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BIOGRAPHY
Why a Tech Power Player? For finding new applications for AI and investing in the next generation of startups.
Elias Torres says he could see the well-traveled road that he was expected to go down after selling his tech startup, Drift, in 2021: become a venture capitalist, take meetings, and decide which of the next generation of entrepreneurs were worthy of funding.
Torres had been involved with several startups—primarily in digital marketing and customer service—but was always in the No. 2 slot, serving a CEO as chief technology officer. One such startup was Performable, which was acquired by HubSpot in 2011.
Torres helped reinvigorate HubSpot’s marketing products before leaving in 2014 to start Drift with his frequent collaborator, David Cancel. The company created software that made it simple to add chatbots to websites to answer common questions or schedule sales meetings. And once again, Torres was the No. 2 executive.
When Torres left Drift last year, he decided, “This was my time to be the CEO.”
At an AI conference in Silicon Valley, he met top executives of OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT. He says he realized how significant ChatGPT would be—and how much help established companies would need to build products around it.
He launched his startup Novy to provide that help. Novy has almost nothing on its website—no sales pitches, no mission statements, no “meet our team.” That’s because work is coming via referrals from OpenAI and Torres’ own network.
AI-related projects include answering questions about the strategies of NBA teams during games; explaining family leave policies in New York state; and translating in real time a rap battle between rappers speaking different languages.
The company has just 10 employees, but is already generating several million dollars in revenue, Torres says. He has bankrolled the company himself, rather than seeking outside investment. “I like the freedom I have right now,” he says.
He’s not exactly sure what Novy will be when it grows up. His ambition isn’t to create a tech consultancy like Accenture or IBM with thousands of employees. One question on his mind: Can you be a billion-dollar company with 10 or 20 people in this age of AI?
As Torres builds Novy, he’s investing in other startups. Perhaps his most successful investment was Klaviyo, the digital marketing company whose cofounder, Andrew Bialecki, worked for Torres at Performable.
Explaining his investing strategy, Torres says: “Basically, if you’ve worked for me and you start a company and ask me, I invest.”
— Scott Kirsner, Globe Correspondent
CAREER MILESTONES
2022
Named a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute.
2015
Cofounded Drift, took on chief technology officer position.
2009
Cofounded Performable, a marketing software platform.
SIMILAR PROFILES
Also Featured on
BIOGRAPHY
Why a Tech Power Player? For finding new applications for AI and investing in the next generation of startups.
Elias Torres says he could see the well-traveled road that he was expected to go down after selling his tech startup, Drift, in 2021: become a venture capitalist, take meetings, and decide which of the next generation of entrepreneurs were worthy of funding.
Torres had been involved with several startups—primarily in digital marketing and customer service—but was always in the No. 2 slot, serving a CEO as chief technology officer. One such startup was Performable, which was acquired by HubSpot in 2011.
Torres helped reinvigorate HubSpot’s marketing products before leaving in 2014 to start Drift with his frequent collaborator, David Cancel. The company created software that made it simple to add chatbots to websites to answer common questions or schedule sales meetings. And once again, Torres was the No. 2 executive.
When Torres left Drift last year, he decided, “This was my time to be the CEO.”
At an AI conference in Silicon Valley, he met top executives of OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT. He says he realized how significant ChatGPT would be—and how much help established companies would need to build products around it.
He launched his startup Novy to provide that help. Novy has almost nothing on its website—no sales pitches, no mission statements, no “meet our team.” That’s because work is coming via referrals from OpenAI and Torres’ own network.
AI-related projects include answering questions about the strategies of NBA teams during games; explaining family leave policies in New York state; and translating in real time a rap battle between rappers speaking different languages.
The company has just 10 employees, but is already generating several million dollars in revenue, Torres says. He has bankrolled the company himself, rather than seeking outside investment. “I like the freedom I have right now,” he says.
He’s not exactly sure what Novy will be when it grows up. His ambition isn’t to create a tech consultancy like Accenture or IBM with thousands of employees. One question on his mind: Can you be a billion-dollar company with 10 or 20 people in this age of AI?
As Torres builds Novy, he’s investing in other startups. Perhaps his most successful investment was Klaviyo, the digital marketing company whose cofounder, Andrew Bialecki, worked for Torres at Performable.
Explaining his investing strategy, Torres says: “Basically, if you’ve worked for me and you start a company and ask me, I invest.”
— Scott Kirsner, Globe Correspondent
CAREER MILESTONES
2022
Named a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute.
2015
Cofounded Drift, took on chief technology officer position.
2009
Cofounded Performable, a marketing software platform.
SIMILAR PROFILES
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