👣 Tempo (HX25) launches for field sales
Our latest company of the year targets the overlooked field sales rep. Founder Vincent Terol noticed these reps lose hours to CRM updates and follow-up emails after long days on the road. Tempo's AI voice assistant lets them debrief vocally while driving, automatically handling call notes, CRM entries, and follow-ups. It's built for people whose office is the highway, not a desk, giving them back time to actually sell instead of wrestling with admin work at 7pm. Find out more.
✨ Slite (HX17) founders launch super.work
After reinventing the knowledge base with Slite, Christophe Pasquier & Pierre Renaudin are now tackling enterprise AI adoption. Super.work connects to all your internal tools and transforms scattered company data into AI-powered search and agents. While most companies are stuck in AI pilot purgatory, Super promises the fastest path from curiosity to actual results turning your existing tool stack into an intelligent system your team will actually use. It's the natural evolution from organizing knowledge (Slite) to making it actionable (Super). Find out more.
📢 Hexa hosts LinkedIn mastery breakfast
Learn how to turn LinkedIn into a real acquisition channel at Hexa next Tuesday. Erwan Gauthier (Head of Growth at Lemlist) and Quentin Le Gall (GTM at Hexa) will share their playbooks for building B2B influence, scaling outbound, and converting visibility into pipeline. The breakfast covers personal brand building, founder positioning, and the daily routines that make LinkedIn work as a growth lever, not just another social platform. Sign up.
Jobs
Lead Software Engineer at DermaScan (HX25)
COO at Veevart (HX25)
Creative Content Creator at Hexa
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or suggestions for this newsletter, don’t hesitate to hit reply. In the meantime, you can follow us on LinkedIn.
Cheers,
The Hexa Team